Undergraduate Nutrition Report Sample

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Food Supply and Sustainability

Introduction

To feed the growing global population, habitats are under great strain. Rapid urbanisation, income disparity, political crises, and global warming are further disrupting the environment and spawning new illnesses with lengthy, indefinite lifetimes that are not only an increasing concern but may become the new reality as food scarcity pressures mount.

Also, FDF chief Ian wright has highlighted the fact that “The just-in-time supply system may never work again, resulting in permanent shortages” in an article (Management 2021). It has enlightened many organisations and companies to improve their global supply chain because millions of people are now conscious of the difficult reality of zoonosis – the capacity of infections such as bacterial and viral infections to infiltrate the world race from an infected animal, as COVID-19 did.

Zoonosis is not a new issue, with HIV originating in animals, Ebola and Marburg in bats, and swine and avian flu in pigs and birds, in both, but given the uncontrollable global distribution of COVID-19 as well as its real influence on the entire food supply chain, many institutions, such as crop development and meat businesses, as well as purchasers, appear to be deeply worried.

Agribusinesses must recognise that new illnesses are developing that can spread fast over the world, which is an unavoidable part of the future. Setting organisations to establish and sustain daily operations preemptively in the face of such events must be included in company strategy and functioning methods (Bhandari., 2020). For the critical analysis of a product’s supply chain, I have chosen Nutella.

History of Nutella: Nutella is a famous – and well-known – brand in the culinary industry. It was devised by Pietro Ferrero, an Italian pastry maker from Piedmont, in response to a cocoa scarcity after World War II. Ferrero cleverly created a delectable paste from hazelnuts, sugars, and a tiny bit of the then-rare cacao (Nutella, 2021).

Critical Analysis of Issues Impacting the Sustainable Supply

In this section, there will be a critical analysis of the impacting the sustainable supply of Nutella from farmer to fork.

Farm to Table

Figure 1-Farm to the table (chart), source (Bhandari,2021)

Although the foundations in the Farm to Plate chart shown here are almost identical to those of similar in plant and animal production, the broader network, financial, geological, and regulatory changes will force organisations in this space to reconsider their care plans for their companies at uncertain times. In addition, changes must be considered when foodservice organisations try to revitalise their operations due to the recent epidemic (Bhandari 2021).

Supply of Hazelnuts from turkey

GIRESUN, TURKEY – The farmers who grow most of the globe’s hazelnut are struggling from a currency collapse that has shaken a distribution network that spans from the rugged mountains of this city facing the Black Sea to Nutella containers on shop shelves. The Turkish hazelnut industry, which utilises 4 million individuals and produces 70 per cent of the nation’s hazelnuts, is a powerful example of the global consequences of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s financial risky bet, which he claimed he wanted a weakened Turkish lira to inspire export markets and broaden productive sector.

This year, the lira has dropped 50 % of its value. The falling lira is raising the cost of fertiliser, seeds, pesticides, and other imported necessities at the heart of Turkey’s massive hazelnut sector. Energy, packing, and shipping costs are increasing for nut producers. Labour expenses for hazelnuts are projected to grow as the Turkish state prepares to raise wages to keep up with the country’s 21% rate of inflation (AFP, 2021). As a result, Turkey’s once-prosperous hazelnut growers are becoming poorer, and their fields are producing fewer nuts for the world’s largest mix of goods like hazelnut milk and Nutella. According to industry executives, Decreasing hazelnut stocks will finally force up costs for consumers.

“The world is on the verge of a hazelnut shortage,” said Turgan Zülfikar, a New York-based adviser for Turkish firms looking to join the American market. “If you like Nutella, you should stock up on it on your next food shopping trip (Malsin,2021).”

Ferrero, the Italian-owned firm that manufactures Nutella, purchases around one-third of Turkey’s hazelnuts shipments. The corporation did not reply to inquiries about how the crisis in Turkey will affect its operations. In November, Turkey entered a full-fledged liquidity crisis after cutting interest rates at Mr Erdogan’s request. He has sacked several central bank heads and practically all other government spokesmen who have got in the way of his unconventional economic plan.

In November only, the lira shed 30% of its worth. The problem worsened on Monday, when the lira dropped over 6% of its worth in a couple of hours, spurred by statements by Mr Erdogan in which he urged for greater interest rates reductions, invoking what he claimed were Islamic values. Since the start of December, the government has sold billions of dollars in foreign exchange to stabilise the lira. Mr Erdogan has called for lower rates to promote economic growth and believes that lower prices will help reduce inflation, against orthodox economic theory and decades of historical evidence (Welle, 2021).

