1 Spring VFH project | 7 Jeanne de Bont Henk 2021Lamers
3 4742403834282420141065 Spring EnvironmentalFarmingTransportOriginPriceWeight2021 score Global Supermarketscosts and markets purchases Quality labels ResourcesWasteTableofcontents © May 26, 2020, Henk Lamers View on Eindhoven Admirant Tower 16th floor.
4 2020 VHF Project brochures Jeanne de Bont Henk IntroductionLamers VFH Project 1 20201Autumn VFH Project 4 2020JeannedeBontHenkLamers Spring VFH Project 2 2020JeannedeBontHenkLamers1Winter VFH project 5 Jeanne de Bont Henk Lamers | 212020 Summer VFH Project 3 2020JeannedeBontHenkLamersConclusions VFH Project 6 2020JeannedeBontHenkLamers | 21
5 Spring 2021
The publications that we wrote last year were quite extensive. There was an introduction to every subject and we included information about the origin of vegetables, fruit or herbs. At the end of each publication, the graphs of our shopping lists were shown and there was a page with our favourite recipe of the season. Unfortunately this way of working was very time-consuming. In addition to all the data analysis, we had to do a lot of desk-research, write the text and designed the graphs. All in all, the lead time before a publication was to long. That is why we choose for a new and compact form for the publications. One that shows the results and discusses possible conclusions. To compare results over time, we repeated the data of the year 2020 at the bottom of each graph. We hope you will enjoy the new form of publications.
The first conclusions in the category weight. We bought a wider variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs in 2021 and also more kilo’s. Probably because we have started to eat less meat and vegetables have become a substitute. But vegetarian food requires a different approach. Especially since we hardly use any salt, the herbs have replaced the salt. Eating more fruit is probably due to the Covid outbreak. We wanted to stay as healthy as possible to keep Covid out.
6 Weight
7 We bought 47 varieties of vegetables against 38 in 2020. The highest score of one type of vegetable, the potato, remains similar. It was also a good year for green and white asparagus because we ate a lot of them.
8More variation and more kilo’s of fruits. We also started to eat new fruits like peaches and apples.
9 An increase of approximately 3,6 kilo. This higher weight is mainly due to the fact that we started buying herbal plants and they weigh much more than a bag of herbs.
10
Price Base effect refers to the impact of an increase in the price level (previous year’s inflation) over the corresponding rise in price levels in the current year (current inflation).
According to the ECB, the European Central Bank, inflation has been very low for years, but reached the highest level in 13 years at the end of 2021. But what is inflation? Inflation occurs when there is an overall increase in the prices of goods and services, not just individual products. That means today you can buy less for one euro than yesterday. In other words, inflation depreciates the currency over time. This has to do with three main reasons: our economy is reopening quickly, higher energy prices are driving inflation, and the ‘base effect,’ as statisticians call it. In addition, the Covid outbreak and climate problems played an important role in the financial world. The graphs show a sharp increase in all costs this year.
11 The vegetables were so much more expensive then last year. But eating more vegetables instead of meat also had an impact on the total amount as we have seen in the previous ‘Weight’ graph.
12Compared with 2020 this was a very expensive season to buy fruit. A major increase of our expenses with 144,74 euro.
13 The higher costs for herbs makes more sense because we used far more of them in 2021. You have to keep in mind that herb plants are more expensive than a bag of herbs.
Origin
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Our goal is to buy all products from the Netherlands or at least from countries within the European Union in order to keep the climate impact as small as possible. The large amount of different vegetables, fruits and herbs that we ate also determine their origin. Avocado for example is not growing here in Europe and can therefore only be imported from far away countries. But in some periods of the year products may not be available in the Netherlands. Then supermarkets switch to suppliers from distant countries. You have to be aware of this effect en try to limit these purchases as much as possible.
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The16 increase of varieties of vegetables result in a long list of origin. We had to split the graph up and place it over two pages. Eleven countries delivered us seventy-two different vegetable products. While in 2020 it were ten countries delivering fifty vegetable products. Of the eleven countries, five are unfortunately still outside the EU.
17 In 2021 less fruit came from distant countries such as Brazil, Chile and Colombia. More fruits that we ate were produced in Italy, Spain and France.
Most18 of the organic herbs we bought came from Belgium and Spain. Unfortunately lemon grass and ginger came from distant countries, Peru and Kenya.
19
The Spanish conquistadors saw potatoes for the first time in the year 1537 in what we now know as Colombia. The first proof of potato usage in Europe comes from a spanish hospital in Seville. They bought potatoes in 1573. Experts think that monks brought potatoes home from their journeys. Battata Virginiana in the book The Herball, 1597 by John Gerard.
