Commentary: Companies, show us the carbon footprint of your food

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 62 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 28%
  • Publisher: 66%

Canada News News

Canada Canada Latest News,Canada Canada Headlines

Oat milk brand Oatly has been printing the carbon impact of its products on packaging. It’s a good start, but it probably won’t be enough to change behaviour, says Lara Williams for Bloomberg Opinion.

The idea of climate labelling is that to make the carbon footprint of food and drink clearly available, in the same way as nutritional information. LONDON: I’m in the market for a new oven. Like the flat my partner and I are purchasing, which the United Kingdom government mandates have an energy performance certificate, appliances come with an efficiency rating and data about average electricity use.

Oatly Group, which sells milk made from oats and other non-dairy products, has launched a campaign aimed at drawing attention to one low-cost way of encouraging that dietary change: Climate labelling. The idea is that all food and drink companies should make the extent of their carbon footprint clearly available, in the same way that ovens get their efficiency ratings and food packaging has nutritional information.

Looking at the carbon label on the back of the Oatly carton in my fridge, it strikes me that the number alone - 0.49kg of CO2-equivalent per 1kg of whole oat drink - leaves me only with more questions: How does that compare to dairy milk or other plant-based alternatives, for example? Energy performance certificate ratings come in a colour-coded range, for example and sugar and fat content is sometimes displayed using a traffic light system. That gives us an instant reading on how well the product performs.

I’m concerned of a repeat with carbon labels. In the face of information overload and potentially conflicting priorities, from brand loyalty and taste to nutritional values and price, there’s only so much optimising the average shopper can do, no matter how good their intentions are.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in CA
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Canada Canada Latest News, Canada Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Taiwan vice president warns companies could leave China over 'pressure'TAIPEI: Economic powerhouse Taiwanese companies based in China may be forced to relocate if they feel "unjustly pressured", the island's vice president warned on Tuesday (Oct 24) after Chinese authorities launched a probe into
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »