Without food safety there is no food welfare

26. June 2020. VeeMee

A medal always has two sides. Does Coronavirus also have both of them? It does. And this time we will talk only about the positive one. What if someone, six months ago, warned you that one “seemingly harmless“ (not worse than the flu) virus could stop an entire planet? Would you laugh? Because who can tell the “almighty” and the most superior being on Earth that he or she will be locked in 4 walls for months? That all his work, effort, intellect, ego and results can fall into the shadow of “one harmless virus”? Nobody. Or can it? But Who? Maybe nature. Yes, it can, and it did! And this time she showed us just how important it is to restore the balance between human activity and itself. Well, isn’t it really good news to go back to nature which we came from?

The long-awaited “Farm to Fork” strategy was released this spring. The strategy is at the heart of the Union’s “green deal” and is coordinated by the leader of the European Green Agreement, Frans Timmermans. Making this strategy sustainable is the main goal. And in order to achieve this, the commission plans to take the following actions:

  • reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030.
  • reduce by 50% the use of more hazardous pesticides by 2030.

The excess of nutrients in the environment is a major source of air, soil and water pollution, negatively impacting biodiversity and climate. The Commission will, therefore:

  • reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%, while ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility.
  • reduce fertilizer use by at least 20% by 2030.

Antimicrobial resistance linked to the use of antimicrobials in animal and human health leads to an estimated 33,000 human deaths in the EU each year. Regarding this, the Commission plans to:

  • reduce by 50% the sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals and in aquaculture by 2030.

Ecologically sustainable agriculture is an environmentally friendly practice that should be maintained and further developed, so the commission will:

  • boost the development of EU organic farming area with the aim to achieve (25 % of total farmland) under organic farming by 2030

 

So, this is a strategy whose goal is to move to a sustainable food system that primarily protects human health (and thus the Earth), secure food supply and access to healthy food.

Although many things were destroyed by the corona, the reasons why the “farm to jaw” strategy was launched are not. However, food systems cannot be resilient to crises like the Covid-19 pandemic if they are not sustainable. So, it is important to be aware that putting food systems on a sustainable path also brings new opportunities for all stakeholders in the food chain. New technologies and scientific discoveries, combined with increasing public awareness and demand for sustainable food, will benefit all stakeholders, and this is exactly the only and right way to restore the balance between human activity and nature.

This is the vision that VeeMee started to implement in 2017. Being a participant and driver of change that will result in digitized agriculture and a happier, freer and healthier society and the market is our mission. Since January 2019, we have processed more than 1,500 tons of goods and saved more than 600 tons of food from being thrown away with a measurable and concrete reduction in CO2 emissions.

Without food safety there is no food welfare

In case you didn’t know by now, our WeeMee platform brings manufacturers visibility, transparency and brand building. It provides consumers with transparent insight into the traceability of fresh food. In short: we reveal to you WHAT you serve to your children at the plate. In our database, there are more than 150 products and 1400 manufacturers that have their own PID profiles. It is up to you to put the camera on the QR code from the product declaration in Interspar, Konzum, Tommy, Lidl, Metro or Plodine and you will find out where the melon or the prosciutto you are buying comes from.

P.S this combination is par excellence! ☺ Don’t forget to try it!

The platform is intended for all market stakeholders in direct contact with the placement of fresh food: producers – farmers, buyers, sellers – shopping centres and, finally, end customers – consumers. Including food preparation and quality control, packaging, transport, storage… we took the issue of food traceability, and the strategy “From farm to fork” seriously. And you? Because agriculture is the foundation of the economy, and this pandemic crisis has significantly made us aware of the importance of domestic production and the availability and transparency of food.

Just imagine that we succeed in these intentions, so that in 2030 the hamburger does not look like we all know it, greasy and in pastries that were previously frozen, with the meat of suspicious origin and onion treated with pesticides.

Imagine, instead, being served fresh, not frozen, pastries from a local bakery (perhaps our neighbour’s), which they will prepare from homegrown wheat; meat that also contains vegetable proteins or those that come from other animal sources such as insects (to regulate red meat consumption); onions that have not been treated with pesticides; ajvar, tartar or ketchup with reduced salt, sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. Imagine! Then everyone could enjoy the food, without remorse and aware of what we are eating.

If burgers are just like this in the future, we may be able to solve another problem. His name is obesity, and we’ll talk about it next time.

See you soon,

Your VeeMee advisor

Krajnji korisnik financijskog instrumenta sufinanciranog iz ESIF mikro zajmovi za obrtna sredstva u sklopu Operativnog programa konkurentnosti i kohezije https://hamagbicro.hr/
The creation of this website was co-financed by the European Union from European Structural and Investment Funds Krajnji korisnik financijskog instrumenta sufinanciranog iz ESIF mikro zajmovi za obrtna sredstva u sklopu Operativnog programa konkurentnosti i kohezije