Klaus Pichler 'One Third

7/29/2019 Klaus Pichler 'One Third'

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I am the sugar at the bottom o the English

cup o tea. I am the sweet tooth, the sugar

plantations that rotted generations o English

childrens teeth. There are thousands o others

beside me that are, you know, the cup o tea

itsel. Because they dont grow it in Lancashire,

you know. Not a single tea plantation existswithin the United Kingdom. This is the

symbolization o English identidy I mean,

what does anybody in the world know about

an English person except that they cant get

through the day without a cup o tea. Where

does it come rom? Ceylon - Sri Lanka, India.

(Stuart Hall, 1994)


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In March 2011 the Food and Agriculture Orga-

nization o the United Nations (FAO) publisheda study about ood waste. It revealed that,

on average, a third o all products o the ood

industry go to waste worldwide, ranging bet-

ween 25 and 75%, depending on the product.

Altogether, 1.3 billion tons o edible goods are

discarded each year, while the global south is

hit by recurrent periods o severe starvation.

This problem has increased dramatically since

the hike in ood prices on the global market

ater the 2007 Food Pr ice Crisis. This state o

aairs is not as paradoxical as one may assu-me, however- it is part o the neoliberal global

economic system, which the globalized ood

industry is a part o.

Unsurprisingly, the worldwide percentage o

ood waste per person varies greatly: In Europe

and North America, each consumer wastes

between 95 and 115 kilograms o ood, whilst

only between 6 and 11 kilograms o ediblegoods are discarded per person in Sub Saharan

Arica and South/ South East Asia. Considering

the underlying reasons or ood waste, however,

comparisons between the global north and

south seem to make a lot less sense: Taking a

look at the Food Supply Chain, ranging rom

production, logistics and retail to the end con-

sumer, it becomes apparent that losses occur

at dierent stages o the process, depending

on the standards o living in individual coun-

tries.In countries with low income, losses o ood

predominantly occur during the early stages

o the Food Supply Chain, usually as a result

o problems during the process o harvesting,

storing and the rerigeration and distribution

o goods. Altogether, these issues could be

categorized as inrastructural problems.

Think o a random item o ood. An orange, or

example. This orange, cultivated on a plan-tation in South Arica, harvested and trans-

erred to Europe by plane and truck over a

distance o 15.000 km, sold in a supermarket

and nally, although still in good condition,

discarded by the consumer. Fiction? Fact!

Waste o ood around the globe has increased

to worrying dimensions: According to a study,

commissioned by the UN and carried out in

March 2011, one third o all ood products go

to waste worldwide.

The series o photographs One Third ocuseson this particular percentage. It highlights the

issue o ood waste through photographs and

reports, which are combined to oer an insight

into this phenomenon, ranging rom its geo-

political background and cultural history to

individual consumer behaviour.


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In the wealthy industrial nations o Europe and

North America, however, ood mainly goes to

waste during later stages o the Food Supply

Chain: buying and selling practices o super-

markets and consumer behaviour are to blame

or the enormous amounts o ood products

going to waste.

Since the 1980s the world market has been

dominated by neoliberal structures, which

urther increased the colonially favoured

economical gaps between the global north

and south. So called Structural Adjustment

Programmes, run by the International Monetary

Fund and the World Bank, have led to a libera-

lization and deregulation movement across the

agricultural sector, along with the enorcement

o ree trade systems, which increased hungerand poverty in the global south. Under pressure

o unair Economic Partnership Agreements,

agricultural production in large parts o the

global south was switched to the production o

exportable goods, which led to a drastic incre-

ase in subsidies or agricultural production in

monocultures whilst small scale businesses or

the supply o local markets suered severely.

Thereore, the policies o the World Bank and

the International Monetary Fund laid the oun-dations or an increased level o dependency on

imported ood products, combined with aggres-

sive export policies. This resulted in the act

that, as stated by the FAO, two thirds o develo-

ping countries which were net exporters o ood

products in the 1980s are now net importers,

orced to buy ood products rom the global

economic market. The concentration o the mar-

ket in the global south which was induced by the

Structural Adjustment Programmes destroyed

local economies as well as vital natural resour-ces which made it dicult to guarantee a good

supply o staple oods or the local population.

This, in turn, led to urther periods o starvation.

Multinational enterprises and supermarket

chains, which are able to oer an all year round

supply o exotic ood to the consumers o the

wealthy north, emerged as the winners.


