These pressure points in the global food system remind us of the wider problems associated with the year-round supply we demand from food retailers who need the semi-tropical regions of the world to provide them.
The environmental impact caused by our appetites is an issue which also has been highlighted by other “luxury” goods such as chocolate and coffee, where fair trade principles have changed the way we purchase foods. Many of these issues concern the ingredients we need to create food tastes and experience.
Consider garlic, another essential ingredient of guacamole. World production of the bulb has risen from 4m to 24m tonnes per year since the 1960s. Around 80% is produced in China.
The huge demand for high value crops that provide specific tastes such as garlic and chilli (which has also seen exponential growth in global production) have also resulted in the emergence of crop smugglers who now sustain a multi-million Euro illegal – and largely unseen – industry. It all makes life very complicated for anyone who wants to eat a healthy diet and keep up with food fashion with a clear conscience.
For while certifications associated with biodiversity and sustainability are established for fish, coffee and chocolate, they are either rare or entirely non-existent for many of the herbs, spices and ingredients we use in low volumes that are high value and strong in taste.
Food rules
Many of the larger volume crops such as cereals, sugar and many fruits now have a legacy of assurance and traceability where sustainability is assessed along their supply chains. It started with Birdseye’s “in pursuit of the sustainable pea” report, one of the first food brands to look at these wider values.