Singapore, having just over 720 km² of land, is definitely not known as an agricultural producer! We just do not have that much land to spare to dedicate to our agriculture needs (imagine having half of Singapore’s land being utilised for solely agricultural purposes, similar to the global average as we mentioned in this post). So most of our food products are imported from all over the world to ensure that the tummies of Singaporeans do not growl for too long! In fact, a staggering 90% of all of the food consumed in Singapore is imported from over 170 countries (Singapore Food Agency, 2020). This was estimated to be worth roughly US $7.7 billion and weighing about 33.2 million tons in 2018 alone (Chatham House, 2010).
Majority of these food products are sourced from Malaysia, our neighbour up north. This would highlight that most of our food travels over the land into Singapore. Previously, we had also identified that the transportation of food over land is not the most environmentally friendly option, but most companies chose this option due to the cost-savings and convenience they get in comparison to shipping. Furthermore, some of these products, especially fresh meat, also require refrigeration on the move, which raises similar environmental problems as what we had covered earlier in this post!
Apart from Malaysia, we also import from many other countries, including those as far away as New Zealand, the US and Brazil. Ever gone to the supermarket and seen ‘Air-flown Beef from New Zealand’? Yes, that very piece of meat was flown in a flight with refrigeration, adding on to the contribution to the environmental pollution we have discussed in our previous phases. (FYI, the first essential supplies flight from New Zealand to Singapore during COVID carried 20 tonnes of beef and lamb (The Straits Times, 2020).
We have talked about how our food might pollute the environment, but what about our food getting polluted by the environment? In Singapore, as most foods are imported, it is rather hard to control and standardise safety in the production process. So the State, through the Singapore Food Authority, focuses on conducting safety checks on all imported food products before releasing them in the market. You can check it out in the video below (TODAYonline, 2017)!
Maybe it is time we also start considering where we source our food products from and consider the externalised environmental impact our food choices have. Remember, that just because the pollution is not having in front of you does not mean it is not happening at all! This has also gotten the State and individual Singaporeans to think of innovative ways to produce food in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, even within this concrete jungle. Check that out in our next post!
Trailing off,
Jade and Ridzuan
References
Chatham House (2010). resourcetrade.earth. [online] resourcetrade.earth. Available at: https://resourcetrade.earth/data?year=2018&importer=702&category=1&units=weight [Accessed 22 Sep. 2020].
Singapore Food Agency (2020). Levelling up Singapore’s food supply resilience. [online] Food for Thought. Available at: https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-for-thought/article/detail/levelling-up-singapore-s-food-supply-resilience [Accessed 22 Sep. 2020].
The Straits Times (2020). Essential items from New Zealand arrive in Singapore. [online] The Straits Times. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/essential-items-from-new-zealand-arrive-in-singapore [Accessed 22 Sep. 2020].
TODAYonline (2017). Watching from farm to fork: Keeping food in Singapore safe in the global era. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6iWs_F_ano&ab_channel=TODAYonline [Accessed 23 Sep. 2020].