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Along with the globalization o trade throug-

hout recent decades, the transport o ood

products has increased drastically. It is notunusual in industrial nations to nd super-

market shelves stocked with goods rom

all around the globe. Consumers take it or

granted to have a constant supply o resh

ruit and vegetables available throughout the

winter months. However, they dont seem to be

concerned about the act that transportation

o these goods oten covers vast distances

and huge amounts o CO2 and waste gases

are produced.The global economic north south divide is to

blame or the act that it is cheaper or pro-

ducers to move the cultivation and production

o goods to distant parts o the world. In other

words, the abundance and constant availabi-

lity o ood would hardly be possible without

the unair division o power between the global

north and south. Critics label this state o

aairs as neo-colonialism, reerring to the

still ongoing dependency structures between

ormer colonies and colonial nations. A fow omigration, which has resulted in the existence

o colonial enclaves in agricultural areas o

the global north, is another indicator o neo-

colonial tendencies. The area surrounding the

southern Spanish town o El Ejido is a perect

example o this phenomenon. Greenhouses

covering an area o 36.00 hectares (the equi-

valent o 50.000 ootball pitches) have turned

the landscape into a sea o plastic. Working

against signicant logistical diculties,

the town is one o the main suppliers o the

European ood market, particularly in winter.

Aid organizations or migrants as well as the

international media regularly report about

inhumane working conditions in greenhouses,

which predominantly northern Arican migrant

workers are aected by. Similar conditions

prevail in other parts o the world where ood

is produced on an industrial scale- Chile,

Thailand, Southern Italy, Egypt or China, or

example.


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The routes o transportation o the ood

products, which were photographed or this

project, oer inormation about the north-

south-divide in ood production.


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As well as being embedded in global economic

structures, wasteul consumer behaviour is

also closely linked to the ood industry and

its methods o operation. This branch o eco-

nomics, which is supported nancially with

signicant resources drained rom the prots

o producers, is one o the leading actorswhich create the rameworks or ood con-

sumption. The rameworks or ood consump-

tion do not only include geopolitical economic

dependency structures, but also the European

culture industrial usage o the product ood,

as advertising and pricing determine consumer

behaviour.

The collaboration between culture industry

and trade contributes signicantly to the

current culture o ood waste in industrial

nations. This is indicated, or example, by thetendency or supermarkets to put pressure on

ood producers to supply them with perect

products. This pressure is to blame or the

common practice o goods being discarded and

destroyed immediately ater harvest because

o minor imperections. Furthermore, it is not

unusual or supermarket chains to purposely

acquire a surplus o ood, so shelves can

remain ully stocked with perishable items

(pastries, meat, ruit and vegetables) right until

closing time. Supermarket chains also disposeo a large amount o goods beore they even

reach their sell by date, even though they are in

perectly satisactory condition. The ood retail

industry and supermarket chains in particular,

are thereore partly to blame or the alarming

amount o edible goods which are destroyed

day by day.


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Eating does not just describe the intake o

ood; it also incorporates an important socialelement. Despite increasing individualization,

the activity o eating remains to connect people

across all social classes, as people everywhere

enjoy eating together and turn this into a crea-

tive process. The culinary culture o western

industrial nations has created a culture indust-

ry ocused on ood, which provides accessories,

creates new designs, produces cookery shows

on television and sets new trends.

On the other hand, little value is attributed to

ood products themselves: They are readilyavailable goods which are bought and used

whereby any surplus is simply disposed o. The

lack o interest in where, by whom and under

which working conditions the consummated

goods were produced, as well as the behaviour

o individual consumers can be dened as

disturbing developments. This particularly

reers to the careless attitudes o consumers

who pride themselves in being wealthy enough

to live a lie o gluttony, which comes with theprivilege o being able to waste ood. According

to a recent study, 40% o ood wasted by con-

sumers is still in its original packaging when

ending up in the waste bin, not ever having

been part o a meal. We all know the types o

behaviour which lie at the heart o this issue:

discount bulk buys in unmanageable quanti-

ties, the waste o letovers which are discarded

without consideration whether they could be

used or a meal ater all, or the waste o pro-

ducts which have only just exceeded their sellby date, but are still in satisactory condition.

However, people do seem to be conscious

about ood waste to some extent: Recentstudies revealed that approximately 69% o all

German households eel guilty when throwing

away ood and consumers do not eel good

about their own behaviour.

Numerous action groups and NGOs attempt

to deal with the problems o the global ood

market and ood waste, ranging rom an indi-

vidual to a geopolitical level. NGOs which put

pressure on higher ranking authorities as well

as dealing with this problem on an individuallevel and oering a platorm or involvement

and participation are listed in the appendix.


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The pictures o the series One Third show ood

which is no longer edible, at various stages o

decay. The products used or this study were

once tasty items o ood, or sale in supermar-

kets ater being transported there rom various

parts o the world. One Third exceeds the sell

by date in order to document the ull dimensi-

ons o global ood waste.

The title o the series- One Third- reers to this

particular percentage o ood products which,

according to a study by the FAO, goes to waste

worldwide. Food products come with their own

individual history and are produced in dierent

ways in dierent parts o the world. They only

have one thing in common: They are thrown

away.

