a curse, not a cure
This report shows how the biomethane rush is driving the intensification of livestock production in Europe.
Archives: Research
A Democratic Supermarket in Moerwijk
This is the English summary of the Dutch report: ‘A Democratic Supermarket in Moerwijk.’ The research explores the understanding of healthy and fair food according to the residents of a deprived district in The Hague.
Results of Survey on Food Poverty in The Hague
This report examines the scale of food poverty in The Hague through interviews to identify where the structural problems lie and, most importantly, to explore potential solutions.
Een democratische supermarkt in Moerwijk
Dit onderzoek maakt deel uit van een project dat wordt gefinancierd door Healthy Food Healthy Planet, waarbij Feedback EU samenwerkt met zes Europese organisaties in de Food Voices Coalition. Het doel is stemmen te mobiliseren om de toegang tot en de keuze voor gezond, duurzaam en rechtvaardig voedsel voor iedereen mogelijk te maken.
Prevent Waste Coalition – Policy Brief on the feasibility of ambitious legally binding EU food waste reduction targets
An estimated 40% of food is wasted globally1, which causes an estimated 8–10% of global emissions2, and uses an estimated 28% of the world’s agricultural land area, larger than China and India combined.
65 organisations from 20 EU countries have signed a statement calling for the EU to introduce legally-binding targets to reduce EU food loss and waste by 50% from farm to fork by 2030. This briefing provides evidence that ambitious legally-binding food waste reduction targets for EU Member States under the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) are both feasible and will result in significant cost savings. Whilst we advocate for 50% reductions in food loss and waste from farm to fork, recognising the context of compromises in the current negotiations, we make the following recommendations:
• Manufacturing and processing: We recommend that targets for manufacturing and processing sector food waste should be set at the same level as for later stages in the supply chain – ideally 40%, but at least 25%. It is unfair and inconsistent to set lower targets for the manufacturing and processing sectors. We present evidence that the UK has achieved over 25% reductions in manufacturing food waste over 10 years, and numerous large manufacturers have achieved rates of food waste reduction in line with 30%, 40%, and even 50% reductions by 2030.
• Households, retail, restaurants, and food services: We commend the European Parliament’s proposal for 40% reductions in per capita food waste in households, retail, restaurants, and food services, and recommend that the Council and Commission back at least this level of ambition. We present evidence that food waste reductions of at least this speed are feasible.
How the Norwegian salmon industry extracts nutrition and undermines livelihoods in West Africa
Feedbacks latest report shows how the Norwegian salmon industry’s voracious appetite for wild fish is driving loss of livelihoods and malnutrition in Africa. Farming carnivorous fish in Europe harms fishing communities in West Africa by depriving them of a resource fundamental to their nutrition and their livelihoods. Salmon are carnivorous, and farmed salmon depend on the nutrients provided through fish oil in particular, gained through grinding up smaller, wild fish. At Feedback, we have evidence that in feeding these smaller fish (sardines, sardinella, ethmalosa, etc.) to Scottish farmed salmon, major micro-nutrient losses occur.
setting a target that is fit for food and the climate
New report by Feedback Europe finds that high eu biomethane target is unrealistic and unsustainable: as European reform of gas markets is underway, our analysis debunks the assumptions behind the high EU biomethane target and calls for a much lower target that is fit for food and the climate.
The 35bcm biomethane target – at best unattainable, at worst an environmental disaster
Feedback EU’s analysis of the feedstock assumptions underlying the 35 billion cubic meter biomethane target shows that at best it will be simply impossible to reach this target. At worst, strong policy support for the target will lock in dangerously unsustainable agricultural, land use and energy practices.
English summary of our Dutch report “Valse Bingo”
The greenwash tactics used by supermarkets to distract us from the emissions of meat and dairy sales.
De tactieken van supermarkten om klanten af te leiden van de klimaatuitstoot van vlees en zuivel
Supermarkten gaan sluw te werk en maken net als de fossiele industrie gebruik van greenwashing tactieken om hun uitstoot te verbergen. Herken jij ze?
Our annual report!
Are you curious to read about what’ve done in 2022? Find out in our annual report!
Rabobank’s financial services to the global meat and dairy companies fuelling climate change
Klimaat en Vlees Supermarkt Scorecard
De zes grootste supermarkten in Nederland hebben samen bijna 90% van het marktaandeel voor levensmiddelen in handen en voor veel mensen is naar de supermarkt gaan de enige optie om voedsel te kopen. Met deze scorecard wil Feedback EU de top 6 Nederlandse supermarkten beoordelen op hun transparantie, ambities en acties: nemen zij de verantwoordelijkheid om de klimaatcrisis aan te pakken en minder vlees en zuivel te verkopen? Bekijk hoe goed jouw supermarkt scoort.
