Farmers 'forced' to throw away food grown for supermarkets
Kenyan farmers supplying UK and European supermarkets are being forced to discard as much as two-fifths of what they grow, an undercover investigation has revealed. UK-based food waste campaign group Feeding the 5000 claims to have obtained photographic evidence that shows Kenyan farmers rejecting 40 percent of the crops they produce. It says that some depots are discarding more than 20 tonnes of crops a day and forcing food disposal firms to sign a contract forbidding them to use any of it for human consumption, often because the produce is 'ugly', and fails to meet strict retail cosmetic specifications. Feeding the 5000 commented: "The reality is that the supply chain is the main source of preventable food waste as our investigative research shows." (Edie)
Cattle with TB sold as food by government department
Tens of thousands of diseased cattle, slaughtered after testing positive for bovine tuberculosis (bTB), are being sold for human consumption by the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), according to a new investigation. The raw meat, from around 28,000 diseased animals a year, is banned by most supermarkets and burger chains due to the public-health concerns surrounding the issue of bTB. Despite this, it is being sold to some caterers and food processors, schools, hospitals and the military. Defra, which makes about £10m a year from selling the infected carcasses, says the risk of infection is “extremely low”. It sells the meat without any warning to processors and consumers that the meat comes from bTB-infected cattle. (Sunday Times*, Telegraph)
Coca-Cola and Britvic join Sustainability Roadmap
Half of the UK’s leading soft drink producers and suppliers including Coca-Cola and Britvic have signed up to the Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap, a supply chain study that aims to reduce the environment footprint of the industry’s products. The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched the Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap yesterday at a conference in London. The study is the first to outline the £1.3bn UK soft drinks sector’s effect on the environment – estimated at an equivalent of 4.5 million metric tons and offer recommendations on how it can reduce that impact. (Environmental Leader)
Reporting
GE generates $25bn in revenues from sustainability investments
Last year, General Electric (GE) invested nearly $2bn in research and development for sustainability innovation and generated some $25bn in revenue, according to the company’s 2012 “Our Global Impact” update. The report includes an update on commitments made through ‘ecomagination’, GE’s programme to develop products and services with significant environmental advantages. Its commitments included doubling investment in clean-tech research and development, reducing freshwater use by 25 percent and improving water reuse. GHG emissions were reduced 32 percent from the adjusted 2004 baseline. Additionally, GE, along with its employees and retirees gave $219m to community and educational organisations, $130m of which came from the GE Foundation. (Sustainable Brands)
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