Why is there an urgent need for stakeholders such as food retailers and consumers to make changes to their behaviour?
From the “cradle-to-grave” approach, we realised that pollution is derived from all stages, from the production, distribution, storage, consumption and even waste. All of this takes energy, which is often generated using fossil fuels, and these processes emit greenhouse gases which contribute to environmental pollution and climate change too (Panzone and Auch, 2020).
In our blogs, we mentioned about water pollution where excessive fertilisers and nutrients are washed into water bodies, contributing to eutrophication and acidification. There are also atmosphere emissions from factories and distribution which may be transported over long distances and transformed into secondary pollutants. In some cases, they get deposited into water bodies too, resulting in pollution in places far from their source.
Previously, we saw what happens to plastic waste after we disposed of them. They can end up in our water bodies and gyres and end up being broken down and consumed by marine creatures which result in the bioaccumulation and magnification of toxic chemicals. This ends up in our food chain and impacts human health. “Even if you were to abstain from seafood, the report said plastic particles will still be able to find their way into your body — drinking water is the “single, largest source of plastic ingestion” (Low, 2019).
Moreover, the demand for exotic food from far away places, such as ‘Arctic Cold Water Seafood’ can also result in large amounts of pollution and may contain pollutants within the food products too. Pollutants can be transported over vast distances and studies have found that they end up in the Arctic Circle. There are “higher concentrations of microplastics in sea ice in these remote, high-latitude hotspots than in the five infamous ocean garbage patches… If it’s true that the ice has so much plastics in it, then organisms living in and beneath the ice may have some of the ocean’s most contaminated living spaces” (Katz, 2019). This is due to the Northbound Atlantic water cooling and sinking, setting in motion a powerful ocean current system called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation”; some also call it the Stokes Drift (ibid.).
In the long run, the effects of climate change can threaten our food security and reduce the variety of food available. For example, carbon emissions have resulted in the thawing of permafrost in the Yukon River that causes mercury to leach into the waters (CNA, 2020) This could cause fish in the Yukon River to become dangerous to eat within a few decades. Moreover, the “thaw-released mercury will work its way from the land to the river and ultimately, into the oceans, and thaw-released mercury in the gaseous form will encircle the world” (ibid.).
What does this mean for Singapore?
Last Friday (30th October 2020), we attended a webinar by the Singapore Food Agency and Urban Redevelopment Agency on Singapore’s goal for Food Resilience and the strategies that would be in place. Currently, we only produce 10% of domestic fish consumption, 26% of eggs and 14% of vegetable consumption. We are dependent on imports for our food products and Covid-19 has highlighted the risks of being too reliant on food import. In order to develop food resilience and safe food, a ‘North Agri-Tech and Food Corridor’ will be established for high-tech farming and research and development. The use of technology can reduce the amount of energy and resources for food production. Also, to increase local food production to meet the ‘30 by 30’ goal, there are plans to utilise alternative spaces to grow crops such as carpark rooftops and community gardens. They also encourage consumers to change our mindsets and support local produce. Growing and consuming local food can reduce environmental impacts in the long run.
In this last segment ‘Stage 7: Solutions’, we will discover more on how to reduce pollution by changing our food production methods, using technology to reduce or reuse food waste, and changing consumer’s mindsets and behaviours.
Trailing off,
Jade and Ridzuan
References
CNA. (2020). Mercury released by permafrost thaw puts Yukon River fish at risk: Study. CNA. [online] 17 Sep. Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/mercury-released-by-permafrost-thaw-arctic-warming-13119444? [Accessed 31 Oct. 2020].
Katz, C. (2019). Why does the Arctic have more plastic than most places on Earth? [online] National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/remote-arctic-contains-more-plastic-than-most-places-on-earth/ [Accessed 31 Oct. 2020].
Low, Y. (2020). Trash Talk: Packaging waste is everywhere, including in your body. TODAY. [online] 27 Aug. Available at: https://www.todayonline.com/features/trash-talk-packaging-waste-everywhere-including-your-body [Accessed 31 Oct. 2020].
Panzone, L. and Auch, N. (2020). Four ways to reduce the carbon in your food basket. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/four-ways-to-reduce-the-carbon-in-your-food-basket-128811 [Accessed 31 Oct. 2020].
