Category: Conferences

From Bread to Beer – An Ale-ien Concept?

It has become increasingly easy in the globalized and industrialized world we live in to use and replace resources such as mobile phones, clothes and food; resulting in a ‘linear’ model whereby resources are used and thrown away (MacArthur, 2013). In contrast, the ‘circular economy’ approach refers to a cycle of production and consumption whereby waste is minimized or used for another purpose (MacArthur, 2013). The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) launched the ‘Circular Economy Action Agenda’ on the 4th February 2021, bringing together speakers from different sectors and disciplines who all agreed that a circular economy approach is needed to meet sustainability and climate goals. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen outlined at this session that the Paris Agreement and NDC commitments are a step forward towards emission reductions and mitigation of climate change, however we must go further towards circular economies with biodiversity and environmental protection as a priority.

Food and agriculture systems are at the core of biodiversity and environmental protection and have gained focus as a staggering one third of food is lost between production and consumption (FAO, 2011). The PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda report for food systems outlines three main objectives: to change what food we grow and switch to regenerative practices, reduce food loss and waste, and make use of waste products (PACE, 2021). Figure 1 illustrates these approaches, which would facilitate a more productive and efficient food system promoting sustainability, reduced emissions, creation of jobs, improved food and nutrition security and protection of biodiversity (PACE, 2021).

Figure 1: Food systems today under a linear model versus food systems in the future under a circular economy model. Source: PACE, 2021

PACE (2021) note that a barrier to using waste as a resource is the perception that it holds no value, meaning that companies are not enticed to create innovations. Despite this, Toast Ale breaks this perception and is aligned with the aims of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda to mitigate and make use of food loss and waste. As an astounding 44% of bread in the UK is wasted (Zaine, 2019), Toast Ale was founded in 2015 as craft beer company standing out from the crowd by using wasted bread as an innovative ingredient (Toast Ale, 2019). Toast Ale uses bread that would otherwise go to waste as a partial substitute to virgin barley in the brewing process, resulting in a ‘triple win’ for sustainability by reducing food waste and associated emissions, reducing the land and water needed to grow barley and reducing the emissions that would result from barley production and transportation (Toast Ale, 2019; Zaine, 2019). As of 2019, using wasted bread in the brewing process has resulted in a saving of 11 tonnes of CO2e, 108.4m3 of water and 7.5 hectares of land (Toast Ale, 2019). The waste produced by Toast Ale is also valued, as it is delivered back to farms where it can be used to feed animals and fertilize soils (Zaine, 2019).

The PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda (2021) calls for transparency through open source data and information sharing within the food and agriculture sector, allowing innovations to be implemented at scale. As part of their sustainability strategy and to keep their environmental footprint low, Toast Ale do not take part in exporting beer but instead share their innovation with global breweries, facilitating wider adoption of this sustainable and circular process as well as minimizing wasted bread in landfill around the world (Toast Ale, 2019; Zaine, 2019). Through researching the brand, I discovered that Toast Ale is stocked at my local supermarket, and so I ventured out in the snow to try it for myself (Figure 2). I was pleased to see another brand named ‘Crumbs’ placed beside Toast Ale on the shelf – another brewery adopting the innovation with spare sourdough bread from a small bakery.

Figure 2: Toast Ale American Pale Ale

At the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda launch, Jyrki Katainen, ex-prime minister of Finland and president of Sitra, reminded us that jobs will be lost to circular economy approaches and that social justice must be a priority. For example, using discarded bread in the beer brewing process means that less virgin barley is used. If scaled up significantly, this could potentially disadvantage farmers, food system workers and transportation staff who would be involved in this stage of the supply chain. I struggled to find much information regarding farmers and food system workers supplying Toast Ale on their website, highlighting that this may be a gap that needs addressed as the innovation is scaled up. Despite this, it is clear that social justice is undoubtedly at the heart of the Toast Ale business model with 100% of profits going to charities supporting food security and environmental protection (Toast Ale, 2019; Zaine, 2019).

Although Toast Ale are only a small part of the transformation towards a sustainable circular economy; catchy and informative marketing for a widely consumed and enjoyable product such as beer helps create awareness of challenges and sustainable solutions on a wider scale (Zaine, 2019). Overall, the brewing and craft beer industry is rarely considered as a key industry to tackle food loss and waste, however Toast Ale demonstrate that opportunities can be present where we least expect them to be.

References

Andersen, I. (2021). ‘Time to Act: The Circular Economy Action Agenda’, 04/02/21, Online.

FAO. (2011). Global food losses and food waste – Extent, causes and prevention. Rome.

Katainen, J. (2021). ‘Time to Act: The Circular Economy Action Agenda’, 04/02/21, Online.

MacArthur, E. (2013). Towards the circular economy. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2, 23-44.

PACE. (2021). Circular Economy Action Agenda, Food. The Hague, The Netherlands.

Toast Ale. (2019). Toast Ale Impact Report. London.

Zaine, L. (2019). ‘Climate and Ecological Emergency’. Toast Ale. Available at: https://www.toastale.com/blog/climate-and-ecological-emergency/. Last Accessed 10/02/21.

