Episode 24 - Wine

The wine market isn’t as concentrated as the beer market. The largest wine producer in the world, E&J Gallo, only has 2.7% of global production. Wine is made in at least fifty countries worldwide. The top five wine exporting countries are France (30% of wine exports), Italy (20%), Spain (9%), Australia (6%), and Chile (5%). All Canadian wine is produced by “small wineries” (wineries that sold less than 200,000 litres of wine)

Human Rights and the Wine Industry

South African Wine and Apartheid

A 2011 Human Rights Watch (HRW) Report, “Ripe with Abuse”, drew attention to human rights condition at South African wineries. A documentary called Bitter Grapes also examined this issue. South Africa’s legacy of apartheid has “continued to haunt the wine sector”.

Farm workers often live in substandard on-farm housing. In one case documented by HRW, a family was living in a converted pig stall with no electricity and water. The structure didn’t even provide shelter from weather. They had been living there for ten years. On-farm housing puts workers in really precarious positions, because when they are fired they lose not only their income but also their home. An estimated 930,000 workers were evicted from housing South African farms between 1994 and 2004. Although there are legal requirements around evicting farm workers, land owners frequently break those rules.

The work is usually seasonal and the pay is very low, especially for female farmworkers. At its extreme, some vineyards in South Africa were paying workers in alcohol rather than wages. Vineyard owners have been documented paying under South Africa’s minimum wages.

Working conditions are generally poor on these farms. Workers often don’t receive contracts or copies of their contracts. Part of the problem is the lack of labour inspectors: there are just over 100 labour inspectors for 6,000 farms and workplaces in the Western Cape. And labour inspectors give farms prior notice when they do inspect.

Farm workers face obstacles in unionizing, especially the fear of discrimination or being fired. For that reason, union density in the Western Cape agricultural sector is 3%, compared with 30% in South Africa’s formal sector as a whole. 2012 South Africa’s Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association launched an ethical seal for unfair labour practices.

Human Rights and Wine Elsewhere 

Although South Africa is most famous for human rights abuses on vineyards, it would be a mistake to assume that it is the only place where these problems persist. Agricultural work is among the most exploited industries.

Fairtrade Wine

One option if workers’ rights are a concern for you is to go for Fairtrade wine, if you’re buying from somewhere like South Africa, where labour protections might not be very strong. If you are looking for wine from South Africa, Argentina, Chile, or Lebanon, there are Fairtrade options available. In Canada, there are at least four wine brands that you can get with the Fairtrade seal. The United Kingdom appears to have a wider range of Fairtrade wine available.

Migrant Labour and Wineries

Canadian wineries rely on migrant labour (seasonal agricultural workers) to do a lot of the work on grape farms. That is common for wine produced in other wealthy countries.

So, the story of labour on Canadian wineries is in a very real sense the story of how we treat seasonal agricultural workers. On that metric, you might want to check out wine from Saskatchewan: it is the province that has done the best job of protecting the human rights of temporary foreign workers, according to a 2018 report by the Canadian Council for Refugees. TFWs there have access to healthcare with no waiting period – which isn’t the case for many provinces – and does a good job of legislating and enforcing worker protections. The federal government and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador fared the worst on this scorecard, with a C or D rating in every category except one (access to permanent residence was a B for Newfoundland, while enforcement of rules and regulations was a B for the federal government). Of the four major wine-producing provinces – Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia – British Columbia has the best protections according to the report (although it wasn’t great either, and there are barriers to accessing healthcare for seasonal agricultural workers). 

COVID-19 and Grape Farms

Farm owners are receiving $1,500 per worker to cover the costs of the required two-week quarantine. In BC, fruit farms rely heavily on backpackers to work during the harvest. They aren’t part of the temporary workers’ program, and it’s expected that this labour source won’t be available. The hope is to train a domestic workforce for the June harvest.

Environment and Wine

Pesticide Use on Vineyards

Grapes are disease- and pest-prone crops, so conventional grape farming uses large quantities of pesticides. Vineyards represent 3% of agricultural land in France, but 20% of phytosanitary volumes and 80% of fungicide use.

Some of those pesticides, including glyphosphate, have been identified as toxic or otherwise linked to adverse health consequences. In France, Valérie Murat launched a lawsuit in 2015 on behalf of her father, James-Bernard Murat, a vine grower who died from cancer. His death was officially recognized as being linked to his profession by the agricultural mutual society (MSA, la Mutuelle sociale agricole). Murat had sprayed three different pesticides containing the chemical sodium ar nite, which is now banned as a cancer-causing poison. Valérie wants his death recognized as manslaughter.

