Some opt for electric cars, give up flying or become politically active, while others save energy in the home or take direct action to plant new trees, for example. Nowadays, it is no longer difficult to get involved in climate and environmental protection thanks to the wide range of options available. Another contribution is made by our own diet; if done smartly and efficiently, it can make a significant contribution to sustainability and resource conservation.
By 2050, an estimated 10 billion people will be living on Earth. An international group of scientists therefore investigated what kind of diet would be both healthy and ecologically sensible for the earth’s ever-increasing population. In a study from 2019, they presented the so-called “planetary diet”1. This would double the consumption of fruit and vegetables, while halving the amount of meat currently consumed. Agricultural land could shrink, which in turn would lead to less water consumption and more greenhouse gas savings. In addition, this form of nutrition would be healthy.
One of the most important, but at the same time most resource-intensive components with the largest CO2 footprint in modern food supply is logistics2, in order to be able to supply people everywhere with fresh and healthy goods. But fresh does not just mean freshly harvested. It is now known3 that frozen goods are no different in terms of quality. On the contrary: the advantages of a longer shelf life with consistent storage of important micronutrients such as vitamin C or folic acid make frozen products a valuable and important area in food production and supply, both from an ecological and economic point of view.
In combination with a suitable deep-freeze and logistics system, i.e. a pick-up station, and the increasingly important “regional” factor, producers could close the value chain between themselves and consumers without middlemen.
Disruptive solutions that need to be considered, researched and implemented – the time is ripe!
On the one hand, the click & collect principle is being used more and more frequently. A recent study by the Johannes Kepler University Linz4 shows that the number of retail goods ordered online but collected by customers themselves has more than doubled in recent years. On the other hand, purchasing psychology shows that branding on the internet – especially through social media – has led to an increasing willingness to buy familiar goods online. This breaks the link to the store, which consequently leads to efforts to distribute goods and associated information quickly and securely via alternative distribution channels.
The resulting possibilities are manifold: local supply stations can be set up anywhere to provide consumers with their favorite goods – whether frozen or not – without having to make a detour to the supermarket, regardless of opening hours or public holidays. For example, large construction sites that have no markets nearby or settlements with poor infrastructure could also be supplied.
Food can be ordered online at any time and also collected around the clock from a temperature-controlled pick-up station within a “home delivery radius”. From the field or farm directly to the consumer, without any loss of quality or ecologically problematic intermediate steps.
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