Fats and oils
the fight against heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Yet the explosion of the olive oil sector does, arguably, come with downsides – not least when it comes to sustainability. Especially when dovetailed by intense industrialisation, the cultivation and processing of olive trees can pollute air and earth, even as water consumption is often perilously high too. Especially around the Mediterranean, the erstwhile home of the olive but a region which now faces rising temperatures and drought, this is something which could have disastrous consequences. Yet the future of this ancient fruit is far from hopeless. Bolstered by new technology, farmers and factory workers are battling to cut the environmental footprint of olive oil manufacturing, with vast consequences for both the future of the planet – and that of this most venerable sector.
Pipped to the post It’s hard to overstate the scale of the modern olive oil industry. If nothing else, that’s clear from |the statistics, with work by Polaris Market Research finding that the global market is worth some $14.5bn, with CAGR estimated to hit 3.5% over the coming years. Yet with size, inevitably, comes industrialisation – and with industrialisation, environmental dangers loom. Like all intensive agriculture, using nitrogen fertiliser or burning residue is bound to impact the planet, but there are more specific challenges too. One, especially at more industrialised sites, involves water use. “On the agricultural side,” notes Teresa Garcia Lopez, director
of sustainability and environment at American olive oil company Pompeian, “high-density olive orchards require much more water than traditional groves.” That’s reflected in practice: according to one 2019 study, one litre of finished oil has a water footprint of almost 4,000 litres. That’s reflected by other traditional difficulties. Essentially, this can be understood by how oil is processed. To get from raw olives to bottled oil means dealing with hazardous effluents, typically exhibiting antimicrobial or phytotoxic properties. Considering, moreover, that around 30 million cubic metres of olive mill wastewater is produced annually around the Mediterranean, and that it can’t be sent to ordinary wastewater treatment plants, there’s obviously cause for concern. That’s echoed, says Juan Antonio Polo Palomino, by the fact that olive oil’s impact isn’t one way. As the head of the olive oil technology and environment department at the International Olive Council puts it, the relationship between “agriculture and climate change is bidirectional” – meaning that climate change could yet stymie olive growing even as oil affects the planet.
All the same, it’d be wrong to imply that it’s all doom and gloom. To an extent, that’s down to the basic characteristics of olives themselves. As the Romans and Mycenaeans would themselves surely have recognised, traditional olive groves are remarkably hardy, requiring far less water than high-intensity groves. That dovetails, explains Juan Carrasco Vilchez, by the “high biodiversity” of many olive-growing areas, with the global sustainability manager at Spanish
+90%
The percentage by which the consumption of water during olive oil production decreased, thanks to changes in the process instituted in the 2000s. Pompeian
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
57
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90