Redesigning Food Supply Chains

Our global food supply system is based on allowing goods to freely travel internationally. This enables low-cost product sourcing, production, and distribution anywhere else. As a substantial portion of the population enters self-isolation and lockdown, epidemics like COVID-19 show the flaws in this approach and the necessity to rethink the food supply network.

The existing supply chains are designed with production and consumption hubs distributed worldwide, and the movement of goods is frequently disrupted during pandemics. Nutella, for example, exemplifies the complexities of restructuring supply systems. It is believed that about 360,000 tonnes of the item are eaten yearly across 160 countries.

Each 13 oz container has more than 50 hazelnuts, making Nutella consume more than 70 million tons of hazelnuts daily. Nutella hazelnuts from Turkey, Nigerian cocoa, palm oil from Malaysia, Brazilian and European sugar, and Chinese vanilla flavour. Nine production plants worldwide combine all the ingredients to make a finished product (Ferdman, 2013).

With constraints on the worldwide transport of individuals, commodity markets, and assistance, as well as confinement metrics such as shutdowns, companies such as Nutella may well be forced to migrate, close manufacturing units, or make abrupt development to their supply chain to access from alternative solutions for unknown lengths of time. This might imply acquiring goods locally or creating a secondary worldwide source (Cadiuex,2021).

Figure 2-Global value chain of Nutella, source (Bhandari,2021)

Benefits and Costs of Globalisation

Favourite hazelnut spread Nutella is a great illustration of globalisation’s advantages and drawbacks. Every year, 400,000 tonnes of it are manufactured via a supply system that spans practically every continent. Key components like cocoa, hazelnuts, and palm oil are obtained from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where producing countries brag about lifting their individuals out of misery.

However, that connection has had ramifications. Allegations that child labour was being employed on hazelnut fields in Turkey prompted Nutella’s parent company, Ferrero, to increase supply traceability in 2019. The rapid increase of palm plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia has resulted in the loss of enormous swaths of rainforest, and something Ferrero is attempting to mitigate through sustainable sourcing and surveillance systems of forest regions.

Environmentalists and several farmers are already complaining about the company’s decision to re-shore certain manufacturing back to Italy (MRT, 2021). This morning staple appears to attract a lot of governmental anger, even as it scrambles to keep an ever-tighter supply in check. Nutella is only one of many examples of transnational supply chains at the core of global issues such as combating climate change and the fight against human rights violations.

Despite this, corporations appear to be caught off guard by this duty. The necessity for businesses to go beyond their physical vicinity and evaluate every part of their business was emphasised during the COP26 meeting when palm-oil exporters are among the 100 nations committed to slowing or stopping the destruction by 2030.

The problem has been front with the centre during Covid-19, with lockdowns putting critical personnel in danger for little pay. Supply-chain weaknesses are being experienced, judged by the difficulty of keeping grocery shelves stocked throughout the present rebound. Although the industry had done wonders since the beginning of the century, when the principles of ethical business practices were established, it is now time to raise the standard. The effort begins with legislators. Organic principles and methods should take a back seat to the law that forces companies to open up their complicated, opaque, and extensive supply chains (Laurent,2021).

Goals of the Supply Chain that they have been Continuing Since 2020

Ferrero has established two objectives to minimise its environmental impact in response to the global crisis, demanding businesses to increase their efforts. By 2030, the group hopes to have lowered all pollutants from its operations in half, following the Paris Treaty’s goal of preventing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Nutella promises to cut emissions by 43% for every tonne of goods produced throughout all ranges. The foundation year for both objectives is 2018 (Nutella 2021a). To fulfil the first aim, Ferrero has developed a roadmap to reduce emissions from its facilities and stores. The company will work with its partners to reduce pollution while reconsidering methods and inventing new goods.

Ferrero is working to solve the firm’s most critical sustainability concerns. The preceding are a few examples, which are all compatible with the firm’s 4 different aspects of sustainability: contribute to the conservation, source goods responsibly, support consumerism, and inspire people. Ferrero stated in 2019 that 100% of their packages would be reused, recycled, or borrowed by 2025.

As part of this launch, “Ferrero signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation”, demonstrating its commitment to contributing to problem reduction and useless packaging through rethinking and innovation (Ferrero,2021). Ferrero achieved their goal of purchasing certified palm oil and split 100 per cent of the RSPO in January 2015 and has done so ever since.

