Where to from here for primary production standards?

Where to from here forprimary production

standards?

Jane LovellTQA Australia

AUSTRALIA

Primary production standards

Beyond food safety Based on my experiences

primarily horticultural market not regulation

Not a technical presentation Using environmental assurance

as example

HEAD

HEART

STOMACH

Head Multiple systems Multiple audits Multiple labels Trying to connect producers

and consumers Trying to prove trust and

responsible practices

Eurofruit February 2010 No 426

Multiple systems“The fresh produce trade has come under such huge

pressure from ethical and environmental lobby groups during the last two decades that the need to convey a huge number of different qualifications to the general public has potentially left the consumer faced with more trademarks and labels than he or she perhaps knows what to do with.”

Mike Knowles, Eurofruit Feb 2010

Multiple systems Expect more audits because

the customers expect moreJohnathan Sutton, Tesco Asia and Oceania

Multiple systems Environmental assurance

Freshcare EnvironmentalSQF Best FarmsGlobal G.A.P.FMSProperty Management PlanningSustainable Farms TasmaniaEnviroveg

Multiple systems Carbon footprinting

PAS 2050 – Carbon Trust, Planet Ark ISO 14067 GHG Protocol WRI/WBCSD Aeon – “Global Warming Prevention

Declaration” Casino – preparing for mandatory

environmental labelling in France EC – role of carbon footprinting in European

climate polich Greenpeace – pilot labelling in Austria with

organic as best case standard

Multiple systems Ethical audits

Woolworths ethical auditsColes ethical questionnaireFairtradeSQFI Ethical sourcing moduleRainforest Alliance

Water footprinting

Result More unhappy growers Confused consumers More work for “us” “Thank goodness it’s Friday” Difficulty attracting and retaining

talented trainers, auditors etc Efficient? Sustainable?

Stomach No food No systems Survival and subsistence Who cares about connection

with producers..... we’re hungry!

No food – no systems “for most people in....the rest

of the developing world, gaining nourishment – by growing it, trying to find work to earn money to buy it, or simply stealing it – is a struggle every single day.”

Tony Fry, Griffith Review 2010

No food – no systems Local, national and

international impacts of climate change

Shift in supply : demand balance in developed countries

Consumers might not want so many assurances or labels if they are hungry

No food – no systemsWater shortages - Murray-Darling 1958 Murray-Darling was the centre

of “the transfiguration of a continent by irrigation science...”

Ernestine Hill ‘Water into Gold’ Early 1990’s toxic blue-green algae

outbreak covering a thousand kms of the river

No food – no systems “Interstate sales of

horticultural products are set to increase with projected supply shortages of a range of products caused by water shortages in eastern Australia”

Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, 2009

No food – no systems “It is critically important that WA

horticultural producers retain a dominant position in the domestic market into the future to be able to capture opportunities that will emerge over the next decade. ...opportunities that will arise from global food shortages.......”

Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, 2009

Result Increased risk – food safety,

environmental degradation, hunger Consumer not worried about how

food is produced Loss of control of production Civil unrest Unsustainable

Heart Best practice comes first ‘United’ systems approach –

recognition and equivalence Single certification opens multiple

doors Reconnection between producers

and consumers Increased trust and goodwill along

the supply chain

Compelling best practice Certification is a painless by-

product of what is already happening on farm

Single label, easily recognisable by consumers

Reduction of system turf wars Multiple rewards - financial,

environmental, social

Compelling best practice Focus on best management

practice implementation Multi-issue approach with

appropriate expertise Problem – solution efficiently

packaged

Compelling best practice “ the second pillar of effective

relationships is trust...” Greg Foran, Woolworths Ltd NSW

“ trust is the life blood of an organisation”

Stephen Covey

Result Sustainable primary production Single certification / label Supply chain partners trusted and

valued Goodwill abounds, high emotional

bank accounts, resilience Sustainable Efficient

Which future? We decide, whether consciously

or not

Success depends on compatibility of cultures, empathy for each other’s businesses, acceptance of each others expectations, mutual trust and motivation to develop relationships

Major agrifood business, 2010

Thanks

Jane Lovelljane.lovell@tqainc.com.au