Sustainability in the Food Industry - Term Paper Example

REFLECT ON THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE RETAIL FOOD AND FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRIES By Date Introduction Food is a very critical element for the survival of all living things on earth. Thus utmost care must be taken when handling the whole process of production and manufacturing of foodstuffs to ensure the end products are safe and suitable for consumption by the end users without subjecting them to any health risk (Coles, 2011). The food industry especially in Europe and in specific in the United Kingdom has revolutionized over the years since as times goes by new legislation and industry practices come into place with the sole aim of improving service delivery and the overall quality of the output that is presented to the end users in the marketplace. Since this is a very critical area lot of interest is vested in this sector both because of the high financial returns that are associated with it as well as the fact that it touches on the general welfare of the health of the society (Coles, 2011). Sustainable Diet In the twenty-first century there is a high prevalence of lifestyle related diseases which are as a result of inappropriate living habits and especially the kind of foods that people consume (Great Britain, 2011). Research carried out by the University of Nottingham recently indicated that 33% of the population of United Kingdom is obese. Obesity is not a hereditary condition that is passed on in the genes rather it is a condition that arises due to the kind of lifestyles that people lead especially the kind of foods they consume as well as their social life which includes physical activities and the like. Health organizations has over time tried to bring together proprietors in the food industry to come up with a common objective of ensuring sustainability in the industry rather than being profit oriented thus foregoing the health of the entire society (Coles, 2011). It is prudent to note that some unscrupulous business firms will produce foodstuffs that are ideally not fit for healthy human consumption but will go ahead to do so just because they will leap some good revenue out of the process but not bearing in mind the health impact their actions will cause to the consumers of the products. However, advanced societies like the United Kingdom have stipulated tough rules and regulations that govern and monitor business firms that operate in the food industry to ensure the dietary content of their products is within the stipulated health standards and has no health impacts to the end users whatsoever. This has ensured despite the sensitivity of the food sector in business discipline and high level integrity is maintained so as to ensure the health of the entire society is protected (Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics & Zollitsch, 2007). Packaging and Waste The manner in which goods are packed is done in attractive and colourful designs so as to catch the eyes of the potential buyers and entice them into buying the goods. Thus the producers will do everything as far as attractive and decorative packaging is done so as to capture the appeal of the customers to ensure they notice the product on the shelf and purchase it at the end (Great Britain, 2011). However, most products and especially foodstuffs are often packed using non-degradable materials such as polythene bags and plastic bags that after being used cause pollution to the environment in terms of how they are disposed (Blay-Palmer, 2008). Plastic bags are not environmental friendly and the moment they serve their purpose of packaging they are often dumped in the environment and since they are not bio degradable they will stay there for long unless they are burnt and in which they will in turn cause air pollution due to the poisonous gases that are produced in the process of combustion (Coles, 2011). Government agencies together with non-governmental organizations have stepped up efforts to ensure they drum support for the use of environmental friendly materials for packaging to reduce the effects they have on the environment. This includes the use of eco-friendly bags by shoppers for conducting the shopping exercise and also all goods and especially food products to be packed in eco-materials for instance by using paper or any other material that does not pose adverse effects on the environment (Blay-Palmer, 2008). Ethical and Social Issues Ethics has broad application in entirely all aspects of life in this case it is prudent to note that food is very sensitive, and it directly influences the lives of human beings that consume it. Any wrong step are measure that is taken will either impact the end users positively or negatively depending whether it is done in the right manner or bad faith with exterior intentions(Adams, 2004). Thus the business people in the food sector have the moral obligation of ensuring that they are open in their dealings to ensure they at all times put the health of the consumers and the core objectives so as to ensure the products that are manufactured and later distributed to the end users are safe and of the recommended quality (Great Britain, 2011). Despite the fact that all business ventures are profit oriented it should be clear in this case that the health of the society is supreme and should not come second to any other objective hence health of the consumers supersedes any other goal or objectives of the organizations (Adams, 2004). Moreover, the patent laws that safeguard the genetically modified organism are designed in a manner that they are against the farmers from low-income countries like UK but only seek to protect the interest of the few agri-business companies that own the strains (Blay-Palmer, 2008). The patents protect any other third party from copying the strains that have already been developed and gives the owners of the strains exclusive rights to own and transfer the strains to other parties at a cost. This creates a monopoly in the genetically modified organism whereby the few agri-business firms owning the strains to set exorbitant prices for the strains such that farmers from poor countries like Ghana could not afford to buy them and thus implement genetically modified organism technology in their farming practice (Baldwin, 2012). Greenhouse Gases With the current changes in the climate patterns in several parts of the world food production techniques have evolved and are more concentrated in the use of greenhouses to produce foods that do not feel the harsh impact of the climatic conditions which will otherwise affect their growth and development. Thus with the high dependency of greenhouses in the production of foodstuffs the techniques has both merits and demerits. The method is useful since it is capable of producing quality organisms that are free from the harsh climatic conditions while at the same time they come handy with demerits (Blay-Palmer, 2008). The major setback for this technique of food production is that causes accumulation of greenhouse gases that include carbon dioxide and ozone gas which have detrimental impacts on the environment (Great Britain, 2011). Genetically modified organisms are characteristic of producing pollen grains to the atmosphere. Since these crops have been genetically engineered with various species some