Transformation of Global Food Systems for the Future of Biodiversity and Food Security

The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Biodiversity Digital Conference brought focus to the current biodiversity crisis facing the world and what solutions are being imposed around the globe. Sessions were presented by various stakeholders – from indigenous peoples to government ministers – covering a wide range of perspectives and experiences. COVID-19 was a prevalent theme throughout the conference, with many speakers highlighting that this pandemic arises from a biodiversity crisis in itself. It is evident that food systems and food security are interlinked with biodiversity, and of particular interest to me was the session titled ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’. This session explored the connections between biodiversity and agriculture, centering on how biodiverse food systems can strive towards increased food security in a post-COVID-19 future. Compared to other sessions in the conference, this session gave more focus to accounts and experiences from a range of stakeholders around the world, as explained below. The session stressed that a biodiversity crisis is evident in both the Global North and Global South; and agriculture is part of the solution in both cases if context specific approaches are used.

German farmer Peter Zens strives and advocates for seasonal, local and sustainable food systems with a focus on integrating people into the farming experience. In Europe, the majority of farms adopt a monoculture system, growing one singular crop for trade across Europe or beyond. Peter stresses that crop diversity is needed in order to replenish the soil with nutrients and increase local biodiversity. By using diverse farming methods, farms also have an increased resilience to shocks – which is essential for food security. Peter promotes community involvement in his farm, and stresses that people experience joy and curiosity when visiting, allowing a better understanding of where food comes from. With this knowledge, people gain more respect and appreciation for food, inevitably wasting less and improving their nutritional intake. This is an important point from Peter, as it is easy to ignore the food systems behind our choices in the Global North.

Thomas Jacob, an agricultural advisor at the Peermade Development Society of Organic Spices, began by highlighting the need for different solutions in the Global South, where most farmers are smallholders. Thomas advises smallholder farmers in India on ways to introduce multi-cropping systems to maximize land use. Using these farming methods, food security is supported in the local area and extra income is available for farmers through international trade of spices. Thomas stresses that farmers hold a wealth of knowledge and have valuable inputs to make to the wider agricultural community. Staying with India, Alka Bhargava, Additional Secretary for the Ministry of Agricultural Cooperation and Farmer’s Welfare for the Government of India, gave a detailed talk about how India’s agricultural system has responded to COVID-19 and how they plan to reform the system post-COVID-19. Alka highlighted that India strives for a sustainable and biodiverse food system while addressing food security for the vast population. When rebuilding from the pandemic, India plans to focus on better post-harvest management and improved agricultural infrastructure to minimize food waste. To enable a worldwide transition, more countries should follow India in actively striving towards more biodiverse and sustainable food systems.

A key question during the session was how biodiverse farming systems can attract funding and what direction this may come from. Lorena Friers, Regional Asia Manager for PUR Project, aims to make supply chains more sustainable by forming connections with agricultural communities to safeguard and restore natural landscapes. Lorena noted that most projects involve agroforestry, however PUR Project are strong advocates for empowerment of local people and therefore unique solutions based on the environment and indigenous knowledge are sought for every community. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram obtained from the PUR Project website, which explains the benefits agroforestry systems can provide to local ecosystems. PUR Project is funded by companies in the commercial sector aiming to make their supply chains more sustainable, and has worked with numerous different sectors in agriculture, from coffee to the cosmetic industries.

Figure 1: The benefits of Agroforestry. Source: PUR Project

Tobias Ludes is a Programme Manager at the Global Nature Fund, an NGO working with food companies to improve biodiversity within company standards and procurement. Due to the nature of online conferences, Tobias experienced some connection issues; however, what I understood was that the ‘Biodiversity Action Plan’ has been established through Global Nature Fund. This is a management plan for farms to implement biodiverse practices, and Tobias explained that this plan has been used worldwide in a variety of contexts, highlighting its scalability.

In the midst of a lockdown and uncertainty about the future, this conference was an inspirational and motivating two days, confirming for myself that MScCCAFS is an important master’s program to be undertaking. This particular session gave the important message that a biodiversity crisis is reaching critical levels globally, however different agricultural solutions are needed in different contexts and regions worldwide. Indigenous knowledge in particular is an invaluable part of the solution. Applying this session to my own context, the UK crucially needs an agricultural system similar to the one Peter Zens laid out, however it is clear that the future of agriculture and food security in the UK is bleak due to the loom of Brexit and questionable government handling. In my local community in Glasgow, COVID-19 lockdowns initiated a surge of interest in the origins of food, and highlighted the challenges associated with food security. Many people who are lucky enough to have gardens and the resources started growing food themselves, reflected in the difficulty to buy seeds and soil. Without access to a garden, my flat-mate Louise showed that even in a tenement flat, some self-sufficiency is possible (Figure 2). These local and global examples show that positive transformations and attitude shifts are happening across all levels and regions, and with greater awareness these changes will continue into the future.

Figure 2: An urban garden in my flat in Glasgow during lockdown

References

Bhargava, A. ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’, 29/10/20, Bonn, Germany

Friers, L. ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’, 29/10/20, Bonn, Germany

Jacob, T. ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’, 29/10/20, Bonn, Germany

Ludes, T. ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’, 29/10/20, Bonn, Germany

Zens, P. 2020 ‘The role of diverse agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation and food system resilience’, 29/10/20, Bonn, Germany

Figure 1: PUR Project. Agroforestry and Reforestation. https://www.purprojet.com/agroforestry-and-reforestation/ Accessed 04/11/20