Farming and food supply library

What’s the issue? Triggers for business failure in the food chain are potentially diverse but include: Falling profitability – e.g. through cost increases or a fall in market price Financial system – e.g. cash flow problems from a shortage of banking capital Labour issues – e.g. from the lack of a succession for family businesses Natural forces – e.g. from animal or cro...

What’s the issue? Flooding is the most common and widespread cause of natural disaster in the UK. If the climate becomes increasingly volatile we can expect to see more floods in the UK and worldwide. If sea levels rise, this would accentuate the problem. UK population is projected to continue increasing and new building developments could also make flooding from surface water more frequen...

What’s the issue? The Skills Gap usually refers to shortage/non-availability of personnel with specific specialised skills and knowledge. Taking a wider view, the Skills Gap could also refer to an escalation of labour costs, undermining competitiveness in any particular territory. The Skills challenge is not limited to the food industry; in a recent global survey, 58% of CEOs said that ...

What’s the issue? Freshwater is a critical component in the production of all food. Its global supply, of course, is finite. In many parts of the world, irrigation is essential for productive farming and around 40% of the world’s grain is grown on irrigated land. In total, agriculture accounts for around 70% of global freshwater use. On average, the food consumed per person, per day req...

What’s the issue? The food system is energy intensive and higher energy prices translate into higher food prices.  Furthermore, energy, food and water are inextricably interlinked. Recent events including droughts, floods, oil spills and food price spikes show that we cannot view our food, water, energy and eco-systems in isolation. Instead, we must understand how all these intersect — the...

What’s the issue? The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that "the malicious contamination of food is a real and current threat." Historically, the main threat has come from criminals attempting extortion or individuals with a grudge but action by extremist groups is another potential concern. In today's global marketplace, the contamination of food in one country can affect pub...

 What’s the issue? The Earth's climate has always been in a state of flux. However, since the early 1900s, it has changed particularly rapidly and according to the scientific consensus, this is mainly because of man-made changes to the atmosphere and in land use. Assuming that climate scientists are broadly correct, we will live with the consequences of today’s higher greenhouse gas levels...

What’s the issue? Insects, including bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles and hoverflies, pollinate about 80% of all plant species in Europe, including most fruits, many vegetables and some oilseed crops. We are not totally reliant on insect pollinators. Such staple crops as wheat, rice and corn are either wind or self-pollinated. However, insect pollinated crops do provide us with vit...

What’s the issue? The banking system underpins all commercial activity by creating, storing and transferring money. Any failure in the system therefore can cause the destruction of wealth and erosion of confidence. A particularly severe collapse, although unlikely, could undermine the trading system that underpins the food chain. Possible shocks that might precipitate a problem in the b...

What’s the issue? In this context, “speculation” refers mainly to the involvement of outside (non-food-business) interests in the trading of food commodities, especially through the use of future contracts. These are similar to forward-purchase contracts except that a future is a financial asset that can only be traded on an exchange whereas a forward contract is a private arrangement betw...