This report from Eating Better assesses the meat and dairy sourcing policies of 10 supermarkets in the UK against the “Sourcing Better” framework. It finds that progress is uneven across different impact categories, and that there are no commitments to raise fewer animals or reduce the amount of meat and dairy sold. Broadly, the report finds that retailers are more active in aiming for responsible antibiotic use, good animal welfare and no deforestation, and less active in areas including local pollution, water use, soil health and using less land for feed.

This report from UK NGO Eating Better offers guidance for local authorities on how to source and serve healthier, more sustainable meals, for example in schools. It focuses on meat and dairy and proposes a 25% reduction in the amount of meat (of all types) and dairy served by local authorities, as well as sourcing 25% of meat and dairy served from “better” production systems. “Better” in this case means farming that uses lower levels of antibiotics, emphasises local feed sources and promotes animal welfare. The higher costs of “better” meat and dairy can be offset by increased use of vegetables and plant protein.

This paper uses interviews with senior representatives of the UK food retail sector to explore how retailers view sustainable diets and the extent to which “less and better” meat and dairy plays a part in these understandings. It finds that retailers have diverse understandings of sustainable diets, and that these seldom include “less and better” meat and dairy. While retailers are implementing strategies to improve the sustainability of their meat and dairy supply chains, none of the retailers studied are actively trying to reduce the amount of meat they sell. 

UK NGO Eating Better has launched a new framework to guide retailers and restaurants towards sourcing “better” meat, in line with its aim of halving UK meat and dairy consumption by 2050 and transitioning to “better” meat and dairy as standard.

This study, co-authored by Table member Dr Toni Meier, measures the nutritional value, environmental impacts and food waste associated with catering facilities in Hesse, Germany. The project examined company canteens, prison kitchens and a restaurant run by a vocational training institute. 

This report by Lloyd’s Register (a UK-based provider of professional services for engineering) surveyed 1000 UK shoppers. It finds that one in three shoppers are concerned about food safety, only 19% are very confident that the vegetarian or vegan food they eat does not contain meat, nearly two thirds of people sometimes check the country of origin of food they buy, and 85% of shoppers think it is fairly or very important for supermarkets to source their products ethically and sustainably.

The UK’s Local Government Association (LGA) has called for industry to stop creating non-recyclable food packaging, saying that “Councils have done all they can,” to tackle the issue of plastic recycling. The LGA has found that only one-third of plastic packaging used by households can be recycled.

This special edition of ‘Duurzaam Bedrijfsleven’ (in Dutch) is dedicated to food issues.

This report by the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) presents both evidence and recommendations for European policy development on sustainable healthy diets. Starting with an overview of the health and environmental consequences of dietary habits this report moves on to present an analysis of individual and societal costs and benefits of implementing sustainable healthy diets, and a list of the European actors and institutions working on this issue. It also looks at evidence of progress from different European countries (FBDG Food Based Dietary Guidelines, Labeling, fiscal policy, procurement and other EU regional level initiatives).