Eating a larger amount of fruit and vegetables had a domino effect on the rest of the categories such as transport. In all likelihood, this will have less climate impact than eating meat. You can see the effect of eating local and organic in the transportation results. We are very pleased with this.
The big differences in truck values are due to the use of different types of trucks. As a rule, larger trucks produce more CO2 than smaller trucks and refrigerated trucks more than non-refrigerated trucks. With airplanes, the distance plays a major role as the largest CO2 is generated during take-off. As a result, short flights have a higher CO2 production per km ton than longer flights.
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Transport Climate impact according to ByByByByBysustainablefootprint.orgboat,15to30g/kmtontrain,30g/kmtoncar,168to186g/kmtontruck,210to1430g/kmtonaircraft,570to1580g/kmton
On the left side of the graph you find the country of origin and the amount of kilometers in distance they have to the Netherlands. On the right side of the graph you will find the amount of purchases we made from these specific countries. For example; Italy is 1173 kilometers from the Netherlands. We made 24 Italian purchases, so actually you need to multiply the 1173 kilometers times 24. Unfortunately the companies don’t share any data on transportation. We simply don’t know how and in which quantities the products were transported.
21 The vegetables that we ate were transported over 35.241 kilometers. In the coming years we will try to reduce transportation as much as possible and buy products coming from the Netherlands.
22The transportation results of fruits are not very good this year. There is an increase of 16.562 kilometers of transported fruit. And sometimes even organic fruits came from distant countries.
23 The transportation of herbs will reduce significantly in the coming years because most herbs will grow in our garden.
Because we bought most of our products in organic supermarkets or on an organic market, we made great progress this year. Only when it really can’t be otherwise, for example when a product is not in stock and you can only choose from a non-organic product. Some products are not yet available in organic form, which means that your choice is limited. For example soy beans or certain herbs. In the near future we will try to grow these products ourselves in a greenhouse.
24
Farming
25 A great improvement in spring 2021 We bought about 46 kilograms organic vegetables and only three kilograms non organic vegetables.
26The transformation towards organic food is starting to pay-off. Look at the numbers, what a big difference with last year!
27 Although the graph of 2020 does look slightly different, we see a good improvement in the results. More kilo’s of organic herbs and less of non-organic herbs.
Environmental score chart
Environmental score
The environmental score of vegetables, fruits or herbs indicates how environmentally friendly a product is, compared to other similar products.
On the left side of the chart we listed the countries where the products come from. Products themselves are listed in the second column from the left. In addition, there are five columns with A, B, C, D and E. In those columns you find white small squares. The number of squares indicates how often we bought a product in spring with that particular classification. At the bottom of the graph, the total is again shown per column. Environmental score explanation We have again interpreted the fruit and vegetable calendar as accurately as possible.
Comes from the Netherlands, is in season, from a field (organic) and has a quality mark. Comes from the Netherlands or Europe, is in season, from a field or a greenhouse (organic) and has a quality mark. Comes from the Netherlands or Europe, is in season, from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark. Comes from countries such as Israel, Egypt, Morocco (about three thousand kilometers), is out of season, comes from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark. Comes from Africa, South America, Asia or New Zealand (about ten thousand kilometers), outside or within the season (it doesn’t matter), comes from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark.
The division into scores A, B, C, D, E is based on the most common
cultivation method, the most common mode of transport and the most used packaging material for that product from that country in that month. The national share of geothermal energy use and energy-efficient greenhouse horticulture has also been taken into account for the Dutch greenhouse vegetables tomato, pepper, cucumber and eggplant.
DCABE
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30With so many different products we had to split this graph in two parts and place over two pages. In the environmental score you want the high numbers in the categories A and B and eventually C. Products like ginger from Colombia end up in D or E category. Mostly because they don’t grow here in Europe or they are part of our current globalization trade system.
31
Over the year 2021 more fruit products ended up in category B. That is much better then last year. But we still have an issue with some fruits of the D and E category. This is because of our global trading system. If supermarkets cannot buy kiwis from Italy, they switch to suppliers from mostly distant countries such as New Zealand.
32We see a move towards the categories B and C. We are very pleased to see an empty E category and a D category with only 3 products.
In addition, the Eco-score also takes into account additional criteria: production method, packaging, origin, environmental policy of the country of origin and biodiversity. Plus and / or minus points are awarded if a product makes an effort in terms of the environment, or just not. For example, products with a European organic label receive fifteen bonus points.
The life cycle analysis (LCA) takes into account sisxteen impact categories that play an important role from the origin to the waste processing of a product, including: climate change, water use, land use, particulate matter, acidification.