NO TIME TO WASTE
We urge the European Commission to set a legally binding target of a 50%, farm-to-fork reduction in food waste by 2030 and recommend that policymakers, organisations, and individuals join us in calling for these targets to be adopted.
EU food supply and solidarity response to the war in Ukraine
“Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shed light on the weaknesses of the
European food system.”
Read our joint letter on EU food supply and solidarity response to the war in Ukraine.
recommendations for UK policymakers
A policy brief outlining recommendations for UK policymakers based on the results of FLAVOUR, an innovative project funded by the EU’s Interreg 2 Seas Mers Zeeën 2014-2020 programme that aims to tackle food waste while supporting inclusive jobs in the social economy.
Maximising sustainable nutrient production from coupled fisheries-aquaculture systems
Our research reveals that eating the wild-caught fish destined for salmon farms would allow nearly 4 million tonnes of fish to be left in the sea while providing an extra 6 million tonnes of seafood.
Climate mitigation efficacy of anaerobic digestion in a decarbonising economy
Anaerobic digestion (AD) – the process of producing “biogas” from organic matter like crops and wastes – has presented itself as the silver bullet to everything from producing green gas for heating and transport, to producing fertiliser for our crops. However, our research shows that, at best, AD is a sub-optimal sticking plaster solution, and at worst, it is sometimes actually perpetuating the problems it claims to solve.
A New Front in Divestment Campaigning
The UK’s local councils are pouring £238 million in pension fund money into industrial livestock investments, fuelling a destructive industry which causes climate change, deforestation, human rights abuses and industrial-scale animal cruelty.
Dutch Supermarkets are avoiding responsibility for one third of their emissions
This report explores the role of Dutch supermarkets in addressing the country’s climate footprint by taking responsibility for the environmental impact of their high meat and dairy sales.
The report is in Dutch, a summary in English is available here.
Blindspot – How lack of action on livestock methane undermines climate targets
We contributed to Changing Markets report on methane. Climate scientists have confirmed that a focus on methane emissions – in addition to measures designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions – will be crucial in determining whether global heating can be kept below 1.5°C. Although the livestock sector is by far the largest contributor of human-induced methane emissions, the report reveals that both the biggest meat and dairy-producing countries – with some of the highest methane emissions – and the largest meat and dairy corporations are oblivious to the problem.
The Shift to Paris-aligned Diets and Investor Risk in the UK Retail Sector
Food retailers face a new climate and sustainability front: in order to meet net zero goals, the UK must reduce meat and dairy consumption by least 50% by 2030 and beyond. Yet, currently, the majority of retailers are failing to face up to both long- and short-term physical and transitional climate risks associated with their meat and dairy sales. As markets continue to price climate risk into the value of equity securities, setting and meeting ambitious and accountable science-based targets on product emissions will become a bellwether of a retailer’s long-term viability. Investors have the opportunity to review potential retail investments in Feedback’s Meat and Climate Scorecard to assess their responsiveness to supply chain and regulatory risk.
Addressing methane emissions through demand-side measures in the food system
Action to reduce methane emissions can avoid 0.3°C of warming by 2045, according to UNEP. While reduction in fossil fuel methane emissions is both vital and achievable, this briefing sets out the benefits to concurrently implementing global action plans to address the role of agriculture and food systems in generating methane emissions. This briefing sets out the case for the UK Presidency of COP26 to advocate for effective demand-side food system measures to achieve major methane reductions in the agriculture sector, bringing 1.5 degrees within reach.
the potential of nutrient recycling to contribute to a reduced livestock sector, within planetary boundaries
We need to eat significantly less meat but is it necessary to cut out meat and animal products from our diets completely? Our paper describes the important role that livestock should play at recycling unavoidable food waste in the food system and defines what less and better meat really looks like. Our evidence based definition of ‘better meat’ is meat from animals that are reared only on food waste and by-products and do not graze or eat crops from land that could be used to grow human-edible crops. In fact, eating some meat, fed exclusively on leftovers, maximises the nutritional output of our land and uses less land than a vegan diet.All this can be done safely by treating the food waste in specialist treatment facilities.
Its important that money saved from feeding animals on leftovers does not lead to an increase in industrial livestock, or this will undo the climate benefits. The climate and land footprint of the UK’s pigs and chickens is predominantly abroad as the feed is imported. Our leftovers model creates a real opportunity to end the reliance on feed imports and their devastating effects on rainforests and the climate.