Last year, WWF ranked the company as the best performing market on its Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard. The study also highlights the Ferrero Farming Value (FFV) programs, launched in 2013 to help the factory achieve its goal of developing a continuous supply chain for each of its raw ingredients. FFV hazelnut team members visited more than 21,000 farmers in 2019, helping them increase yields by more than 40%.

The FFV cocoa program focuses on three issues in the cocoa supply chain: improving the livelihoods of farmers and the community, protecting children’s rights, and conserving the environment. In 2019, Ferrero helped more than 100,000 farmers, rebuilt or rebuilt about 50 schools, and provided educational services to more than 13,000 youth.

In 2019, Ferrero sourced 81 per cent natural cocoa beans, and the business is on the path to finding 100 per cent divided and discoverable cacao beans by the finish of 2020. As a result, Ferrero would be able to view the supply chain and troubles in a tailor-made way. Ferrero’scocoa’s implementation plan will be bolstered in the long term, with actions such as increasing on-the-ground initiatives with makers and NGO partners and introducing Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems in the cocoa industry (Ishak,2021).

Conclusion and Recommendations

Ferrero is developing a new plan and making pledges to guarantee that the firm addresses the essential variables for business growth: sustainability threats and possibilities. Nutella has always been devoted to building a firm that benefits its employees, clients, households, and society. Ferrero will continue to satisfy sustainability targets and enhance procedures through supply chain collaboration.

Mandatory research measures have been suggested in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The first imposing sanctions for corporations using items associated with unlawful deforestation and the latter considering a broader approach to penalise humanitarian and ecological damages. However, the goal of any regulation should be to preserve the benefits of globalisation while minimising its drawbacks, rather than merely devising the most powerful weapon to strike enterprises.

Authorities should assist businesses by implementing their development and environmental laws and standards. Lawmakers should not automatically intervene in how businesses are operated, such as by requiring greater on-shoring of manufacturing or modifying corporate governance regulations. Support should also be given for small-to-medium-sized enterprises, which the greater relative cost of supply-chain audits may legitimately put off. According to one assessment of product specifications in emerging countries, the cost of satisfying them is $425,000 per business. This can be supplied indirectly by governments or larger corporations that can justify spending more to raise the quality of their suppliers.

References

AFP. 2021, Turkish hazelnut farmers frustrated over Nutella ‘monopoly’. Available [online] at: https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/turkish-hazelnut-farmers-frustrated-over-nutella-monopoly

Ashira Ishaq.2021. FERRERO GROUP: ACHIEVING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION. Available [online] at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353365568_FERRERO_GROUP_ACHIEVING_SUSTAINABILITY_THROUGH_

SUPPLY_CHAIN_INTEGRATION

Ferrero corporate. 2021, The Ferrero Group introduces a new recyclable box for its iconic Ferrero Rocher range.Available [online] at: https://www.ferrero.com/news/the-ferrero-group-introduces-new-recyclable-box-for-its-iconic-ferrero-rocher-range

Jared Malsin. 2021. Turkey’s Currency Crisis Slams the Nutella Global Supply Chain. Available [online] at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkeys-currency-crisis-slams-the-nutella-global-supply-chain-11639996201

Lionel Laurent.2021. What Nutella Teaches Us About Global Supply Chain Risks. Available [online] at: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-07/what-nutella-teaches-us-about-global-supply-chain-risks

Management.com. 2021, FDF warns supply chain disruption is here to stay, Meat Management magazine.Available [online] at: https://meatmanagement.com/fdf-warns-supply-chain-disruption-is-here-to-stay/

Michael Cadieux. 2021. Nutella in Supply Chain – A Nutty Situation. Available [online] at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nutella-supply-chain-nutty-situation-michael-cadieux

MRT. 2021, Nutella producer raises great concerns among Italian farmers and ecologists.Available [online] at: https://marketresearchtelecast.com/nutella-producer-raises-great-concerns-among-italian-farmers-and-ecologists/142852/

Nutella. 2021a. Sustainability: let’s talk about our vision.Available [online] at: https://www.nutella.com/int/en/inside-nutella/sustainability

Roberto. A. Ferdman. 2013, A map of all the countries that contribute to a single jar of Nutella.Available [online] at: https://qz.com/156163/a-map-of-all-the-countries-that-contribute-to-a-single-jar-of-nutella/

Sidhartha Bhandari.2020. COVID-19: What’s Next for Food Supply Chains?. Available [online] at: https://www.croplife.com/management/covid-19-whats-next-for-food-supply-chains/

Welle. 2021. Nutella not so sweet for Turkish farmworkers.Available [online] at: https://www.dw.com/en/nutella-not-so-sweet-for-turkish-farm-workers/av-59640342