Charles, the Prince of Wales attended the 2013 Langenburg Forum on regional food security, which took place at Schloss Langenburg in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg recently, at the invitation of Philipp of Honehlohe-Langenburg.
The British royal – whose work on this issue was recognised at the event (supported by his International Sustainability Unit) – criticised the current food production methods, which according to him, “have led to declining public health and the horsemeat scandals.”
The event, which was co-organised by Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Joschka Fischer and Company, and Alexander Muller, assistant director-general, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), was the second of its kind.
The Prince of Wales joined the third session of the forum, where he addressed the delegates, and viewed a panel discussion on the opportunities to enhance local food systems. Following the forum, he attended a private reception with the delegates.
The forum brought together individuals and organisations from across the food industry, including farmers, chief executive officers of international retailers, environmental and consumer groups, government representatives and international agriculture and food security experts.
It also debated the structure of food supply chains, exploring how they could be adapted to help return greater value back into food systems. Participants discussed ways to ensure the sustainability and quality of food through the development of more local food supply, as well as the diverse local agricultures on which they depend.
The event showcased the best practices from around the world to demonstrate the ways in which new business models and new information communication technologies are beginning to facilitate a shift towards more local, sustainable food systems, and the revitalisation of food cultures.
A key aim of the forum was to develop partnerships between food producers, policy-makers and leading food businesses to maximise the benefits available from a healthier food system to both consumers and the environment.
Charles' remarks
Addressing the forum, the Prince of Wales said, “The aim here is to think through how we might create a much more local model of food production and distribution. But also, how that might fit with producing healthy food using far more sustainable methods and how we might do all of this without damaging business. Indeed, how this could improve business.”
He stated that the urgency for this comes from the fact that there is not sufficient resilience in the system as it currently stands.
“It may appear that things are well. Big global corporations may appear to be prospering out of operating on a global monocultural scale but if you drill down into what is actually happening, things are not so healthy,” the Prince of Wales added.
“Our present approach is rapidly mining resilience out of our food system and threatening to leave it ever more vulnerable to the various external shocks that are becoming more varied, extreme and frequent,” he said.
“The drive to make food cheaper for consumers and to earn companies bigger profits is sucking the real value out of the food production system – the value that is critical to its sustainability,” Charles said, referring not only to obvious things like the vitality of the soil and local eco-systems, the quality and availability of fresh water and so on, but also to less obvious things such local employment and people’s health. “It is a complex business,” the royal added.
“The aggressive search for cheaper food has been described as a 'drive to the bottom', which is taking the farmers with it. They are being driven into the ground by the prices they are forced to expect for their produce and this has led to some very worrying short cuts,” Charles said.
“The problems encountered while shipping vast quantities of commodities halfway round the world also have to be taken into account. These long-distance supply chains are apt to snap when they are subjected to sudden shocks. Unexpected weather events, hikes in fuel prices, trade disputes and disease; all sorts of unpredictable events threaten to interrupt supplies,” he added.
And finally there are the social and economic problems that derive from this pressure to produce cheap food. Germany has the highest density of organic farms in Europe, but throughout the continent the way we produce most of our food seems dependent more on chemicals and industrial processing than it does on farmers,” the prince stated.
