The cereality behind your breakfast
Most cereal manufacturers are now buying into the ethical market, but the major brands still have a long way to go, discovers Hanna Backman
Choosing a healthy, organically certified muesli is one step closer to a good breakfast, but there is more behind the brands than what you'll find printed on the cartons. For example, Weetabix has been bought by Lion Capital, a private equity firm. Private equity businesses have recently been under the spotlight in the UK for using too much debt to finance their deals, and cutting jobs at the firms they buy. Such businesses have also been accused of using loopholes to pay lower tax rates.(1)
Traffic-light labelling
In 2006 the Food Standards Agency (FSA) proposed criteria for traffic-light health labelling of food. A study by consumer watchdog Which?(2) showed that more than 75 per cent of breakfast cereals contained excessive levels of sugar, and would receive red 'danger' labels under the scheme. The large cereal manufacturers, and particularly Kellogg Co with a 39 per cent share of the British market(3), opposed the FSA's labelling scheme and instead adopted their own Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) scheme.
The cereal manufacturers' lobbying campaign against proposals from Ofcom and the FSA was described by senior regulatory officials as "the most ferocious we have ever experienced".(4) The FSA is still pushing for the use of traffic light labelling. Ethical Consumer believes that the GDA scheme is confusing and that the traffic light scheme should be made compulsory.
The American Centre for Science in the Public Interest approached Kellogg last year to say that the UK versions of popular cereals had higher sugar and salt levels than elsewhere in the world.(5) Kellogg replied it had to do with variations in taste among different consumer markets.
Environmental targets
The only company that could demonstrate quantified and dated environmental targets in its environmental policies was Wessanen, the owners of Whole Earth, whose targets included the reduction of 'global warming emissions' by a fifth within six years.
The reason a few other companies scored highly for environmental reports was that they had a turnover of less than £5m and were considered to be environmental alternatives. Companies providing environmental alternatives below this limit can gain best rating without quantified targets. Doves Farm has crossed the £5m limit since it was last rated.
DE-VAU-GE Gesundkostwerk, Nestle and the Kellogg Company did not respond to our requests for information.
Packaging and waste is still a problem for manufacturers but there have been big improvements. All manufacturers on the table are now using recycled board for their outer boxes. Traidcraft is also using fully recyclable inner bags, while Alara Wholefoods is currently looking into using biodegradable bags for its cereals.
Few companies are as transparent as Alara Wholefoods in its journey towards becoming more eco-friendly. Unusually, the company's sustainability manager keeps a blog on its progress towards becoming a "carbon negative" and zero waste manufacturing site by 2010.(6)
Vegan, Fairtrade and organic
The company ethos score is given to those companies that are focusing on specific sustainability aspects across all their production. All Traidcraft products are Fairtrade, while all Pertwood and Rude Health Foods cereals are organic. All Dorset Cereals products are vegan.
W Jordan & Son has used Conservation Grade Farming since 1985. Its methods to preserve wildlife are accredited, and mean more than good PR, confirms Phil Stocker, Head of Food and Farming at the Soil Association.7
Links
References
1 'Private equity head stands down' www.bbc.co.uk 14/6/2007 2 Which? magazine July 2006 3 Mintel report Breakfast Cereals, UK, February 2006 4 'Why Kellogg saw red over labelling scheme', www.guardian.co.uk 28/12/2006 5 www.cspinet.org/reports/codex/KelloggLetter.pdf 20/10/2007 6 Alara Wholefood?s sustainability blog http://sustainable.alara.co.uk/blog 7 Phone conversation with Phil Stocker on 4/7/2007 8 ECRA Questionnaire received in July 2007 9 www.wessanen.com viewed on 29/6/2007 10 www.de-vau-ge.de and www.wholeearthfoods.com viewed on 24/10/2006 11 www.business-humanrights.org 27/6/2007 12 www.weforum.org, viewed 22/2/2007 13 www.babymilkaction.org viewed on 9/7/2007 14 www.bigcampaign.org viewed on 9/7/2007 15 www.globalexchange.org/getInvolved/actnow/nestleslavery.html viewed on 9/7/2007 16 www.nestle.com viewed on 30/8/2007 17 Multinational Monitor, Vol 26, March 2005 18 Greenpeace Shoppers Guide to Genetic Modification, www.greenpeace.org.uk, viewed on 7/9/2006 19 'Having their cake and eating it too', ICFTU, July 2006 20 www.boycottbush.net viewed on 9/7/2007