Organic or not
pic:www.yorktourism.com
We learn that the sales of organic food have fallen by a fifth and that numbers of producers are resigning their accreditation. Needless to say, the recession is being blamed, however it would be interesting to see what would have happened without the current economic nightmare.
The organic movement has undoubtedly done us the great service of opening everyone’s eyes to the rather more unpleasant aspects of pesticides and industrial farming. However, I have a suspicion that their success will prove to be to their commercial detriment in the not too distant future.
At the same time as organic sales have been forging ahead, consumer media has been pushing the concept of healthy, nutritious, ‘proper’ food with pastoral vigour, ably supported by the sermons of the reverands Oliver and Fearnley-Whittingstall.
The paying public have followed foodservice and have discovered provenance for themselves. They are now very conscious of the origins and delivery of the food they eat and know where to get what they want…and it needn’t have an organic label.
Half of the British public is now familiar with Fairtrade
According to a global survey by Globescan, commissioned by Fairtrade Labelling Organisations, half of the public are now familiar of the Fairtrade Certification Mark.
The survey, which questioned 14,500 people in 15 countries including the UK, also found that nine out of ten (91%) trust the label. Some 64% of all consumers believe that Fairtrade has strict standards, a quality that also closely correlates to consumer trust. And almost three quarters of shoppers (72%) believe independent certification is the best way to verify a product’s ethical claims.
These levels of awareness and trust are consistent with people’s action, as sales indicators show more people are shopping for Fairtrade. Sales were up in 2008 (as compared with 2007) by 24% in Austria, by 40% in Denmark, by 57% in Finland, by 22% in France, by 75% in Sweden, by 43% in the UK and by 10% in the US.
Further research found that 32% of people learn about Fairtrade through family, friends and work colleagues, whilst 16% hear about it through education, community and faith groups. Broadcast and news media account for how 33% people learn about Fairtrade. People learn about new products and concepts from their own social groups and contacts – a key ripple effect for Fairtrade.
In the UK nearly half of consumers are ethically active with high expectations of corporate responsibility. The UK has the highest level of awareness with 82% of people saying they recognise the Fairtrade mark. Of these people, 94% say they trust the fairtrade mark. More than three quarters of shoppers, 77%, believe that Fairtrade has strict standards and again more than three quarters of shoppers, 77%, believe independent certification is the best way to verify a product’s ethical claims.
Estimated retail sales of Fairtrade products in the UK topped £700m in 2008.
We have often argued that the virtues of Fairtrade are ambiguous but despite this, we believe that this is a step in the right direction.
“If it is local, it must taste better”. A balanced response to an over indulged belief
Foodservice Footprint recently ran a competition in schools concerning awareness of locally sourced food. One young A-Level student, Archie Cosby, from Sherborne in Dorset emerged trumps, not only in his environmental opinions but also as a budding journalist.
“Oh but these potatoes are delicious. They come from just down the road you see”. This angle on local food is far too widespread. Why, just because it has been locally sourced, should it taste any better? I think that like organic food, the nation has overdone the whole idea that ‘local food’ is far better. It may create a community within local regions, and it may at times have less negative environmental impact, but it does not mean that it tastes better. It is an ill perceived belief that this is the case and it is something that too many chefs have become overindulged in, printing it all over menus as if it will earn them a Michelin star. This over obsession reminds me of a similar misjudgement of ingredient like that of the overly heavy use of truffle oil which they think adds to a “locally sourced” wild mushroom risotto for instance, the nutty and fragrant flavour and aroma exclusive only to an actual truffle when what it really does is just inject a vulgar, sickening taste. Anyway, why not enjoy the fruits of our labour. We spent rather a long time exploring the world, and wasteful of this hard work it would be if we weren’t to take full advantage of the pleasure existing in foods from around the world which we cannot get hold of in Britain. I do, however, concede that, opposing this view on local produce is an argument of much strength, and one that is supported by an impressive number of people. Lending their services to what has almost become a ‘movement’ in its sweeping attitudes and at times strong political arguments, is an army of – yes, I’m afraid I’m going to be highly controversial and say it – confused and