What Are the Trends Driving Global Supply Chain Sustainability?

The food in your refrigerator tells a story: one of an intricate, interconnected global supply chain that requires the ongoing effort of hundreds of businesses and thousands of people. By the time it reaches your plate, much of your food will have traveled across the country—and sometimes even further. It’s made up of ingredients grown on multiple farms in many different climates. The farms that feed your family also feed many other families, too. The ability to transport food in this way ensures secure food access, but it also places a greater strain on the resources in any given area.

The unprecedented demand placed on their farms means that growers have been forced to emphasize sustainability in their agricultural practices. For example, the farmers who make up the Washington State Potato Commission have begun to implement innovative new technologies to ensure a resilient and environmentally responsible worldwide potato supply chain.

In the following post, we’ll break down some of the most important trends driving global supply chain sustainability, and what you, as an individual, can do to offer support.

Precision Farming

Frequently, farms become unsustainable due to their lack of efficiency: Resources are wasted because of outdated agricultural techniques. However, farmers can reduce this waste and lessen environmental impacts by using precision farming techniques. Precision farming utilizes modern technology to calculate the exact needs of crops with regard to water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

For example, most crops require an application of fertilizer to improve output. However, excessive fertilizer can have a deleterious impact on the local environment, as it enters the watershed and promotes the growth of harmful algae, among other damaging effects.

Precision farming methods track crops’ life cycles to determine exactly when an application of fertilizer will be most effective and the exact amount needed for that specific crop at that specific time. This dramatically reduces the amount of fertilizer needed while increasing yields at the same time.

Precision farming methods can also be used to reduce pesticide usage in the same manner. By using programmable software to track the breeding patterns of pest insects, pesticides can then to be applied only when absolutely necessary. In this way, harmful toxins are kept out of the environment, while crops can thrive, free from the damage caused by pests.

Water Conservation

There is perhaps no more critical factor in global supply chain sustainability than water conservation. All crops—and, indeed, all civilizations—require access to a clean and healthy source of water to survive and thrive. A steadily increasing global population, however, combined with the stresses of climate change, has placed greater demands on local water sources than ever before. For that reason, farmers must continuously find new and innovative methods for water conservation to support successful global agriculture.

One of the most effective methods for water conservation is simply to invest in more efficient crops; that is, food sources that provide greater levels of nutrition using fewer resources. This is a major reason why the Washington State Potato Commission exists: to emphasize the importance of these highly efficient staple crops, like potatoes, to the world’s food supply.

Technological methods can also help farms conserve water. For example, drip irrigation, which uses a network of tubing to target the roots of plants directly, is a vastly more efficient technique for providing crops with the hydration they require. This is in contrast to traditional irrigation methods, which spray water everywhere with minimal control, leading to a great deal of loss due to evaporation.

Reduced Food Waste

In the past, food didn’t need to travel very far as it made its way from the farm to the plate; nearly everything was grown locally. However, in today’s modern, global society, agricultural produce is often transported across the entire country and even overseas as part of an intricate global supply chain. While this supply chain has greatly improved worldwide food access, it has also increased the risk of food waste. The further food must travel to reach its destination, the greater the risk of it becoming spoiled or otherwise compromised along the way.

To improve the sustainability of the global supply chain, it’s necessary to reduce food waste using every available means. This is done at every level of the chain, starting with the farmers themselves. A great deal of food is lost as a result of inefficient agricultural practices, which modern farms are now working to eliminate. One method used is automated systems to harvest crops. These systems can perform the task more quickly and effectively than human work alone, meaning that more viable produce can be acquired with greater speed.

Farmers also reduce food waste by investing in climate-resistant crops, which are better suited to inclement and extreme weather conditions. Sure enough, potatoes are among these types of crops, being more resilient in unforgiving climates than many other agricultural staples.

Since agricultural output must be transported over great distances as part of the modern global supply chain, storage is another key facet of food waste reduction. Certain crops (including potatoes) can be stored for a longer term without spoiling. For other crops, techniques such as refrigeration must be used.

How You Can Help Support the Global Supply Chain

As an individual, you can contribute to a sustainable global supply chain in multiple ways. First, you can reduce your personal food waste by ensuring you only purchase food you will be able to eat. You can also ensure that you only patronize businesses that have a commitment to sustainability. Visit local farmers’ markets and learn about what the farms in your area are doing to improve output and reduce their environmental impact. Finally, you can help local farmers’ organizations like the Washington State Potato Commission spread the word about sustainable practices and how to implement them.