Food Production in Europe: trends and concerns )

FOUNDER of the principles of sustainability Aριστοτέλης, Aristotélēs ARISTOTLE BC Born in Stageira A Greek philosopher; student of Plato; teacher of Alexander the Great

1. To keep in existence; keep up; maintain or prolong 2. To provide for the support of; specif., to provide sustenance or nourishment for 3. To support from or as from below; carry the weight or burden of 4. To strengthen the spirits, courage, etc. of; comfort; buoy up; encourage 5. To bear up against; endure; withstand 6. To undergo or suffer (an injury, loss, etc) 7. To uphold the validity or justice of 8. To confirm; corroborate Source: Webster’s Dictionary of the American Language ARISTOTLE INTRODUCED THE TERM “SUSTAINABILITY” SUSTAIN MEANS:

is the practice of farming using principles of ecology; that is the relationships between organisms and their environment. It integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability prosperous farming communities. Sustainable agriculture…

Sustainable agriculture It has been defined as "an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term to: Satisfy human needs for food and fiber Make the most efficient use of non-renewable and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls Sustain the economic viability of farm operations Enhance quality of life for farmers & society as a whole.”

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEANS: Respect to Nature – cooperation with her understanding that man and nature are bound and interrelated Respect to man and human values (democracy, equality, justice, fraternity, cooperation) Recognition of the special role of plants as the only creatures that bind (“create”) energy, entropy and pollutants (CO 2 ) to create order (chemical compounds). All other creatures consume energy, produce entropy and pollutants to create disorder Use of regenerated resources (i.e. regenerative agriculture) Respect to our roots (heredity), tradition and culture (civilization) Social control of production, distribution and resource management

TERMINOLOGY Food sovereignty Local food movement Slow food movement Holistic management

Food Sovereignty the "right of people to define their own food and agriculture," in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces.

Local food (also regional food or food patriotism) a principle of sustainability relying on consumption of food products that are locally grown

Local food movement a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health (prosperity) of a particular place» It is considered as part of the broader sustainability movement.

Slow food International movement founded by Carlo Petrini (1986)Carlo Petrini Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem.fast foodcuisineplantsseedsecosystem Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products. Slow food unites the pleasure of food with responsibilty, sustainability and harmony with nature (Carlo Pertini, Slow Food Founder)

Holistic Management A systems thinking approach to managing land resources that builds biodiversity, improves production, generates financial strength and improves the quality of life for those who use it.

Food issues in European countries FOOD Production  Globalization induced food production practices  Non sustainable production practices and Food Safety threats  Sustainability and GMO Food  Sustainable food production schemes

Globalization leads to: Increasingly intensified competition & need for introduction of new, non-sustainable production “tools” (techniques) New safety threats of different type and scale compared to known ones – Limited capacity to handle them (food crises) Lack of Social Control on food production

Intensification and food safety threats in animal products: Antibiotics – used as anabolics (growth promoters) Toxins – dioxins, mycotoxins, … New pathogens – BSE (“crazy cow” disease)

Antibiotics used as growth promoters Negative effects : Resistant microorganisms “Loss” of curing power of human antibiotics Difficulty or inability to face common diseases – loss of human lives Major problems with children and elderly Need for animal feed control - first legislative action by Sweeden

Food Toxins – Dioxins Belgian chicken 1999 Contaminated meat-based feeds Difficulties to trace back the origin (small % of raw material used by many feed producers) Preventive damage of huge product quantities, without prevention of health damages Negative impact on food industry reliability Consumer scare Ethical issue: The problem was hidden by the Belgian authorities

Food toxins - Mycotoxins Present in: Nuts, dry fruits Animal feed Impact: Strong carcinogens Additive (cummulative action)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE-crazy cow disease) Cause: Meat-based animal feeds from sick animals (carcasses) produced under lower (than needed) rendering temperatures New (unknown) pathogenic agent – Prion