Each impact category is measured in the different phases of the product life cycle. This analysis therefore goes much further than just CO2 emissions or ‘carbon footprint’. The life cycle analyzes of many product categories are available in the French Agribalyse database.
This label was introduced in France in January 2021. The label aims to provide customers with at-a-glance information about a product’s environmental impact, helping them to consume more sustainably. Eco–Score is an initiative of: ECO2 Initiative, Etiquettable, FoodChéri, Marmiton, Open Food Facts, ScanUp, Seazon and Yuka.
Like the Nutri-Score, the Eco-score is a food label with five categories: from A (green, the preferred choice) to E (red, the choice to avoid). Its aim is to enable consumers to make more ecological choices when making their purchases.
Test Aankoop, the Dutch consumer association, has asked the European Commission in 2021 to accelerate the implementation of a harmonized eco-score.
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The method to calculate the Eco-score consists of two components: on the one hand the life cycle analysis of a product and on the other hand an additional bonus-malus system.
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Global
Prices have risen enormously and caused a high inflation. Due to the Covid outbreak, people were forced to stay at home and there was even a curfew. In that period there were fewer fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs available. Part of the higher cost is due to the higher amounts of vegetables we have eaten as a substitute for meat. We spent almost three hundred euros more on food, regardless of whether it was organic or not. costs
35 A difference of 279,85 Euro with last year. That is a significant increase in just one year.
Our36 purchases of non-organic products are going down and that was our intention.
37 This result was caused by the fact that we bought a lot more products at organic markets and supermarkets. And yes, organic products are still more expensive but it is a matter of time. You just have to take that first step and go fully organic.
It was a good choice to switch from regular market and supermarket to an organic market and supermarket. This will have a positive influence on our footprint. In this graph it is clear that we like to buy products on the sustainable market. We have spend most of our budget there. As mentioned before we went shopping at EkoPlaza an organic supermarket. Only if it really can’t be otherwise, we went to a regular supermarket. Supermarkets and markets
38
39 A difference of 279.85 Euro. On one hand it is a very good result but on the other hand it shows the impact of the current inflation.
You can assume that most people don’t know much about quality labels. Yet it is the way to let the consumer know that it is a good product to buy. The problem is that there are way too many and too many different types of labels. A very simple and international quality system should be developed with a few labels that are understood by every consumer regardless of their country of origin. And that quality system must also apply to products that you buy on the local market.
EU Organic label Makes it easier for us to recognize organic products. That logo may only be used for products that contain at least ninety-five percent organic ingredients and that those ingredients meet additional strict requirements for the remaining five percent.
40 Quality labels
AH Foundation label Founded in 2007 by Albert Heijn. The AH Foundation mainly invests in projects in the field of housing, education, health and personal development. In 2021, for example, these projects directly reached more than 27,000 people, including nearly 12,000 children. The majority of the African and South American fruit and vegetable suppliers are currently affiliated with the AH Foundation. For projects, they work with representatives of their suppliers’ employees who tell them where the greatest needs and priorities lie. They continue to play a leading role in the projects.
41 142 Vegetable purchases with a quality label and only nine purchases without a label. A good 81result.Fruit purchases with a quality label and 74 without a label. This can only get better. 37 Herb purchases with a quality label and thirteen without a label.
You would expect that eating more vegetables would cause more waste. Yet our vegetable waste is not that different from last year. We discovered that you can eat some vegetables as a whole. For example radishes. The leaves of the radishes are also edible. We used to throw them away. Nowadays we pay attention to eat as much of the vegetables as possible.
42
Waste
43 The amount of waste hasn’t change that much. Only a small difference between 5.005 kilo and 4.777 of 2020.
44To improve this result of fruit waste, we have to search for a better destiny of the bananas and orange peelings. In the meantime we have learned that bananas and orange peelings can be used for cleaning products and cosmetics.
45
The herb plants we bought last longer but leave you with more garbage in the end. The pots can be re-used for growing plants but the soil has to be seen as waste. After drinking our mint tea, all of the mint has to be seen as waste. This causes the long black line on the right of Mint.
47 Resources Albert Heijn Supermarkt CBS Centraal Bureau voor Statistiek Duurzame weekmarkt Eindhoven EkoPlaza organic supermarket EU Organic label Jumbo supermarkt Markt Eindhoven Odin organic supermarket Open Food Facts Planten voor dagelijks gebruik, C. Kalkman Wikimedia.orgTheSustainablefootprint.orgHerball,1597,JohnGerard © May 26, 2020, Henk Lamers View on Eindhoven Admirant Tower 16th floor. © 2022 Jeanne de Bont & Henk Lamers, VFH Project
48 VFH project Spring 2021
