The future of environmental sustainability labelling on food products

Brown, Kerry A.; Harris, Francesca; Potter, Christina; Knai, Cécile

doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(20)30074-7

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…To reduce a risk of bias towards underestimating or overestimating the environmental performance, this kind of percentile ranking could be applied to the evolving amount of comprehensive and international lifecycle inventory databases 45,46 that deliver transparent and coherent environmental data for a wide range of products. Our list of excluded models and studies will be a useful tool for anyone interested in identifying and learning more about lifecycle inventory databases and models designed for assessing diets or meals (appendix pp [9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interest in labelling food products according to different dimensions of sustain ability is growing. 12 With the release of the Farm to Fork Strategy in May, 2020, the European Commission is planning to develop a sustainable labelling framework that covers the nutritional, environ mental, and social aspects of food products. 13 To classify or rank foods according to their nutritional composition and environmental impact, sustainable food profiling models (SFPMs) are required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sustainable food profiling models to inform the development of food labels that account for nutrition and the environment: a systematic review

Bunge

Wickramasinghe

Renzella

et al. 2021

The Lancet Planetary Health

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable food profiling models to inform the development of food labels that account for nutrition and the environment: a systematic review

Bunge

Wickramasinghe

Renzella

et al. 2021

The Lancet Planetary Health

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“…Food labelling is frequently proposed by experts as a first step that can begin to shift food systems in a more healthy and sustainable direction through educating consumers and motivating producers to provide more sustainable options for consumer choice. 52 Accordingly, whenever a new challenge to healthy sustainable food systems is identified, calls for government to mandate labelling or for businesses to voluntarily adopt labelling are not far behind. [53][54][55][56][57] Food labelling policy has been the channel for major policy debates about the potential risks of genetically modified organisms in the food system and the public health dangers of eating foods high in fat, sugar and salt.…”

Section: Key Messagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Labelling approaches are needed that are based on multi-dimensional understandings of animal welfare, and that acknowledge interconnections and tensions between animal welfare and other aspects of sustainable food systems. 52,112,126 One approach is to address the complexity of sustainable animal agriculture through the use of "tiered" labelling schemes that group a number of individual dimensions of sustainable agriculture within a general rating scheme. An example of a labelling scheme moving in this direction is the Beter Leven scheme in the Netherlands, 125,127 which awards products between one and three stars based on the level of animal welfare achieved.…”

Section: Ecological Labelling Standardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Labelling Create Transformative Food System Change for Human and Planetary Health? A Case Study of Meat

Parker

Carey

Haines

et al. 2020

Int J Health Policy Manag

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Background: One important way to transform food systems for human and planetary health would be to reduce the production and consumption of animals for food. The over-production and over-consumption of meat and dairy products is resource-intensive, energy-dense and creates public health and food equity risks, including the creation of superbugs and antimicrobial resistance, contamination and pollution of land and waterways, and injustice to animals and humans who work in the sector. Yet the continuing and expanding use of animals is entrenched in food systems. One policy response frequently suggested by parties from all sectors (industry, government and civil society) is voluntary or mandatory labelling reforms to educate consumers about the healthiness and sustainability of food products, and thus reduce demand. This paper evaluates the pitfalls and potentials of labelling as an incremental regulatory governance stepping-stone to transformative food system change. Methods: We use empirical data from a study of the regulatory politics of animal welfare and environmental claims on Australian products together with an ecological regulation conceptual approach to critically evaluate the potential of labelling as a regulatory mechanism. Results: We show that labelling is generally ineffective as a pathway to transformative food system change for three reasons: it does not do enough to redistribute power away from dominant actors to those harmed by the food system; it is vulnerable to greenwashing and reductionism; and it leads to market segmentation rather than collective political action. Conclusion: We suggest the need for regulatory governance that is ecological by design. Labelling can only be effective when connected to a broader suite of measures to reduce overall production and consumption of meat. We conclude with some recommendations as to how public health advocates and policy entrepreneurs might strategically use and contest labelling and certification schemes to build support for transformative food system change and to avoid the regressive consequences of labelling.

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“…Over the past few decades, policy-makers around the world have introduced various strategies to help consumers in their buying decisions, including food quality schemes and quality labeling [7,8] or origin labeling [9,10], or systems focused on sustainability [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Labels (Quality, Origin, and Sustainability): The Experience of Czech Producers

et al. 2020

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Food labels allow producers to promote the unique selling points of their products and help consumers buy products with value-adding qualities. The aim of the present article is hence to explore Czech food producers’ expectations and experience with selected food labels. The selection was narrowed down to enterprises that had succeeded in the certification processes within the food labeling systems of European quality and origin labels (protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialty guaranteed (TSG)), as well as schemes that fall under the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, such as Klasa (Česká potravina/Czech food, Regionální potravina/regional food, and BIO). The research was made using an online questionnaire in January–February 2018, and was focused on determining possible discrepancies in expectations that the companies had before applying for quality/origin labels and their actual experience with the labelling systems, the benefits they had gained, and their overall experience with the labels. To compare the respondents’ expectations and their actual experience, both the non-parametric Wilcoxon test and t-test were used. The results show that the respondents positively evaluated the effects of marketing communication, but their expectations had been higher than what they experienced.

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The future of environmental sustainability labelling on food products

Cited by 36 publications

References 8 publications

Sustainable food profiling models to inform the development of food labels that account for nutrition and the environment: a systematic review

Sustainable food profiling models to inform the development of food labels that account for nutrition and the environment: a systematic review

Can Labelling Create Transformative Food System Change for Human and Planetary Health? A Case Study of Meat

Food Labels (Quality, Origin, and Sustainability): The Experience of Czech Producers

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