The immediate idea behind this series was topicture ood products at dierent stages o

decay in order to highlight the issue o ood

waste. This waste is strongly linked to the

culture industry and thereore also to peoples

ways o lie, especially in industrial nations. In

the photographs, this is made obvious through

the combination o ood with accessories o

the culture industry ocused around ood (e.g.

dishes, cutlery). Thereore, the pictured ood

items are portrayed as part o a European culi-

nary culture and history. This culture is closelyintertwined with the history o exploitation o

European colonies and, as a result, the import

o cheap ood products rom other continents.

Because o these historical aspects, an arti-

stic examination o the issue o ood waste

in industrial nations o the 21st century has

no alternative but to give consideration to

geopolitical inequalities which have developedthroughout history.

The products used or this project originated

in various parts o the world, ranging rom

locally sourced products to those who have

been transported over tens o thousands

o kilometres. The majority o the pictured

products are unprocessed ood items as it is

possible to trace their origins and to examine

production methods. This is usually dicult

with processed ood, however, even though

this would be particularly inormative as thetransport distances covered by the various

ingredients would add up to an unbelievable

number o kilometres. The pictured world map

oers an overview o the locations where the

ood was produced and their transportation

routes beore being sold in Vienna/ Austria. The

destination o Vienna was chosen at random

(it is also the location where this series wasproduced, by the way) but any city in northern

industrialized nations could have been chosen

without resulting in major changes in the

overview o transportation routes.

The selection o ood products ranges rom

staple oods, dairy products, meat, cereals, to

ruit and vegetables, sweets and exotic delica-

cies. As a result, it covers the whole spectrum

o items which are ound on our plates. The

ingredients used or this project were all

bought- predominantly in supermarkets- inorder to be let to rot and to nally be disposed

o ater the photographs had been taken. O

course, this should be considered to be provo-

cative: Consumers do not waste ood on purpo-

se, it happens as an unwanted side eect . In

this project, however, ood products are wasted

consciously and purposely.


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Credits

Photography & Concept: Klaus Pichler

Texts: Klaus Pichler, Julia Edthoer

Graphic Design:Roland Hrmann, www.phospho.at

Translations: Christiane Pichler

Scientifc Advice:

Dr. Michael Sauer Department o Biotech-nology at the University o Natural Resources

and Lie Sciences, Vienna; Martin Wildenberg

Global2000, Julia Edthoer

Conceptional Advice & Editors:Herbert Justnik, Heidrun Kubart, Clemens

Marschall, Maria Lisa Pichler

Migrant Organizations & NGOs

www.arique-europe-interact.net/

www.noborder.org/

www.viacampesina.org/en/

www.socalmeria.wordpress.com/

www.attac.at

www.airtrade.net

www.global2000.at

Used Literature

Benjamin, Walter:Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalterseiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit. Drei

Studien zur Kunstsoziologie, Suhrkamp Verlag,

Berlin, 2010

Gustavsson, Cederberg, Sonesson (SwedishInstitute or Food and Biotechnology SIK);van Otterdijk, Meybeck (FAO):Global ood

losses and ood waste extend, causes andprevention, Rural Inrastructure and Agro-

Industries Division, FAO, Rome, Italy, 2011

Hall, Stuart: Cultural Studies. Ein politischesTheorieprojekt, Argument Verlag, Hamburg,

2000.

Kreutzberger, Stean & Thurn, Valentin:Die Essensvernichter warum die Hlte al ler

Lebensmittel im Mll landet und wer dar

verantwortlich ist, Kiepenheuer & Witsch,

Kln, 2011

Nestle, Marion:Food Politics. How the oodindustry infuences nutrition and health,

University o Caliornia Press, London, 2003

Paxton, Angela:The Food Miles Report: Thedangers o long-distance ood transport,

SAFE Alliance, London, 1994 (http://www.

sustainweb.org/publications/?id=191)

Stuart, Tristram:Waste. Uncovering the globalood scandal, Penguin Group, London, 2009

Teuteberg, Jrgen, Neumann, Gerhard &Wierlacher, Alois:Essen und kulturelle Iden-

titt. Europische Perspektiven, AkademieVerlag, Berlin, 1997.

Von Paczrensky, Gert & Dnnebier, Anna:Kulturgeschichte des Essens und Trinkens,

Orbis Verlag, Mnchen, 1999.

Wagenhoer, Erwin & Annas, Max:We eed theworld, orange press, Freiburg, 2006

www.ak-umwelt.at/4192/4193/4198/4278/

Contact

Klaus Pichler, www.kpic.at, [email protected],+43 650 824 80 86

Anzenberger Agency, www.anzenberger.com,[email protected], +43 1 587 82 51

This project is dedicated to the workers of

the global food industry.

Documents

Klaus Pichler 'One Third