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News: 8.3 billion thin-gauge bags were used in 2013 by customers of UK supermarkets

Data published by WRAP shows that 8.3 billion thin-gauge (single-use) bags were used in 2013 by customers of UK supermarkets, an increase of 3.2 per cent compared with 2012 (8.1 billion). But despite the overall number of bags issued increasing between 2012 and 2013, the weight has fallen, which is due to a fall in the average weight of bags.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Report on the food production and supply dimensions of food security

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has published its report on the food production and supply dimensions of food security. EFRA Chair Anne McIntosh called for clearer lines of UK governmental responsibility, noting that at least three Departments are now responsible for food security: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and stated that to ensure coherent planning and action, overall strategy must be led by Defra, who must ensure a robust approach right across Whitehall. The Food Security report supports the idea of ‘sustainable intensification’ – producing more food with fewer resources – and calls on Defra to stem decline in UK self-sufficiency and deliver more resilience in the UK food system. It notes that for key cereal crops, for example wheat, yield levels have not increased for over 15 years. The report calls for: Supermarkets to shorten supply chains to reduce threats of disruption; UK farmers to extend seasonal production of fresh fruit and vegetables in coordination with the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, and local and central government; government to reduce dependence on imported soybean for animal feed, as increased demand for protein from emerging economies threatens current supply lines; and government to produce a detailed emissions reduction plan for the UK agricultural sector.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Inquiry report on the draft National Pollinator Strategy

The Environmental Audit Committee has published an inquiry report on the draft National Pollinator Strategy (NPS) – which has been produced to safeguard pollinators and their essential role in ecosystems. The report calls for research to be transparent and subject to independent controls, and for the government to accept an EU ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides linked to a decline in bee populations and not seek to overturn it when the European Commission reviews the ban in 2015.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: UK Government's position and approach to the Sustainable Development Goals

The Environmental Audit Committee is scrutinising the UK Government’s position and approach to the Sustainable Development Goals, in advance of the United Nations agreeing a new universal set of Development Goals next year. It is due to take evidence from the DfID Secretary of State in October and potentially from others subsequently, to examine how the new Goals will contribute to sustainable development, both in the UK and globally. Submissions to inform the DfID session are invited by 15 October 2014. The Committee is interested in: The government’s aims and ambitions for the Goals, particularly relating to sustainable development. For example, are inter-generational issues adequately covered by the Goals?; Co-ordination between government departments in agreeing the Goals, and the potential impact on implementation of policies and programmes; How the Goals will influence DfID’s aid programmes, and how the UK’s other international policies and programmes will help the Goals to be delivered; and The accountability and reporting arrangements for the UK setting targets and indicators for the Goals, and how performance will be reported.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Better stewardship of the antimicrobial drugs vital in modern medicine

The government needs to set clear responsibilities at all levels of the NHS and veterinary medicine to achieve better stewardship of the antimicrobial drugs vital in modern medicine, the Science and Technology Committee has warned in a new inquiry report published in July. Andrew Miller MP, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, stated that the problem was being exacerbated by inappropriate use and poor stewardship of antibiotics in healthcare and farming, and recommended the government put urgent measures in place to drastically reduce the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics, improve education of medical students and provide greater focus on antimicrobial resistance during clinical career development. Fears were also raised during the inquiry that major restructuring of the NHS may limit its ability to get to grips with growing antibiotic resistance in the short-term, with the Committee concerned that the implementation of new structures and chains of command may exacerbate difficulties in limiting the unnecessary use of antibiotics. It recommends that the government outline, in its Action Plan for its Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, how it will embed those responsibilities across all roles within the NHS and how compliance with the strategic goals will be monitored and reported.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Overuse of antibiotics in intensive farming

Zac Goldsmith has tabled an Early Day Motion (247) on the overuse of antibiotics in intensive farming, arguing it adds to the serious public health threat from antibiotic resistance and the rise of superbugs. The EDM welcomes the government’s efforts to reduce over-prescribing by doctors and calls for parallel action to reduce the use of antibiotics by veterinary surgeons and farmers; and further calls on the government to take steps to ensure that the routine prophylactic use of antibiotics on UK farms is phased out and that specific controls are introduced on the use in livestock of antibiotics that are critically important in human medicine. Fifty one MPs had signed their support at the time of this magazine was written.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Aldi removed confectionery, chocolate and sweets from its checkouts

Grocer Aldi has announced that from January 2015, all confectionery, chocolate and sweets will be removed from its checkouts in UK stores and replaced with healthier options including dried fruit, nuts, juices and water. The roll-out follows a 16 week trial of ‘healthier tills’ earlier this year.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Coca Cola cans and bottles will display front-of-pack traffic light labels from 2015

The company had previously rejected the Government’s voluntary nutrition labelling programme.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Food and drink businesses have saved £2.2 million by reducing their water consumption

This is according to the latest figures from the voluntary Federation House Commitment agreement, run by WRAP. The now 71 signatories made savings of 1.5 million cubic metres in the last year – the whole industry target is set to reduce water consumption of 20 per cent by 2020.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014

News: Asda has announced it is the first supermarket to publish a comprehensive and independent report on its fish sustainability.

The Asda Wild Fisheries Annual Review 2013 has been produced in conjunction with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and covers all source fisheries used between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013. Each fishery is named, along with information about location and catch methods, a sustainability assessment, improvement projects and environmental impacts.
Sustain | Wednesday 1 October 2014