That's Food and Drink

Thursday, 24 November 2022

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Europeans want plant-based milk on offer in schools

The European Commission today (November 24th) presented the preliminary findings from the public consultation on the EU School Fruit, Vegetables and Milk Scheme at a conference in Brussels. The conference was held to gather views to feed into a preliminary Commission proposal on the scheme, to be drafted early in 2023.

At the conference, the Commission revealed the results of the public consultation which found 72% of those who responded want plant-based milks to be included in the scheme.

“We/re delighted by the outcome of the consultation which made overwhelmingly clear plant-based milks have a place in the EU School Scheme,” Lucia Hortelano, EU Policy Manager at ProVeg, said.

“The conference also made several references to the need to transition to a more sustainable scheme, and we believe the introduction of plant-based milks should be one of the solutions ” she added.

The scheme, which benefits over 20 million children across Europe, has massive potential to be a flagship initiative for the inclusion of sustainable and environmentally friendly products for children across Europe.

Incorporating plant-based milks into the school scheme will that the EU really wants to offer greater choice to children who are unable, or unwilling, to consume dairy milk and are seeking out a healthy, climate-friendly, ethical alternative.

Earlier this year, ProVeg raised a petition calling for the inclusion of calcium-fortified, unsweetened plant-based milk into the scheme, which 75,000 people have since signed.

“We already knew many people were in favour of including plant-based milks in the EU scheme but the results of the public consultation shows the vast majority of people in the EU wants this too,” Hortelano said.

“Unsweetened, calcium-enriched plant-based milks offer children greater choice of what they can drink at school mealtimes, allowing those with allergies and intolerances to feel included. Some children are also concerned about animal welfare and with plant milk, these concerns aren't raised,” she pointed out.

“Both the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy and the Beating Cancer plan mention the importance of moving to a more plant-based diet , and this includes plant-based alternatives to conventional dairy products,” she added.

Other NGOs also celebrated the results of the public consultation.

Olga Kikou, Head of Compassion in World Farming EU, said: “These are excellent results that must pave the trajectory of the EU scheme funding school meals. It's time schools start a meaningful transition towards healthier and more sustainable diets, engraining good habits early on in younger generations. Children should have better access to plant-based foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, plant-based milk, legumes, nuts and grains.”

ProVeg International is also aware of the untapped potential this can have for farmers in the European Union and how growing environmental constraints are becoming a major threat to traditional farming livelihoods. Farmers have an important role to play in the just transition towards alternative-protein production and the school scheme broadening its products can play a key role in this transition.

Next steps

Following the outcome of the consultation, ProVeg will continue working with policy makers and the wider public to fill any knowledge gaps that might arise on the inclusion of more plant-based products into the school scheme.

“We think it is important to inform people more about how these products. Moreover, we will continue to highlight how plant-based milks also have the added attraction of being both climate-friendly and animal-friendly - two factors that the EU is keen to incorporate in its programmes,” Hortelano said.

www.proveg.com

Save the Waterside Meadery in Penzance

That's Food and Drink is publishing this petition as a public service:-

"The Waterside Meadery is a family restaurant nestled on the harbour at Penzance. It opened in March 1970 and has been owned and ran by the same family since.

"The Waterside Meadery is not just a restaurant, it's a West Cornwall institution and a real community concern. It has been a thriving business in Penzance and see in the region on 35k visits a year.. It supports local suppliers and trades and does a good amount of work for charity and community ventures.

"As part of the Penzance Town Deal, the Council wish to demolish the building to make way for a freight storage shed for the Steamship company.

"The building has been on the harbour for many years. Originally it was clay sheds, then got repurposed into a cafe and after, became The Waterside Meadery.

"If the council do demolish The Waterside Meadery, not only will 25 people lose their jobs, the owners will lose their livelihood, suppliers will lose thousands of pounds of business and the community will lose their Meadery. The knock on effect is huge.

"Please help and sign the petition to show that, whilst you support progress for Penzance, you do NOT want The Waterside Meadery to be demolished.

"Thank you."

If you wish to sign the petition, the link is here:-

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-waterside-meadery-from-being-demolished

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Palm oil sustainability concerns expressed

Over half of the world’s most significant palm oil companies are failing to publicly assess their suppliers on commitments to sustainability and zero-deforestation, a new assessment by ZSL has found.

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)