Ecolabels for Agriculture. David Granatstein Sustainable Ag Specialist

Transcription

1 Ecolabels for Agriculture David Granatstein Sustainable Ag Specialist

2 Food Ecolabels

3 Sustainable Agriculture A long-term goal Economically Viable Environmentally Sound A 3-legged stool Not a set of farming practices Socially Acceptable Meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

4 Courtesy: Food Alliance Many Dimensions of Sustainable Ag

5 Grower Motivation- Economic Sustainability

6 Consumer Issues Behind Food Labels Personal Health Nutrition, antioxidants (positives) Absence of toxins, pathogens (negatives) Environmental Health Water, air biodiversity, toxins Community Health Family farms, open space, rural economy, food security, labor, social capital Interconnecting NYC watershed, farm land use to protect water quality, offset billion $ water treatment costs

7 Food Labels Product type or quality Production practices (e.g. organic, IFP, GMO) Environmental impact (e.g. Dolphin safe tuna) Origin - local, regional, country Social impacts (e.g fair trade, family farm) Future trend - combinations of labels

8 Food Labels What they do well: Inform Motivate Guarantee What they don t do well: Educate Change opinion

9 Key Elements of Certification Traceability (What is the source?) Transparency (What are the standards?) Accountability (Have the standards been met?) Separation of functions Standards setting Inspection Approval ISO 65 General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems

10 Consumer Research Hartman Group Motivation for consumers purchasing organic foods: 65% - health and safety 38% - taste 25% - the environment Minnesota Multiple Benefits project Ave. household willing to pay + $200/yr for significant environmental improvements in ag; but 30% of sample not willing to pay at all; saw no economic good

11 The Hartman Report (1996) Food and the Environment: A Consumer s Perspective National consumer survey commissioned by The Food Alliance, fielded by National Family Opinion Mailed to 2900 households; 1766 valid responses Key findings: significant interest in earth friendly foods many shades of green consumer strongest issues - pesticides, water quality green values not core purchase criteria don t expect perfection, won t tolerate deception

12 Segments of total population by environmental attitude (%) TN NGM AH YR OV UC TN = True Naturals AH = Alternative Healers OV = Overwhelmed NGM = New Green YR = Young Recyclers UC = Unconcerned Mainstream (Hartman, 1996)

13 Properties Suggested by Organic

14 Categories in which consumers are willing to pay 30% more for organic

15 Examples of Food Ecolabel Programs Organic (international) Integrated fruit production (Europe, NZ, South Africa) Natural beef (Oregon Country Beef, Coleman Beef) Eco-O.K. (Costa Rica) Café Audubon shade-grown coffee (national) Wegman s IPM label (New York) NatureMark potato (Idaho) CORE Values Northeast (New England) Salmon Safe (Oregon) Food Alliance (WA, OR)

16 Organic and Sustainability Organic farms vary in their sustainability, as do conventional Organic farm A might be more or less than conventional farm B Organic farms are more likely to be more sustainable than conventional Hypothetical distribution of farms on a sustainability index A B B

17 Two Approaches to Ecolabeling Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) Organic farming Similarities: Emphasize bio-intensive management, whole system Use guidelines, standards, certification, label identity Restrict materials Differences: IFP focus on IPM, organic focus on soil Synthetics generally not allowed in organic, fewer tools Organic standards more rigid, less adaptable to locale Organic more widely known by consumers, higher price No GMOs in organic

18 Courtesy: Food Alliance Food Alliance - USA

19 Food Alliance - USA 4 levels for each topic; need 75% of points Work Force Development Level 1. Employer provides no training opportunities Level 2. Employer allows limited unpaid leave for employee training Level 3. Employer encourages workplace training (e.g. tuition) Level 4. As per Level 3, paid leave provided

20 Food Alliance - USA Pest Management Codling moth Level 1. Labeled pesticides applied on a schedule Level 2. Chemical pesticides applied only as needed; determined by monitoring. Traps, models, crop phenology used to determine optimum timing Level 3. As per Level 2, and alternative strategies used (e.g. mating disruption). Pesticide toxicity Danger and Warning are avoided Level 4. No chemical pesticides used, only alternative strategies (biopesticides, mating disruption, augmentation with beneficials)

21 Social Labels Expand SASA Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture Sustainability codes: Columbia cut flower growers (FLORVERDE) CA wine grapes Few fair trade food products from U.S. Sales (million $) Fair Trade Sales in North America Source: 2003 Fair Trade Trends Report

22 Will the Market Reward Stewardship Farmers? YES organic foods; fair trade and shade grown coffee; Oregon Country Beef; Clover Stornetta dairy MAYBE integrated fruit production in Europe NO Eco-O.K. bananas; Responsible Choice apple A label must be based on good research People buy products, not labels A label will not solve all your problems!