The greatest crisis of our time is the loss of biodiversity.
The CEO of Ecotone, which owns companies like Whole Earth, Kallo, and Clipper Teas, Christophe Barnouin, outlines how the industrial food paradigm is harming the environment and offers solutions.
The abundant and captivating biodiversity of the planet is suffering greatly as a result of consumer decisions and the demands of the world’s expanding population.
The amazing range of life on Earth, from the tiniest bug and grass blade to the largest carnivore and tallest tree, is referred to as biodiversity. The survival of every living species depends on its fellows.The world is simply being harmed by the industrial food regime that exists today. It is severing ties within the natural world and causing a decline in the number of species. However, this is not commonly recognized. Only 5% of respondents to recent UK consumer surveys stated that they are most concerned about the environment because of food production or intensive farming.
Our methods for obtaining food need to be improved. Ways to guarantee the long-term preservation of our lovely world and cease endangering our priceless ecosystems must be “put on the menu.”
Meat and dairy farming account for seventy-five percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, which are caused by food production.2. The influence that human food intake has on the fauna on our world is evident, and we cannot ignore it. In fewer than 30 years, 80 percent of the insects in our fields have vanished.3. Furthermore, since intensive livestock raising accounts for 80% of the deforestation in the Amazon,4 reform is long overdue.
Now is the moment to take action.
But there is still time to change the situation; quick corrective action can stop the extinction of a species.
It’s time for everyone of us to accept accountability for the decisions we make. In order to preserve and improve biodiversity and repair the harm done to our world, we must initiate a food revolution and inspire everyone in our vicinity to make constructive changes.Consumer power: eat less meat and switch to organic food
One approach to change things is through the choices that consumers make at the grocery store. Reducing our personal effect begins with increasing the diversity of our diets and choosing organic and vegetarian options. We think it’s healthier for our diets to include more veggies and less meat. One of the main causes of climate change is animal rearing.
Accountability and openness
This presents a significant issue for the food business. It goes beyond just being carbon neutral. This widely used statistic is nothing more than deceptively subtle greenwashing unless it is further supported by concrete commitments for reducing carbon emissions. Companies ought to be actively lowering their carbon emissions. They aren’t really assisting if they don’t. The best course of action is to reduce emissions and address our business’s environmental consequences rather than trying to offset emissions, which does not address the underlying problem.
Objectives and activities
At Ecotone, we’ve pledged to track and lower our emissions, both direct and indirect, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Reducing climate emissions is essential to our premise that biodiversity degradation and climate change are inextricably linked, as guided by our purpose of “Food for Biodiversity.”
Having a product portfolio that is primarily plant-based generally results in lower emissions. We’re doing more by employing renewable resources during manufacture, lowering the weight of our products, and switching to packaging that is entirely recyclable. We are gradually replacing our industrial sites with “green” biogas, and eventually our offices and factories will run entirely on renewable energy. Regarding the farming methods in our supply chain, we also collaborate closely with our stakeholders. Improving agroecological techniques that support and enhance biodiversity is our top objective.
addressing the crisis of biodiversity
There are many obstacles to overcome in the fight against the biodiversity issue, such as the need to outlaw all chemicals that destroy life, oppose the standardization of food, and restore our ecosystems that have been harmed. Make no mistake: biodiversity loss is the greatest environmental disaster of our time, even though it is less well-known than climate change. In order to promote change and safeguard the things that are most important, we must all work together.