The Ultimate Guide to: Sustainable Supply

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 11 specialityfoodmagazine.com GROWER INSIGHT Patrick Holden, founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, has experienced first-hand the evolution of the food supply chain I’ve been farming for over 50 years, and I’ve seen it all. When I started there were local abbatoirs, everything was packed, processed and distributed locally – but since that time it’s become increasingly difficult to supply the local market. We used to grow carrots which went through packhouses throughout the UK, but then the supermarkets realised that if they only had one pack house per commodity product they’d make more money. We live in an era of commodity slavery – once a product has left the farm gate the farmer doesn’t know where it’s going, as supermarkets realised that if they only had one packhouse per commodity product they would make more money. The supermarkets are keeping that secret, as it’s a pretty unattractive story, but the great news is that more consumers want to know where their food is coming from – and it’s up to us to be telling that story. All of the links in the chain have gone, and we have to put them back in again. It’s not simple, and there’s a lot of cost involved, but that’s how we can re- establish a supply chain that can be sustained – and sustainable – for years to come. Everything, from public health to nature, will benefit. It’s not simple, and there’s a lot of cost involved, but that’s howwe can re-establish a supply chain that can be sustained for years to come PATRICK HOLDEN, SUSTAINABLE FOOD TRUST IN THE MID-2010S, TRANSPORTATION REPLACED ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AS THE UK’S SINGLE LARGEST CLIMATE POLLUTER, WITH MOBILITY ON LAND, SEA, AND IN THE AIR NOW ACCOUNTING FOR ROUGHLY 30 PERCENT OF TOTAL EMISSIONS STATISTA DISTRIBUTION CONTRIBUTES 29 PER CENT TO FOOD SYSTEM EMISSIONS, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE GROWING UNITED NATIONS 1% OF NEWHEAVY GOODS VEHICLES SOLD ARE ZERO EMISSION GRIDSERVE