Wednesday 14 March 2012

Sustainable Food Production




The definition of sustainability is not straightforward.


If we look at the extreme, fruits and vegetables would be stored in a pit instead of a refrigerator and meat eaten fresh, salted or smoked. Goods would be delivered via alternative energy transport in their organic unpackaged state. Ultimately one would eat only food produced in close proximity to oneself and done so without the use of fossil energy. 
Not too many generations ago we were a lot closer to this level of sustainability than we are today. I clearly remember my grandmother's pantry with all sorts of pickled product from the seasons, jams, jellies and juices. She even candied cherries for cherry sauce in preparation for Christmas rice à l'impératrice. In the garden, she had two pits, one for fruits and one for root vegetables and cabbage. The rest of the garden's harvest waited quietly in her freezer where she hid the blanched peas, beans and other goodies.

Today we are unfortunately far in the opposite direction. A basic global calculation in food production shows that 10 Kcal are used to produce a single edible Kcal. Which makes not just environmental bad sense but is also a serious consideration for business productivity.

If we at Aarstiderne could determine the future of global food production, then our goal is to see energy efficiency once again firmly in the opposite direction and sustainability at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
And while we know very well that we have far to go, Aarstiderne aim to face the right direction and to constantly evolve our own sustainability. We neutralize our emissions, have a "no fly policy" and focus strategically on the many wonderful local products that we find.
(SMcW)

2 comments:

  1. I actually dropped Aarstiderne because it seemed to me that too many boxes you propose have most products imported. The only one I could see which had exclusively Danish products was Dogmakasse, but it is too big for a single person. Therefore it surprises me that you state you "focus strategically on the wonderful local products that we find", as even in the best growing season in Denmark, I always found many imported products in my Mixkasse. Could you please explain this (maybe only apparent) contradiction? thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might be interested to read Søren's blog on 'Food miles' (posted in translation here on Soil to Stove) to find out more about how, surprisingly, sometimes local produce can have a more detrimental impact on the environment than imported produce.
      We love to hear ideas from customers about how boxes can be adapted - for example, a smaller Dogmakasse - so, please do join the ideas forum at http://idekassen.aarstiderne.com
      Thank you for taking the time to comment.

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

How do you say it?

How do you say it?