What overall cost does the food that arrives at our plate have?

1. The cost of meat

The food industries are the main subsector of the food processing industry in Catalonia. Together with the animal feed products, linked above all to the pork sector, they largely generate the majority of the total turnover of the agri-food sector. (The agri-food sector in Catalonia, Gener 2020, Generalitat de Catalunya).

The Global Justice Map 2022 , Com s'alimenta Barcelona? The impact generated by the meat industry and its continued dependence on the South stands out. Catalonia is the 5th world producer of pork with 23 million slaughtered annually, of which 80% is exported, mainly to the EU, China and Japan. Soybeans to feed the pigs come from Con Sud, an area with 60% of the land at risk of desertification, contributing to the persistence of biodiversity and deforestation, water stress, etc.

The pork sector also generates an environmental impact at home, being responsible for 21% of Catalan winter gas emissions and 40% of nitrate pollution in aquifers.

The environmental costs, such as climate change, and the social costs, such as the precariousness of labor rights, global migrations or food insecurity, which means the production and consumption of foodstuffs of the current globalized food system are not valued economically, and therefore, consumers do not recognize at the bottom of the basket of buys. This difference between the market price of food and the global cost that society has is related to hidden or invisible costs .

In light of this current scenario, the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda of the Generalitat of Catalonia has drawn up the Strategic Plan for Food of Catalonia ( PEAC 2021-2026 ) to move towards a sustainable, safe, resilient, healthy and universally accessible food system.

2. The cost of the fish

Gambia has reached various agreements with third states that have reduced the amount of food available to the country and have bidden the prices. Gambia and Senegal will agree that fishermen from both poor countries will sell their fish to the second country. The Gambian fishermen are more likely to see fish coming to Dakar and leaving it to Gambia, leading to the scarcity of the main source of protein in the most disadvantaged communities. The agreement between The Gambia and the European Union to allow fishing at Gambian costs has reduced the reduction in available fish. Nowadays, the agreement with the installation of three Chinese factories that monopolize the fish to produce fish flour and menjar for pork and also serve to export to China, also meant the lack of fish supply for the local markets.

With the objective of disseminating this current problem, various reports and documentaries have been published. One of them is STOLEN FISH by the film director Gosia Juszczak, a documentary recognized by multiple awards and that has passed at more than 50 international festivals. Stolen Fish examines the causes of migration with special attention to overfishing in countries of origin by large Chinese companies.

Synopsis “ STOLEN FISH ” by Gosia Juszczak: In Africa's smallest country, Gambia, fish, the basic source of protein, is beginning to become scarce. Since Chinese companies that convert fish into fish for animals and export them to Europe have been illegally established, the artisanal fishing sector and the country's food security are under serious threat. Three characters, Abou, Mariama and Paul, share intimate stories of survival, enyorança and migratory trajectories that leave an undertaking that does not fade away.

3. The cost of the pa

The country is a basic food that has been present in the history of our diet from many centuries of the world.

The culture of today's society is not the same as that of decades ago, it is considered indispensable to the diet of our avant-garde. In recent times, several issues have arisen that have affected their consumption, for example that the pa grixa, that no hauriem de sopar pa or that the motlla engreixa más.

In the future, not only has consumption decreased, but there has also been an improvement in quality: There has been a shift from the artisanal and quality of traditional fringe to the industrial production of grocery chains, supermarkets and grocery stores.

In 2021, the Comparteix el menjar project will recover 7,000 kg of surplus from the restaurant sector. With the objective of recovering the value of this food, NSF collaborated in a Work of Grau on the value of the food prepared by Maria Mora Escutia, student of the Graduate of Science and Technology of Foods of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

As a result of the study, the author has prepared a GUIDE TO REUSE PA by Nutrition without Borders with easy solutions for reapprofiting leftover pa in traditional recipes of our culture, such as a ceba soup, salmorejo or some pa torradetes. The guide also proposes modifications to profit receipts to make them healthier, a line of future work for the Comparteix el menjar project.

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