Winetech Technical Yearbook 2022

JANUARY/FEBRUARY

Confronting Climate Change: CARBON EMISSIONS AND THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

SHUTTERSTOCK

GLOBAL WARMING THREATENS SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE AS MUCH BY CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AS BY CHANGING CLIMATE. GROWING AWARENESS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURE IS LEADING CONSUMERS TO QUESTION HOW THEIR FOOD IS PRODUCED AND TRANSPORTED – ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR EXPORT INDUSTRIES.

BY ANNA MOUTON

THE PUSH TO QUANTIFY CARBON EMISSIONS A common perception among consumers is that so-called food miles – the distance between farm and fork – determine the contribution of a foodstuff to climate change. But distance is not everything, contends Hugh Campbell, general manager of Hortgro

Technical. Factors such as efficiency of production are among the many that also play a role. The South African fruit and wine industries recognised that maintaining market share would hinge on addressing consumer concerns. They combined forces and established the Confronting

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WINETECH TECHNICAL YEARBOOK 2022