{"id":5696,"date":"2015-12-01T11:44:53","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T16:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=5696"},"modified":"2025-06-11T13:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:17:03","slug":"5-steps-to-move-food-production-from-transparency-to-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2015\/12\/01\/5-steps-to-move-food-production-from-transparency-to-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"5 steps to move food production from transparency to sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Credit:<\/a>
Credit: Flickr user Brian Talbot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new survey from the Center for Food Integrity suggests that transparency is no longer optional for food companies. Consumers want to know what\u2019s in their food, where it\u2019s from, and how its production helps or harms the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers increasingly expect their favorite brands to assure more than quality and safety,\u201d said the center\u2019s CEO, Charlie Arnot. \u201cThey now expect those brands to assure the supply chain is also transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transparency will bring companies\u2019 environmental impacts to light\u2013 which can then motivate improvement. But it doesn\u2019t guarantee sustainability \u2013 especially when it comes to agriculture. That\u2019s because it\u2019s up to food companies themselves to do the heavy lifting \u2013 to address the actual environmental impacts of food production.<\/p>\n

For food companies to reach their sustainability goals, transparency is often just the first step. Here\u2019s what follows.<\/p>\n

1. Think big and dig deeper<\/strong><\/p>\n

A food company won\u2019t meet consumers\u2019 transparency demands if it just shares information on emissions from food processing facilities. True transparency requires companies to look beyond their own walls to the impacts of their entire supply chains<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t easy, since the supply chain in food production often starts with thousands of independent grain farmers. But it\u2019s a necessity, because supply chain emissions almost always dwarf a company\u2019s direct emissions. For example, when retail giant Walmart assessed its footprint,<\/a> it found that the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions for nearly half its top products was from fertilizer, which is applied to crops that end up as ingredients on Walmart\u2019s grocery shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers increasingly expect their favorite brands to assure more than quality and safety.\u00a0They now expect those brands to assure the supply chain is also transparent.\u201d – Center for Food Integrity CEO Charlie Arnot<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n2. Ask for help<\/strong><\/p>\n

While increasing numbers of companies recognize that sustainability is smart business<\/a>, many businesses are left with the question of what to do about it. This is where collaboration comes in.<\/p>\n

For example, EDF is working with Smithfield Foods, Campbell\u2019s Soup and others to figure out how they can reduce GHG emissions from their agricultural supply chains without increasing the cost of food \u2013 or imposing major burdens on farmers. One way we\u2019re doing this is by connecting these companies with SUSTAIN\u2122, a platform developed by EDF and United Suppliers that equips ag retailers with the tools and knowledge they need to guide farmers on the best, proven technologies for sustainable farm management. Food companies can ask for and help invest in the deployment of SUSTAIN in their sourcing areas.<\/p>\n

To ensure that sustainability initiatives are truly resulting in gains for farmers and the environment, they must be based on the best available science. Land grant universities, which have served as important partners for EDF, can provide this guidance in getting the science right.<\/p>\n

3. Collect data<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transparency requires food companies to understand their impacts, and understanding requires data. Data collection helps food companies to understand how their current actions are working, to track progress towards goals, and to understand how they can improve.<\/p>\n

Unilever, for example, is working to improve the way it grows soy<\/a>, a key ingredient for Hellman\u2019s mayonnaise. The soy growers working with Unilever currently collect data on performance, by using Field to Market\u2019s tools for calculating emissions and water efficiency.<\/p>\n

Unilever and its partners are still working on how to turn that data into recommendations and assistance for farmers who want to improve their farms\u2019 environmental performance \u2013 but they can\u2019t determine those recommendations without data.<\/p>\n

\"MB-Grain_logo_rgb\"<\/a>4. Find the low-hanging fruit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some sustainability goals may take years to reach, but in the meantime, there\u2019s low-hanging fruit: invest in soil health and fertilizer efficiency.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Smithfield Foods is doing. The world\u2019s largest pork company realized that the grains grown to feed animals require a lot of fertilizer, much of which isn\u2019t absorbed by the plant \u2013 causing air and water pollution. So the sustainability team at Smithfield developed MBGro, a program that helps farmers learn best practices in soil health and fertilizer optimization.<\/p>\n

MBGro<\/a> also makes good business sense for Smithfield: growing grain locally versus importing animal feed provides significant cost savings for the company.<\/p>\n

5. Continue to improve<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sustainability is achieved when the economic, social, and environmental impacts of production are balanced and can continue to support future generations. That\u2019s a tall order that will require ongoing commitment and leadership. But the journey will yield immediate benefits for food companies, farmers, the environment, and consumers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new survey from the Center for Food Integrity suggests that transparency is no longer optional for food companies. Consumers want to know what\u2019s in their food, where it\u2019s from, and how its production helps or harms the planet. \u201cConsumers increasingly expect their favorite brands to assure more than quality and safety,\u201d said the center\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120554],"tags":[234,84723,152,42756,63845,36786,70809,58953,71637,57126,59702,71659,39994,885],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-agriculture-tag","tag-center-for-food-integrity","tag-climate-change","tag-farmers","tag-food-production","tag-food-security","tag-ghg-mitigation","tag-nitrogen","tag-nutrient-efficiency","tag-smithfield","tag-unilever","tag-united-suppliers","tag-walmart","tag-water-quality"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15556,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5696\/revisions\/15556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5696"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}