Ulf Bohman, director of the Department of Nutrition, established new food guidelines. (Photo: SNFA/Stock File)

New food labels display product carbon emissions

SWEDEN
Thursday, October 29, 2009, 00:30 (GMT + 9)

Sweden has begun featuring labels listing carbon emissions resulting from food production on some grocery items and restaurant menus. The country expects to cut its emissions from the production of foods by 20-50 per cent.

Sweden is the first country to tackle this task, according to Ulf Bohman, head of the Nutrition Department at the Swedish National Food Administration (SLV). Bohman established new food guidelines with equal weight for climate and health last year, reports Environmental Leader.

Each food label reads "Climate declared” or the kilos of carbon dioxide per kilo of product.

The concept was developed in 2005 when a government study found that 25 per cent of national per capita emissions stemmed from food consumption. The system takes into account fertilizer emissions and fuel for harvesting machinery, packaging and transport, Tainted Green reports.

Fish are not a recommended food under the new programme, as European fish stocks are being depleted and numerous fishing methods are environmentally harmful.

Another recommendation is the substitution of beans or chicken for red meat, as the raising of cattle results in significant greenhouse gas emissions.

A different aspect that contributes to the emissions impact of a particular food is how and where it is grown. This involves the type of soil used and whether a dairy farmer uses local or imported feed for the cattle.

Producers opposed to the new programmes argue that they are too complicated and will cause them to lose money. Also, numerous food producers and groups, such as the European meat industry, Norwegian salmon farmers and Malaysian palm oil growers, have criticised the dietary recommendations, which are currently being circulated for comment across the European Union (EU).

Scandinavia’s primary organic certification program, KRAV, will demand that farmers switch to low-emissions methods to acquire the right to place the new seal on their products. This would mean that most greenhouse tomatoes will no longer be called organic, and farmers with high concentrations of peat soil in their land may be forbidden from growing carrots due to the copious amounts of carbon dioxide that emanates from peat.

KRAV will also require that hothouses use biofuels for heating next year and dairy farms will have to obtain at least 70 per cent of their cattle feed locally.

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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