Do you ever stop to think about where your food comes from? The viral video campaign ‘Face Your Food’ brings together a global online community to fight for a more sustainable food industry. The production of food has a major impact on our world. Thousands of plant and animal species are under threat due to harmful agricultural practices. Farmers across the globe are suffering because of unfair trade. The viral video campaign ‘Face Your Food’ invites people from across the globe to... ...Read more »

Food processors and manufacturers will be driven out of business if they don’t start adopting a sustainable approach, warns AgriFood Skills Australia. According to Michael Claessens, General Manager for Workforce Development and Analysis at AgriFood Skills Australia, food manufacturers are facing ever-increasing challenges to business viability resulting from rising energy costs, reduced access to affordable water supplies, greater environmental regulation, more demanding and discerning ‘green... ...Read more »

Food South Australia will be an exciting new unified voice delivering programs and results for South Australia’s dynamic food industry. Food SA reflects the amalgamation of two long running associations – Food Adelaide and Flavour SA – with members agreeing to unite and provide central delivery to industry of key services. Stephan Knoll, current Chair of Flavour SA welcomes the formation of Food SA. “The role of Food SA will be to provide leadership to the food industry and... ...Read more »

A new variety of field pea with improved disease resistance and higher yields will be unveiled when the University of Sydney’s Plant Breeding Institute hosts the Sustainable Futures Forum and Field Day at Narrabri on Wednesday 29 September.Plant Breeding Institute Officer in Charge, Steve Moore said the new variety had yet to be named and is presently being referred to as PRL131. “It is likely that the chosen name will follow previous releases and be named after Aboriginal weapons like... ...Read more »

General Mills, the US company behind brands like Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Nature Valley snack bars, has set a target of using only “palm oil from responsible and sustainable sources” by 2015.The company said its use of palm oil was “modest” and accounted for around 0.1% of its production. However, General Mills believes companies like itself could have an impact on the issue. “We acknowledge that responsible users of even small amounts of ingredients can impact issues... ...Read more »

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced today that Austral Fisheries’ and Australian Longline’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) toothfish fishery has entered full assessment for MSC certification.To be conducted by independent certification body Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the assessment will evaluate the Southern Ocean fishery against the MSC standard for well-managed and sustainable fisheries, which examines the sustainability of the fish stock, the environmental... ...Read more »

Whole Foods Market has launched an in-store color-coded sustainability rating program for wild-caught seafood and commits to phasing out all red-rated species by Earth Day 2013. Partnering with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, Whole Foods Market is the first national grocer to provide a comprehensive, science-based sustainability rating system for wild-caught seafood. The system’s green, yellow and red ratings make it easy for shoppers to make informed choices at the seafood... ...Read more »

NGOs and human rights groups have accused Hershey of sourcing cocoa from African farms that use forced and child labour in wide-ranging criticism of the US chocolate giant’s record on corporate and social responsibility. A report from Global Exchange, Green America, the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) and Oasis USA said on Monday (13 September) that Hershey had not ensured its cocoa supplies from west Africa were not from areas “tainted” by labour rights abuses. The report... ...Read more »

The Coca-Cola Company and The Nature Conservancy announced today the release of a water footprint report in conjunction with World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. The report, entitled “Product Water Footprint Assessments: Practical Application in Corporate Water Stewardship,” examines three pilot studies that were conducted on Coca-Cola products and ingredients.A product water footprint is the total volume of freshwater consumed, directly and indirectly, to produce a product. A full... ...Read more »

PepsiCo last night announced its inclusion in the 2010 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI World and DJSI North America) and its position as sustainability leader in the beverage sector.PepsiCo has been named as a member of North America Index five times and the World Index four times in recognition of the company’s economic, environmental and social performance. Inclusion is based on a wide range of criteria including corporate governance,... ...Read more »