from harmful organism, they will tend to pollute the environment with harmful pollen grains which may cause allergens to the farmers who will be tendering the farms. That notwithstanding, the harmful pollen when released to the atmosphere they may kill insects that may be coming to suck the pollen grains some which play a vital role in the reproduction of crops in the ecosystem (Robertson, Paul & Harwood, 2000). This will hamper the reproduction cycle in a number of crops thus a threat to food security. GMOs, on the other hand, encourage monoculture system of crop farming whereby the entire fields are planted with the same type of crop. The practise will result in loss of crop diversity in the ecosystem and thus posing a great danger to food security to especially the surging population in developing countries like Ghana where the population are dependent on crop farming for all their basic needs (Great Britain, 2011). Sustainable Procurement Every business that runs an inventory control must have an elaborate supply chain for disseminating information and its products right from the process of manufacturing until when the products reach the ultimate consumers. Supply chain is the network of firms that are performing various processes that enhance the value of products and services that are produced value for the consumers (Lambert & Cooper, 2000). The primary objective that food organizations implement supply chain management is to compress the time taken for products and services to move from the manufacturing process to the designated consumer, waste reduction, reducing the unit cost of the products and enhancing flexibility by ensuring the response time to consumer complaints is reduced as possible (Great Britain, 2011). Competition is part of the drivers for changes in the market thus organizations have to improve their supply chains in order to counter the changes and obtain a competitive advantage over their market rivals. Initially, firms would gain a competitive advantage in supply chain through only two dimensions that are quality and price of products (Lambert & Cooper, 2000). However, with the advancement of technology and advancement of business practices there are a number of dimensions through which the supply chain of an organization can gain a competitive advantage (Blay-Palmer, 2008). Still price or cost of the products and services remain a dimension in the new front businesses are striving to compress the time taken from manufacturing process to when it reaches the ultimate consumers in a bid to reduce any associated cost that they may attract in the supply chain channel which may rise the cost of those goods. Providing customers with quality goods and services that are equivalent to what they have paid. In some cases the products may be designed to have superior quality at a low cost as a marketing strategy to attract customers but later on increase the price when the products have commanded a substantial market base (Coles, 2011). Technology Technology is the driving force for almost every operation in the modern world. However, the rate in which technology is changing is so high that most business organizations cannot absorb it into their operations (Petersen, Handfield & Ragatz, 2005). In order to leverage from the benefits that come with efficient supply chain management practical application of technology in supply chain management needs to be undertaken to ensure the impact of technological advancement is felt in the business (Great Britain, 2011). If a technology is integrated into supply chain management, it will aid in time compression thus ensuring the time between manufacturing and delivery of the products to the clients is minimized. This will enable dependable delivery of goods and services as they will be delivered in time to satisfy the demands of the consumers adequately (Lambert & Cooper, 2000). Supply chain knowledge on the other hand is becoming more precise and technical, thus, firms need to train their employees in supply chain management to enlighten them to ensure they are able to discern emerging issues in the business arena and hence take elaborate measures to ensure the business always obtains a competitive advantage (Blay-Palmer, 2008). In light of supply chain management knowledge firms must invest in talented professionals who are able to integrate technology and knowledge across the firm to ensure the supply chain network is designed in a manner which yields the highest returns for the firm at the same time is flexible and efficient. Talent is what is inbuilt in employees apart from the knowledge they obtain through training. It is very important as some aspect of work needs to incorporate talent with professionalism in order to come up with expert personnel who are capable of driving firms to high levels of success by integrating knowledge and technology in solving inherent issues which may be in the market (Confederation of the food and drink industries of the EU., &UNEP, 2002). Conclusion Even after elaborate measures have been implemented to regulate the food industry in the United Kingdom it is still prudent to note that enough has not been done since there still exists loopholes that unscrupulous business people utilize to run illegal food business that jeopardizes the ethical standards of business at the same time risking the health of consumers. Therefore, more efforts should be channelled to this sector to ensure that integrity and ethical business practice is upheld at all times so as to ensure the health and well-being of the end users is guaranteed. References Adams, C. A., 2004. The ethical, social and environmental reporting-performance portrayal gap. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 17(5), 731-757. Baldwin, C. J., 2012. Sustainability in the Food Industry. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons. Available at: http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=53154 [Accessed Jan. 2014]. Blay-Palmer, A., 2008. Food fears: from industrial to sustainable food systems. Aldershot, England, Ashgate Pub. Coles, R., 2011. Food and beverage packaging technology. Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell. Confederation Of The Food And Drink Industries of the EU., & United Nations Environment Programme, 2002. Industry as a partner for sustainable development: food and drink. Brussels, Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU. Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics, & Zollitsch, W., 2007. Sustainable food production and ethics: preprints of the 7th Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics: EurSAFE 2007, Vienna, Austria, September 13-15, 2007. Great Britain, 2011. EU proposals for the dairy sector and the future of the dairy industry: eighth report of session 2010-12. Vol. 1, Vol. 1. London, Stationery Office. Lambert, D. M., & Cooper, M. C., 2000. Issues in supply chain management. Industrial marketing management, 29(1), 65-83. Petersen, K. J., Handfield, R. B., & Ragatz, G. L., 2005. Supplier integration into new product development: coordinating product, process and supply chain design. Journal of operations management, 23(3), 371-388. Robertson, G. P., Paul, E. A., & Harwood, R. R., 2000. Greenhouse gases in intensive agriculture: contributions of individual gases to the radiative forcing of the atmosphere. Science, 289(5486), 1922-1925. Read More