What food should we eat? Local, safe or environmentally sustainable food

Abstract

What food should we eat? Local, safe or evironmentally sustailnable food. Consumers throughout the world are demanding greater variety and quality in the food they eat. They require a consistent supply of high quality, safe food at an affordable price. They also want food that aligns with their own personal values. This includes such things as environmental sustainability, animal welfare, fair trade as well as such things as local and organic production. At a national level governments want to achieve food security, support local agricultural development and address issues environmental issues such as climate change. Within an increasingly glabalised and complex food system these issues are often conflicting and not easy to resolve. This paper focuses on a case study of how Waitrose supermarket in the United Kingdom addresses these issues within their lamb supply chain. Waitrose are able to ensure that their customers have a twelve-month supply of quality lamb meeting the highest standards of animal welfare and environmental sustainability. They also support the livelihood of their farmer suppliers through premium prices and improvements in farm productivity. This is acheived in the highly competitive United Kingdom supermarket environment and this strategy provides Waitrose with a sustainable competitive advantage.