The government’s role in enabling sustainable food production and consumption

1. The government’s role in enabling sustainable food production and consumption Anne Moxnes Jervell National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO) Food: safety and sustainability, a common project of producers and consumers? Utrecht, 23rd June 2005 Rural Sociology Group, Wageningen University

2. A Norwegian view.. Inge Grødum, Aftenposten 1999

3. Norway: marginal farming Farming on the margin..

4. Producer Support Estimates

5. Topics • Sustainable food production • Local production vs trade • Environmental vs social sustainability • Sustainable food consumption • Food security • Nutrition and health effects • The role of government • Agricultural policy • Food safety regulation • Consumer and nutritional policy

6. Sustainable food production and consumption • Definition of sustainability • Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment & Development) • Producing and consuming without reducing the (total) capital available for future use.

7. Local food production vs trade? • Local production has local effects • Negative externalities (pollution, lasting effects?) • Restrictions and regulations, organic agriculture • Positive externalities (landscape) • Subsidies, basis for tourism, quality of life • Trade in global commodities can • increase efficiency in resource use • remove consumers from negative external effects of production

8. Ex. Local and global markets Figur fra: Forsman 2001: Resource-Based Strategy Analysis: A Case of Local Food Processing Firms in Finland, In Borgen (ed) The Food Sector in Transition- Nordic Research, NILF-Report 2001-2

9. Ex. Local agenda 21 initiatives Municipalities focusing environmental costs of imported foods and the question of local food supply

10. Environmental vs social sustainability: • Environmental sustainability: production without negative effects on environmental capital • Effects of farm structure on environment (monocult) • Effects of farming systems on environment (pesticides) • Indirect effects from transport (global warming) • Social sustainability: production with positive effects on human and social capital • The regional population and employment effects of local agricultural and food production • The welfare and distributional effects of trade

11. Sustainable food consumption? • Food security • Long term food security • Productive capacity, management of resources (fisheries) • A sustainable diet (in periods of shortage ex WW 2) • Meat consumption • Health effects • National nutrition policies promoting a healthy diet • Rising obesity rates and diabetes prevalence

12. Nutrition policies • From policies directed towards supplying enough foods dominated the post-war period, • focus shifted in the 1970s and 1980s towards reducing the intake of fat. • Protectionism and food prices: countries with higher pSE levels (and food prices) have lower obesity rates.. • But: prices of food commodities have a diminishing share of total food prices.

13. Consumption trends

14. Diverging trends in the food markets? • Globalization and international standardization • Trans-national companies • Globally converging consumption patterns AND • Local differentiation • Food related tourism • Interest in speciality products in the high-income population

15. The case for local or regional food • Value-adding • Cultural identity and traditional products • Food as part of a tourism product • Quality and freshness • Environmental effects • Positive environmental effects of food production • Sustainability and self-sufficiency • Development • Producer-consumer contact stimulates innovation • Increased diversity and differentiation

16. The ABC of Policies that affect food productionand consumption • Agro-food sector policies (agricultural policy, food sector regulation) • Support to production in non-competitive regions • Regulation and competition policy • Barriers to food trade (tariffs, standards, TBT) • Reductions in tariffs • Increased importance of technical barriers • Consumer policy and food safety regulations • Nutrition policies, labeling, nutritional information • Hygienic standards, traceability, disease control

17. Ministry of agriculture and foodhttp://odin.dep.no/lmd/html/multifunc/ The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is responsible for food and agricultural policymaking. The food policy aims to provide consumers with wholesome, high quality food products, and to ensure that the food production process is carried out with environmental, public health and animal welfare concerns in mind. Multifunctional agriculture: the case of Norway Beyond its primary role of producing food and fibreagriculture also contributes to the viability of rural areas, food security, the cultural heritage and environmental benefits such as the agricultural landscape, agro-biological diversity, land conservation and high standards of plant, animal and public health.

18. Ex. Organic agriculture • The role of government: • Setting goals: Norway – 10% of acreage in organic farming • Subsidizing conversion • Certification bodies and labelling systems BUT: in Norway only 10-30% of organic food is sold and consumed as organic • Public procurement of organic products (ex Denmark)

19. Ex. International standards

20. Ex. Food Safety and consumers • The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is a governmental body. Our goal is that consumers should have healthy and safe food and safe drinking water. We promote human, plant, fish and animal health, environmentally friendly production, and ethically acceptable farming of animals and fish. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority also performs duties relating to cosmetics and medicines, and inspects animal health personnel. • www.mattilsynet.no

21. Government Food Consumers Producers

22. Development last 20 years with respect to safety etc. (>1 improvement <1 worse)? >1 improved <1 worse

23. Concluding: • Policies can have negative or positive effects on sustainability – and the evaluation of effects will depend on level (global, regional, local) • National policies are strongly influenced by international context, industry actors (producers), and more recently, consumer interests.