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Disease characteristics: Extremely high heat resistance Long incubation time Limited knowledge about transmittance Inability to diagnose before slaughter Need for traceability in animal feeds

BSE killing power Specialist opinion before 1996: “The disease is not transmitted to man” Facts: 1996 – first certified death Up to 2001, 89 certified deaths

Food safety threats from Plant products Pesticide residues Nitrites – Nitrates Toxins - mycotoxins

Pesticide residues Old problem with new dimensions Limited information Recent research revealed 40% of samples with dangerous residues 3% above allowed levels 800 chemicals - ΜRL only for 73

Sustainability and Genetically Modified food Crucial issues: Quality and safety Biodiversity Bioethics (Patenting genetic resources) Impact on the institution of Agriculture Impact of food security (food market control) Impact on consumer Rights (free, informed choice) Social control of food production Who is to benefit?

Switching on production priorities: How can we have safe, quality-food? Need to change production priorities, from: low cost acceptable quality questionable safety into: high safety satisfactory quality acceptable cost

FOOD Processing  Creating food from raw materials –Adding value  Use of a firmly priced raw material to produce a large variety of variably priced foods Processing is meant to add: Stability Safety Quality Convenience Acceptance Value  Processing may damage certain quality parameters  Processing may lower nutritional value

Sustainable food processing Using simple, straight forward, low energy, low-impact processing schemes to produce food with superb quality and nutritional value, close to that of fresh product Additional sustainability aspects  Promote the use of local raw materials and ingredients  Minimize raw material losses and improve product yield  Minimize use of additives with preference to natural ingredients (i.e. oreganon oil)  Minimize use of water with recovery, recycling and process modifications  Minimize packaging  Exploit and upgrade waste to produce by-products  Use renewable energy resources and minimize energy demands in food distribution

Examples of food processing tools with aspects of Sustainability  Osmotic processing osmotic dehydration of solid and liquid food osmo-dehydrofreezing) New product possibilities (i.e. premium quality juices, frozen fruits)  Membrane processing  High Pressure Processing (HPP)  Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)  Ultrasonics Safety considerations!!!

Sustainable Food packaging  smart packaging: slow release of antimicrobials; oxygen or moisture scavengers to control packaging atmosphere  active (“live”) packaging materials: plastics or edible coatings with competitive microbial culture to protect a sensitive product, i.e. meat

Sodium caseinate films containing a protective culture of L. sakei A Na-caseinate membrane was developed with the incorporation of viable cells of L. sakei ( 10 6 cells/cm 2 ) « LIVE » - Packaging

Sodium caseinate films containing a protective culture of L. sakei Growth of L.monocytogenes in TSA medium (TSA) on contact & without contact of the antimicrobial films (storage at 5 ο C) L.monocytogenes LAB

Sustainability in food distribution Actual shelf life strongly depends on time- temperature history of product exposure in distribution chain FIFO (First In First Out) principle can prove very wrong Need to continuously monitor actual shelf life Time Temperature Indicators/Integrators (TTI,s ) Tools to protect distribution chains against malpractices that would lead to safety problems (loss of lives) and/or financial + image damages from product recalls

Commercial TTI prototype Before Activation Activation0 hours 90 hours at 10 o C two separate compartments in the form of plastic mini- pouches with the lyophilized culture and the medium with the chromatic indicator At activation, culture and substrate are mixed by mechanically breaking the barrier that separates the two compartments Microbial growth causes lactic acid production and the pH drop is translated in a colour change of the pH indicator from red to bright yellow

ΔΕ Time (h) log CFU/ml pH viable counts ΔΕ pH 8° C Substrate: Microorganism: Chromatic chemical Indicator: Lb. sakei LQC 1089 NB + YE 0.5% w/v + glucose 2% w/v (pH: ) Chlorophenol Red CPR Chlorophenol Red CPR, 1.5% v/v of 0.2% w/v in NaOH Development Of A Microbial Time-Temperature Integrator

