Have you heard about the
“climate-friendly food labeling system”? As I mentioned last post in my blog, over the winter vacation I studied the Swedish case for cutting global warming or greenhouse effects by developing the climate-friendly food labeling system. According to the Swedish government, this system, known as the “climate labeling for food project,” is intended to “reduce the negative climate effects in food production and give consumers a chance to make conscious climate choices as well as strengthening the competitiveness of the food producers.” Starting with a preliminary project in 2007, some Swedish governnent agencies, KRAV and Swedish Seal, attempted to create a guideline or standard regarding climate labeling with the support of several policy actors including food chains, interest groups, and academics. One interesting thing regarding this labeling is that it shows how much carbon dioxide is emitted during the whole life cycle of a certain food, from production through cultivation, transportation, to serving the customers; for exmaple,
“Climate declared: .87 kg CO2 per kg of product.” According to the New York Times, if the new food guidelines were religiously heeded, Sweden could cut its emissions from food production by 20% to 50%.
I would like to see real climate-friendly food labeling used in Sweden, but it is hard to find it because the implementation of this labeling system is in the early age. Fortunately, I found some examples in Blomqvist’s master’s thesis,
Different Types of Climate Labels for Food Products, published in 2009. Here are some climate-friendly food labels in Sweden.
If you are interested in the Swedish climate-friendly food labeling system, please see these web pages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/europe/23degrees.html?_r=1&ref=dininghttp://www.peachygreen.com/going-green/swedish-food-labelshttp://www.krav.se/Klimat-08/Klimatprojektet/In-English/http://www.klimatmarkningen.se/in-english/
This idea seems like it could potentially make a big impact. It seems like people would change eating habits, consumption, and quite possibly change their monetary habits on food based on this. Also, it might make more of a difference because people are seeing a number or figure attached to a product. I would like to the developments of this. Thanks for the post and the site links.
ReplyDeleteThis project, climate-friendly food labeling system, is very interesting idea. Is there any research to measure the effectiveness of the project since 2007? I know it is too early to determine if it works, but I am just curious about it. Thanks for introducing the peculiar way to solve the environmental issue.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Blake and Hyeonja. I agree with your thoughts. Swedish efforts to create a climate-friendly food labeling system are meaningful and very suggestive to other countries. However, how effectively and efficiently this system works and is implemented will and should be an important consideration for the benchmark of this system. In reference to Hyeonja’s comment, one of the big problems or limitations of this system is related to measurement. According to the Swedish government, the label such as “Climate declared: .87 kg CO2 per kg of product” is a product of a very complex mathematical calculation made by scholars. However, the citizens may find it hard to interpret this food label: whether this figure means a healthy or environmentally-friendly situation or not. Another problem is balance of several existing methods of food labeling. Several countries have already used some food labeling, such as food ingredient labeling, so the introduction of a climate-friendly food labeling system should be carefully worked out with the support or balance of existing food labeling. As you guys mentioned, Swedish efforts regarding realization of a climate-friendly food cycle through production, transportation, and distribution are very suggestive to all of us living in today’s world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this information. It is a very interesting concept and I wonder if the U.S. is even considering doing a labeling system like Sweden's. I think most consumers want to be as "green" as possible but are challenged by the amount of information that is available. It can be very time consuming and complicated to figure out what information is the most accurate and updated. This is a great example of making sustainable living marketable.
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