June 18th is the day of sustainable gastronomy. This was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
In probably no other topic does sustainability play a more important role than food. The idea of sustainability is one of the most important developments in the food industry. Consumers demand transparency in the production of food, healthy food and low prices. Institutions and producers respond with different seals or sophisticated marketing strategies.
Sustainable food products are on the rise not only in individual food catering, but restaurants are also increasingly confronted with the topic.
Sustainability is important for the success of gastronomy businesses
The gastronomy is highly dependent on their guests. And they increasingly value an environmentally and socially acceptable offer and include such information in their choice.
They find support here in initiatives such as Greentable. This project has recognized that consumers in the retail sector are already given a great deal of information about the products, but this is rarely the case in restaurants. This gap should be closed by the online platform.
Gastronomy companies can be certified and included in a directory of sustainable gastronomy establishments. Producers and suppliers are also offered this opportunity. So they can work together with the restaurants of the country, which want to pay more attention to their environmental impact.
But sustainability is a complex topic, especially in the food sector.
Sustainable Gastronomy – Think global, act local
When shopping for the next day, it is not enough to resort exclusively to organic products. Sustainability should ideally be seen more broadly.
When procuring, for example, the environmental compatibility of agricultural products, the welfare of animals, the avoidance of long transport routes and the fair treatment of all persons involved in the value chain must be taken into account.
In the gastronomy business, points such as waste prevention, climate protection, working conditions and, of course, adequate preparation of the products with optimum use of their potential should be considered.
On the way to a sustainable catering business, there are various guidelines and standard procedures that you can use to orient yourself. Here are two, which are important from our point of view:
First Steps on the Road to Sustainability – DFGE helps
The Day of Sustainable Gastronomy will in 2018 be accompanied by the action #grünaufgetischt. Restaurant owner and guests can use the hashtag to share in social networks what they are doing to combat climate change.
The DFGE can assist catering businesses to counteract the ongoing climate change. The identification of the main emitters or the calculation of a carbon footprint should be at the beginning here.
The SDGs of the United Nations provide good clues for the development of a holistic sustainability strategy. Here, too, the DFGE with its many years of experience in strategy development is happy to provide advice.
If you are interested in this topic, please contact us by email via or by phone at +49 (0) 8192-99733-20.