aggressively passionate terriers who have become tied up in a gastronomic world of fantasy where they hope to better their own health and to establish themselves an image of supporting the local community. They have spun together this world in which they live like menacing spiders, their legs moving furiously in a motion to create their web, one which merely represents a frantic mess of false delusions. I myself realize that I too, while writing this, am weaving my own little web, one in which I am weary of becoming tired and getting stuck, except I fear not being disembodied by my hungry female counterpart. Instead, I am worried that I may find myself lying under a thick bush of nettles, with rather a hard pillow of gravel and tarmac, not thinking about making nettle soup for supper, but instead worrying more about the tire marks running across my stomach. Of course, I am eager to avoid being brutally disposed of by an over sized 4×4 on its way to the local farm shop, but I do also, to an extent, sympathise with these ‘terriers’. While I do argue that, just because it’s a potato that was grown 5 miles away, it doesn’t mean that it is any tastier, I do think it is crucial that we support our country’s agriculture. We do, after all, owe a lot to our fields. We are all familiar with that famous slogan, “Dig for Victory”, and, although we had little other choice but to grow our own vegetables in such a way during the Second World War, it was the importance of growing our own produce which was so enthusiastically embraced that was, many argue, a decisive factor in the Allies’ victory in 1945. So if not just as a patriotic salute to those wartime veg growers but also to our own farmers of today, I suppose we ought to at least consider the impact that food sourced from distant locations has on the environment. We are a country gripped by the issue of global warming, and, unlike organic food, and to a degree, ‘local food’, this is not just a chic fashion. Instead, unfortunately, it is rather more serious than such. Tony Blair was, it is only fair to say, speaking some sense when, in 2008 he encouraged the nation to “Just Ask” where the food that they were buying at supermarkets came from. Backed by Britain’s Country Land and Business Association, this campaign endorsed by Mr Blair aimed to heighten the amount of British produce being purchased by the public. For this to work, the hope was subsequently that the public would opt more regularly for the cut of gammon steak produced by British farmers, their pigs reared on the grassy moors of Gloucester. The man who introduced this scheme was, however, also the same man who planned to have all British soldiers out of Iraq by 2007. We are also, after all, British and however proud we are of our own produce, we are a nation who have been described on more than one occasion it has to be said, be it by our Gallic enemies from across the channel, as one that doesn’t ‘do’ food. This mockery is beginning to cease, and so it should be what with the outstanding advances which food has experienced in this country. The last 20 years has seen something of a revolution in Britain’s restaurants and we are now beginning to establish ourselves as a country that would confidently challenge any other in the kitchen. And, with gastronought Heston Blumenthal, whose restaurant, The Fat Duck was named the Best Restaurant in the World as ranked by an international panel of 500 culinary experts, why on earth should we not strive to compete for the culinary crown so arrogantly assumed ownership of by the French. Fine, they may have produced the likes of Herve This, August Escoffier- ‘the king of chefs and the chef of kings’, and Joel Robuchon – widely considered as the greatest of all French chefs, but we in England, in a small village called Bray have taken their prized snail and have converted it into a snail porridge. The magnificence of this dish is in its deliberately bizarre and unappealing name as it becomes triumphed and conquered by the experience of eating it. I am aware that I’m ranting. I am only an Englishmen who is eager to boast about, and to support, the food of this country. So too are nearly all of us. But it is just more costly to do so as we now find ourselves swamped by the collapse of our economy. As much as we would like to buy that cut of Gammon reared in the English midlands, our wallets simply point us instead, as shameful as it is, to that lump of ‘meat’, the label which says ‘Gammon’ merely disguising the contents of China’s bins in its clear up of Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, bins from which barks could not too long ago be heard and paws seen poking out of the top. The point is, therefore, that it is just too expensive for many to support locally sourced food even if they would ideally like to.
Archie’s article will also be published in the up and coming edition of the Foodservice Footprint journal. Well done Archie, box of organic vegetable sourced from North Dorset coming your way. We look forward to hearing more from you!
How local is LOCAL? And who really means it?
