The GVH would introduce a labeling system showing environmental impact on foodstuffs

According to Zsombor Berezvai, food manufacturers should publish the expected environmental impact for the entire life cycle of their product. According to current practice, only the place of origin and the recyclability of the packaging can be read on the packaging, the method of production and other important indicators are usually missing, he added.

Food policy analyst and sustainability consultant Réka Szöllősi noted that transport and packaging account for only 10 percent of the environmental impact. In itself, carbon dioxide emissions are not a determining factor either, at least as important as how much land is required to produce a product. All in all, almost a dozen circumstances should be taken into account, and although the sciences examining the environmental impact of food products are developing rapidly, there is still no uniform international standard for labeling them, and their development would probably also raise competition law issues – the expert believes.