Standards/certification | TableDebates

Image: front cover of Fair to Nature report titled “without nature there is no food”

Without nature there is no food

A new report from the UK’s biodiversity certification scheme Fair to Nature explores the topic of nature-friendly and wildlife-friendly farming. The report cites previous consumer research conducted by Fair to Nature which has demonstrated that a majority of consumers in the UK feel more positively about brands that have a certification label related to wildlife and biodiversity protection in the UK.

Fish farming cages in the ocean. Photo by Tapani Hellman via Pixabay.

Journal articles

Achieving conservation and restoration outcomes through ecologically beneficial aquaculture

Aquaculture, the culturing of aquatic organisms, was estimated to have a total global production of 122.6 million tonnes in 2020. This makes it crucial to achieving food security but it can have negative environmental impacts and lead to habitat degradation and destruction.

Toxic Trade

India-UK trade deal threatens pesticide standards and farming

A free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the UK and India could weaken pesticide standards in the UK and could also place UK farmers under pressure from cheaper imports, according to this report from Pesticide Action Network UK, Sustain Alliance and trade expert Dr Emily Lydgate.

Brewing Sustainability in the Coffee and Tea Industries

Brewing Sustainability in the Coffee and Tea Industries

This book uses case studies to show how tea and coffee producers are moving towards production models with environmental and social benefits, in contrast with the previous model of colonial plantations.

Sub Standard

Red Tractor standards are failing to drive pesticide reduction

This report by the Nature Friendly Farming Network, Pesticide Action Network UK and RSPB finds that the UK’s “Red Tractor” food standards label fails to support farmers in reducing pesticide use. It also reports a gap in perceptions of the Red Tractor label between retailers and consumers: retailers see the label as only a guarantee that farmers adhere to national pesticide regulations, while consumers are under the impression that the label indicates more sustainable production practices. The report includes excerpts of a response from Red Tractor.

Image: johnrp, Cumbrian sheep Herdwick, Pixabay, Pixabay Licence

On flesh and the spirit: understanding British Muslims’ meat consumption

Hibba Mazhary is a part-time PhD student in Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. Hibba first entered the department as a BA Geography undergraduate in 2013, before going on to complete an MSc there in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance. She divides her time between fieldwork, teaching undergraduates, and undertaking various part-time research assistant roles, including a project on parenting and the gut microbiome, one on meat normalisation media narratives, and one with the RSPCA on laboratory rat welfare. Hibba is interested in all things farm animal welfare and food sustainability. Her first TABLE blog, in which she sets out the aims of her PhD research, can be found here: Distancing death: slaughter, welfare and consumption in the British halal meat industry.

Image: eliasfalla, Cocoa men Colombia, Pixabay, Pixabay Licence

Journal articles

Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains

This paper reviews the effects of voluntary sustainability standards - such as Fairtrade, organic and Rainforest Alliance - in the food supply chain, discussing several different crops. It argues that while standards can improve production sustainability in some circumstances, they are not alone sufficient to make the whole food system sustainable.

Sourcing Better report cover

Sourcing Better: A pathway to less and better meat and dairy

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.

EU trade policy report cover

EU trade policy for sustainable food systems

This briefing note from European think-tank ECDPM and the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) provides recommendations on how the European Union can use trade policies and agreement to encourage its trading partners to adopt more sustainable food practices. It stresses the importance of consulting marginalised food systems actors and civil society.