Read this very interesting blog published on The Guardian’s site yesterday. It reflects our views at FF entirely and underlines what we have been arguing for years.
Although it is retail focused, I feel the same applies to much of the foodservice industry. Even those with sophisticated green mandates and CSR policies seem to take localism very seriously from a marketing point of view but how local is LOCAL? We are clearly abusing the word local as merely being from ‘Britain’ is simply not true to the definition of the word.
Manifest to the, shall we say, flakeyness of Corporate ecological consciousness was an article published in The Times on the 12th of April stating that firms have moved away from Carbon Off-Setting as a result of the recession:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6078141.ece
This, once the scheme to be involved in, has proven somewhat fickle, it seems. One thing, I would argue is happening is that the men are starting to emerge from the boys! Who is really serious about making a difference!
THE CHANGING FACE OF BRITISH MENUS: HAS SIRLOIN STEAK LOST ITS APPEAL FOR GOOD?
Chicken breast has overtaken sirloin steak as the most frequently listed main course item on pub, restaurant and hotel menus, according to new research from market analyst Horizons
Horizons’ biannual Menurama research looks at the dishes listed on Britain’s restaurant, hotel and pub menus*. Its latest results clearly reveal the impact of higher costs and price-conscious consumers with last year’s most frequently listed main course menu items of sirloin steak, veggie burger, sausage and mash, fish and chips and rump steak being replaced by chicken breast, fish & chips, Sunday lunch and risotto (excluding pizza and burgers).
“Our findings demonstrate that establishments have altered their menus to include cheaper items in response to financial pressures. Premium ingredients have been dropped in favour of more economical dishes and we are seeing the emergence of more traditional British recipes such as meatballs and stews. Fish is also making a stronger appearance on British menus along with vegetable-based starters,” commented Horizons’ managing director Peter Backman.
“Dishes such as fajitas, mixed grills and some pasta dishes have declined in popularity due to the rising cost of raw ingredients and because operators are continuing to evolve their menus in an effort to give consumers something different, something that they wouldn’t cook at home. Spiralling meat costs have prompted operators to reduce the weights of their core meat dishes such as beef burgers and steaks.”
While vegetable starters are showing more prominence on menus, Menurama also notes the return of traditional and game meats such as mutton, rabbit and guinea fowl, although fish and seafood main course dishes are being featured more strongly with haddock, calamari and sea bass appearing in the top 10 fish-based ingredients used. Salmon, meatballs and chicken salad have all appeared in the top 20 list for the first time this year.
But despite a rising popularity for British-based main courses, desserts seem to be moving away from the traditional. British puds such as sticky toffee pudding, fruit crumble and sponge pudding, all of which made the top 10 most frequently listed dessert in January 2008, are now less popular on menus than cheesecake, brownie, and profiteroles. Topping the most frequently listed desserts, however, are still ice cream and sundaes, although ice cream now takes the number one slot.
When it comes to price trends, Menurama reveals it is now costing consumers around 3% more to eat out than it was a year ago, with average spend across all types of outlets at just over £6, up from £5.91 in January 2008.
A two-course meal in a pub restaurant costs an average of £10.99, compared with £10.95 in January 2008. Hotels have got slightly cheaper with an average two-course meal costing £18.48, compared with £19.67 a year ago. A two-course meal in a restaurant now costs just over £14.88, up from £14.30 in January 2008.
* The Menurama analysis was based on menus collected from the top 100 multiple and branded chain foodservice operators and leading independents in January 2009
PRESS RELEASE
16 April 2009
For further comment and detail please email press@horizonsforsuccess
Footprint Blog 
Some Good News!
An Economic Snapshot from McKinsey following their Global Survey suggests that Executives are slightly more optimistic about the global economic picture. Although it does not specifically relate to foodservice, this research will have an impact and it does suggest a degree of positive sentiment out there!
The report in McKinsey Quarterly suggests that executives were more positive than they were six weeks ago and see hope for their companies towards the end of 2009. Nearly a quarter of executives, McKinsey suggest, expect the economy to be in better shape by the end of June, significantly more than at the time of the last report.
More at www.mckinsey.com