Thursday, 24 November 2022
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Palm oil sustainability concerns expressed
ZSL’s annual SPOTT ranking of palm oil producers, processors and traders found while 39% of companies report a clear process to assess suppliers, the remaining 61% have limited or no public commitments for evaluating the risk of their suppliers being associated with habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, which is vital to ensuring a sustainable future for palm oil.
The SPOTT analysis also learned only 58% of companies have a public zero-deforestation commitment that applies to all their suppliers, and just 12% disclosed a time-bound action plan for suppliers to become compliant with sustainable palm oil sourcing commitments.
Eleanor Spencer, ZSL’s Sustainable Business Specialist for Asia says: “Palm oil can be a difficult topic due to unsustainable practices linked to the industry, like deforestation, being some of the biggest contributors to habitat and biodiversity loss across the tropics, but it doesn’t need to be that way.
“As demand for palm oil continues to grow, ZSL is calling for the industry to provide stronger transparency on its assessment of and support for suppliers at all levels of the supply chain, to guarantee they're complying with key social and environmental commitments, plus legal requirements, necessary to play their part in addressing biodiversity and climate crises.
“Without transparent supplier evaluations and support, it’s impossible to know whether supply chains are avoiding environmentally damaging practices. Risk assessments really are vital to improve sustainability in palm oil production and prevent so-called greenwashing.”
The analysis reveals only 11 companies report having a programme to support high-risk mills in ensuring compliance with their sourcing policies, presenting another opportunity for deforestation to enter the supply chain.
Eleanor went to to say: “The current lack of support in these areas may become a bigger issue for some businesses when the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) comes into force in 2023. This will require palm oil and related products sold in the EU are produced without causing deforestation and human rights abuses. Without clear processes for assessing and engaging with suppliers on compliance, it's hard to see how some companies will meet these requirements.”
Alongside threatening the vast array of species living in the tropical forests of Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, deforestation and peatland draining has far-reaching repercussions through accelerating climate change by releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Most of the palm oil produced globally is used for food and in consumer goods, like lipsticks, biscuits and shampoos, but it is increasingly being used in biofuels for transport, electricity and heating.
Eleanor explained: “Palm oil is one of the most efficient vegetable oils to grow in terms of yield per hectare and so a complete rejection of its use could have unintended negative impacts, as a less efficient alternative may be adopted in its place. ZSL believes one of the fundamental steps to achieving sustainability is through increased transparency and commitments, which is why it’s concerning that so many companies continue to score so low in our assessment."
The analysis found four of the assessed companies, Royal Industries Indonesia PT, Sazean Holdings, Groupe Blattner Elwyn and Atama Plantation Sarl scored a shocking 0% across all assessment criteria.
Peter van der Werf, Executive Director Active Ownership at asset management company Robeco said: “We have a shared responsibility to halt deforestation. To address biodiversity loss, palm oil companies need to provide clear sustainability expectations towards their suppliers and empower them to move towards efficient and conversion-free planting and harvesting practices that allow for both food security and environmental resilience.”
Palm oil buyers, financiers and stakeholders can view SPOTT’s assessments and take advantage of a range of support tools to track transparency and benchmark progress at www.spott.org.
ZSL will call on world leaders to put nature at the heart of all decision-making at the UN Biodiversity Conference this December - to better protect ecosystems, wildlife and the communities who rely on them. Find out more at www.zsl.org.
(Image courtesy of Ria Sopala and Pixabay)
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Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Choose Naturally Lean Wild Game for Your January Healthy Eating Plan Recipes Included
That's why growing numbers of people are switching to game as part of a diet or healthy eating plan. Another important reason is wild game is typically much more flavoursome and interesting than farmed meat, due to the fact game animals are free to roam and enjoy a natural and varied diet.
Game specialist Wild and Game's popular annual January healthy eating recipe box will be available at www.wildandgame.co.uk from January 1 2023. It contains seven low fat recipes and all the game that you will need to cook them.
Recipes include: chilli partridge with peanut noodles, creamy Nordic venison with skinny mash, grilled lemon pheasant with fusilli, Uzbek plov (a type of pilaf that's an absolute doddle to make and tastes amazing), pheasant lemon tikka chapattis, Mongolian venison rice bowls, and peppered venison steaks with roasted vegetables.
The recipe box costs £49.99 or £44.99 if you subscribe to monthly boxes.
Wild and Game co-founder Steven Frampton said: “We can't believe how quickly our January healthy eating box has come around again. It's been a jam-packed year in which we hit some major milestones, including raising £500,000 in our first ever crowdfunder and moving to your very own distribution centre in the West Country.
"We've also launched plenty of new products, including our new game ready meals, which are also an excellent option for anyone who is counting their calories. Our January healthy eating box is always a popular choice, and it really demonstrates what a versatile, healthy ingredient game is – it's not just about winter stews and pies. We hope our customers love these new recipes as much as we do.”
Here are some recipes kindly supplied by Wild and Game:-
Uzbek venison plov
Feeds 4-6
Ingredients
500g diced venison
Vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 ½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
500ml beef stock
A whole head of garlic, end cut off to expose cloves
2 bay leaves
Salt
500g basmati rice
Parsley to serve (optional).
Method
1. Heat a glug or two of vegetable oil in a large, shallow, lidded pan and fry the onion and carrot until starting to soften.
2. Add the venison and brown.
3. Add the cumin and chilli powder and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the stock and garlic.
5. Heat until bubbling then simmer very gently for 2 hours.
6. Add the rice, a couple of generous pinches of salt, the bay leaves and enough water to cover the rice by 2cm.
7. Heat until bubbling then turn the heat down low and simmer very gently with the lid on for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
8. Switch off the heat and leave with the lid on for 10 minutes.
9. Serve sprinkled with parsley, if using.
Peppered venison steak with roasted vegetables
Feeds 2
Ingredients
2 venison steaks
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
4-6 generously sized new potatoes
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
A few sprigs of rosemary
4 tbsp olive oil for the vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil for the potatoes
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200C/190C fan/gas mark 6.
2. Place each potato between the handles of two wooden spoons and slice finely, with the spoon handles stopping you from slicing through the whole potato.
3. Remove the steaks from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
4. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet and spoon over the olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, a clove of crushed garlic, and a little rosemary.
5. Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes.
6. Put the vegetables into a roasting tin along with the olive oil, rosemary, remaining garlic and a little salt and pepper. Toss until covered with the oil.
7. Roast the vegetables (and continue to roast the potatoes) in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Keep an eye on the vegetables and the potatoes and remove when done.
8. Meanwhile, lightly oil a griddle pan and cook the steaks for 2-3 minutes each side on high heat and 4 minutes each side on a low heat. As they cook, grind on a generous amount of black pepper and sprinkle on a few pinches of sea salt. When done to your liking, rest for 5 minutes.
9. Serve the steaks with the potatoes and vegetables.
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