According to the
UN’s latest Sustainable Development report, our population trajectory means
that from now until 2030, the world will need to build the equivalent of a city
of one million people in developing countries, every five days!
How will all these
billions be fed without destroying our planet?
Delegates to the Rio+20 will try to address this massive problem by focusing on two key themes:
(a) defining a ‘green
economy’
(b) creating an
institutional framework for ‘sustainable development’
It is hoped that
this will enable nations to promote sustainable economic growth alongside
increased food production, using agro-ecological methods.
What is a ‘Green
Economy?’
UNEP says that in
a green economy, growth in income and employment are driven by public and
private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy
and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem
services.
Nevertheless,
there is little agreement amongst Rio+20 delegates on the definition or
functional parameters of a green economy, particularly on the role of the
private sector and market forces.
La Via Campesina
is campaigning against private sector involvement in food production on the
grounds that it relies on fossil fuels, promotes monocultures and exploits
farmers – they are calling for a system which is based on food sovereignty and
does not wreck the environment.
Meanwhile, several
multinational food processing companies are expanding the numbers of
smallholder farmers in their supply chains.
This has the potential of enabling smallholder farming families to
become self-reliant in terms of food and financial capital. The question is, can the private sector
embrace the sustainable farming methods, i.e. agroecology, as required by a
green economy?
In an effort to increase
public trust in their concern for farmers’ livelihoods and the environment, many
food processing companies are implementing voluntary standards such as Organic,
Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, Social Accountability, 4C, and
Forest Stewardship Council.
As a result, certification
of agricultural products is now a growth industry - in 2011 there were 426
different, sustainability labels. The
voluntary standards behind each of these labels emphasise many different
aspects of sustainable agriculture, from reducing the use of toxic
agro-chemicals, protecting rainforests, conserving water and safe-guarding bio-diversity
- to protecting the rights of workers and farmers, as well as orang-utans and
other endangered species. With such an
array of special interests to choose from and with so little information readily available it’s easy for consumers to get confused. So here are some links to help:
- 4C
- Ecocert
- Ethical Tea Partnership
- Fairtrade
- International Organic Standards (IFOAM)
- Rainforest Alliance
- Social Accountability
- Soil Association
- Sustainable Agriculture Network
- UTZ Certified
..... so we can judge for ourselves.
