Ethical Traceability in the UK Wheat-Flour-Bread Chain
Ethical Traceability in the UK Wheat-Flour-Bread Chain
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英国小麦-面粉-面包链的道德可追溯性
DOI：
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发表时间：
2008
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
T. Lang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
R. Sharpe;D. Barling;T. Lang
本章介绍了对英国最重要的食品供应链之一的道德问题的调查结果，涵盖了小麦的生产及其转化为面粉和面包。面包在英国一直是主食。今天，英国人每天消耗的面包相当于九百万个大面包，几乎所有的面包都是由小麦粉制成的。因此，小麦和面包是由一条复杂的链条联系在一起的，这条链条必须既灵活又可靠。这条链对可追溯性和生产伦理方面的追踪都提出了相当大的挑战。在英国，大多数面包都是集约化种植和工业生产过程的产物，由超市而不是专业面包师销售。在农场大门之外，这个链条非常集中，磨坊主、原料供应商和面包师之间存在相当大的垂直整合。与这一主导链共存的是一个相对较小的“工艺”链，其特点是生产单位较小，机械化程度较低，制造方法较耗时，投入物或添加剂的使用较少。然而，这两个连锁店之间存在贸易（例如原料和服务）。在农场大门之外，很难区分有机链和传统链，因为有机链依赖于传统链提供一些供应和分销设施，而传统链也经营有机产品。英国非有机面包所用的小麦约有85%是在英国种植的，但有机面包所用的小麦只有不到50%是本土种植的。进口或出口的面粉和面包不到2%。面包是最早受到监管的食物之一，反映了它在饮食中的核心重要性（例如，1266年制定的面包重量标准，本身就是基于更早的规则）。今天，这条链的大部分长度都受到这样或那样的监管，包括新小麦品种的开发、种子供应的纯度、农用化学品的处理、面粉中添加的物质、面包中允许使用的成分以及包装面包的标签上必须声明的信息。然而，这些规则是有争议的（例如，一些人声称选择必须添加到面粉中的物质是反常的），也可能会改变（例如标签）
This chapter presents the findings of an investigation into the role of ethical concerns in one of the UK’s most important food supply chains, covering the production of wheat and its transformation into flour and bread. Bread has long been a staple food in the UK. Today, the British consume the equivalent of around nine million large loaves a day, almost all of it made from wheat flour. Wheat and bread are thus linked by a complex chain that must be both flexible and reliable. This chain presents considerable challenges both to traceability and to the tracing of ethical aspects of production. In the UK, most bread is the product of intensive cultivation and an industrial manufacturing process, and is sold by supermarkets rather than specialist bakers. Beyond the farm gate this chain is very concentrated and there is considerable vertical integration between millers, ingredient suppliers and bakers. Coexisting with this dominant chain is a comparatively small ‘craft’ chain, characterized by smaller production units, less mechanized and more time-consuming manufacturing methods, and less use of inputs or additives. However there is trade (e.g. in ingredients and services) between the two chains. Beyond the farm gate, it is hard to discern separate organic and conventional chains, because the organic chain depends on the conventional chain for some supplies and distribution facilities, and the conventional chain also deals in organic goods. Around 85% of the wheat used for nonorganic UK bread is grown in the UK, but less than 50% of the wheat for organic bread is home-grown. Less than 2% of flour and bread are imported or exported. Reflecting its central importance in the diet, bread was one of the earliest foods to be regulated (e.g. the Assize of Bread, which was established in 1266 to set the weight of bakers’ loaves, was itself based on earlier rules). Today, the chain is regulated in one way or another for most of its length, with rules governing the development of new wheat varieties, the purity of the seed supply, the handling of agricultural chemicals, the addition of substances to flour, the ingredients permitted in bread and the information that must be declared on the labels of wrapped loaves. However, these rules are contested (e.g. some claim that the selection of substances that must be added to flour is anomalous) and also subject to change (e.g. labelling