Sustainability in food distribution Food labeling and consumer choice Fundamental consumer right: freedom of choice based on adequate, informative labeling US-EU dispute over obligatory labeling of GMO food Nutrition and health information on packaged and non- packaged food; consumers’ awareness of what they eat and its health impact

Sustainability in food distribution Globalizatinon and food market control Remember that Globalization leads to: Intensive competition for distant (global) markets & the need to use non-sustainable production “tools” As a result, we have new safety threats of different type and scale compared to known ones – Limited capacity to handle them (food crises) Lack of Social Control of food production/distribution Food market control is concentrated in huge formations

Oligopolies in food market control With $120 billion in annual revenues, Cargill is bigger than the economies of more than two-thirds of the world's countries, including Kuwait, Peru and Vietnam. Its sales exceed those of Disney, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo -- combined -- and it is nearly twice as large as its next closest competitor, Archer Daniels Midland. (

 Food market control is passing in fewer hands, with low respect to human values or the environment  Small size agribusinesses are gradually (but certainly) being driven to extinction The food system is so centralized that, when a food crisis hits, we are less able to react Oligopolies in food market control

Sustainability in FOOD consumption  Questionable consumption ethics & unsustainable use of food  The obesity and hunger epidemics  Corporate (food industry) responsibility

“Western” style of eating results in: High intake of:  Calories  Sugar  Salt  Animal Fat  Τrans fatty acids  Cholesterol Low intake of:  Fiber  Antioxidants  Essential fatty acids (i.e. ω-3, ω-6)  Trace elements  Vitamins

“Western” type diseases  Obesity  Diabetes mellitus  Hypertension  Cardiovascular diseases  Anemia  Osteoporosis  Cancer

Obesity statistics ( )

What is obesity? Obesity is a modern, “epidemic”, devastating disease largely due to wrong (unsustainable) consumption habits

Wrong eating habits are due to: Lack of nutrition and food education “Lack” of time - Convenience (fast food, TV dinners,..) Entertainment (junk food, soft drinks, alcohol,..) Consumerism (over-consumption, wasting) Fashion and style (consumer “programming”…) Deterioration of the family fabric (crisis of values) Devaluation of the importance of tradition

How can we correct our eating habits?  Improve Food and Nutrition Education at School  Improve public awareness (radio, TV, media)  Improve preventive medical care (prevention vs curing – Medical education?)  Carry out clinical nutrition studies  Establish nutrition policy (State, Federal)  Apply understandable nutritional labeling  Legislate and enforce corporate responsibility

Food & Nutrition education Primary/Secondary School education (canteens?) Universities:  Open, seminar days for senior primary & junior high school students (Pilot program at Aristotle U)  Introductory Food Science & Nutrition courses for non-food majors  Medical School nutritional education (preventive medicine) – so far it is missing

Corporate (food industry) responsibility Study found that companies fail to live up to their pledges to cut down on sugar, salt, trans-fat, cholesterol, serving sizes, calories Producers, retailers and restaurant chains accused The world's top 25 food companies have not taken significant action to improve diets despite their claims Researchers at City University reviewed the companies' policies on nutrition, research and development, marketing, labelling and other criteria relating to health

"Their performance is by and large pathetic. The companies that appear to be doing the most are the ones under intense pressure because their product ranges are the unhealthiest, but there is a whiff of desperation about what they are doing rather than long-term commitment to better food." Tim Lang, one of the authors of the report: “ The Food Industry: Diet, Physical Activity and Health. "

Conclusions The entire world is suffering from food in one way or other Developing countries are suffering from lack of food (hunger) Developed countries are suffering from wrong use of food and lack of food (obesity and hunger) Citizen - Consumer education is needed to correct eating habits and fight obesity/diet diseases Questionable production ethics put food safety at a high risk

Globalization, GMO’s, biofuel production pose severe threats to world food security Sustainability is a major issue in all stages of food production, processing, distribution and consumption Our society needs to meet a big challenge: Secure access to Safe Food and Healthy eating for All

Thanks for your kind attention!!!