23 schoolchildren were hospitalized in Bordeaux in 2014 after a nearby vineyard sprayed a fungicide.Public attention to the issue of pesticide use in France has prompted some government actions. Glyphosphate is set to be banned by 2021. And the government is set to create no-spray zones to separate sprayed crops from people living and working nearby. One problem is that some winegrowers compensate for pesticide use with mechanization, which increases the carbon footprint of the operation.

Organic Wine

One option is to buy organic-certified wine. Organic agriculture doesn’t use pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Organic production doesn’t guarantee that an operation is environmentally-friendly on all metrics. For instance, organics rules may not govern water management. And it doesn’t take into account carbon footprints.

The LCBO is actually featuring organic wines right now.

Biodynamic Certification

Vineyards can also be certified as biodynamic farms. Biodynamic farming uses organic methods, but the standards are stricter and have things like biodiversity requirements. Biodynamic agriculture is similar to organic farming, but it also emphasizes some spiritual and mystical elements. It was created in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian “philosopher, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant.” The oldest biodynamic accreditation is the Demeter label. Kristen’s personal view: a little kooky, but mostly harmless.

Salmon-Safe Vineyard Certification

If you are buying wine from Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia, you can buy wine that is certified as Salmon-Safe. Basically, it means that the grapes were farmed according to standards that reduce vineyard run-off, protect water quality, and enhance biodiversity. As far as I could tell, it’s basically an add-on to organic or biodynamic certification

Climate Change

It has become an increasing point of discussion that organic =/= low-carbon. Some wineries are making commitments to reduce their carbon footprints. If climate change is the most important metric for you, you can look for wine with the Carbonzero certification.

Carbonzero is a carbon neutrality standard that requires emissions measurements and offsets (although carbon offsets are imperfect).

You can also get wine that is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. LEED is a certification operated by the Canada Green Building Council. It looks at things like water usage, energy efficiency, and sustainable site development. Stratus Vineyards was the first Canadian winery to obtain this standard, which it did in 2005.

Boxed versus Bottled

The most environmentally-friendly way to consume wine is to have it filled somewhere (en vrac method), but that option isn’t available most places – especially right now.

Bag-in-box wine is lighter than glass, so on carbon footprint you might be better off, especially if the wine has to travel a long way. Both glass and cardboard are recyclable, but the plastic bag and spout probably aren’t.

Tetra-paks have the carbon savings advantage of bag-in-box wine, but the drawback is that it’s made of a fusion of polyethylene, paper and aluminum. So you need special equipment to recycle them. As a result, the global recycling rate of Tetra Paks is 26%. And the recycling is actually downcycling, as compared with glass – where you pretty much get the same output from recycling.

Animal Welfare

We covered this in the vegetarianism episode, but you can go to Barnivore to find vegan alcohol options, including wine. Again, many wines aren’t vegan because they are clarified using fining agents that are made of casein (milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatine (animal protein), or isinglass (fish bladder protein). Fining agents can be vegan though, for instance activated charcoal and bentonite (clay). Many organic wines aren’t vegan, but some are.

Major Brands and Ethical Consumer’s Wine Guide

Barefoot Wines, the biggest selling wine in the world, is made by E&J Gallo Winery, scored relatively well on Ethical Consumer’s company rating. They scored an 11.5 out of 20, which is the top of the “amber” category (out of green, amber, and red).

E&J Gallo doesn’t report on environmental performance, doesn’t independently verify, and doesn’t have targets for improvement. So Ethical Consumer gave it their worst rating for environmental reporting. E&J Gallo also got a worst rating for supply chain management. This is because “It was considered to have a reasonable approach to discrimination, and forced and child labour, but did not mention freedom of association, living wages, or working hours. The company was considered to have a poor supply chain policy.”

On the other hand, Ethical Consumer recommends avoiding Constellation Brands products.

Episodes 07 and 08 - Vegetarianism

Types of Vegetarian

 There are a few different variants of vegetarianism. Generally speaking, these variants can be put into three categories: the vegetarian-inclined, vegetarians, and vegans.

 Vegetarian-inclined people can be flexitarian or semi-vegitarian. These are people that sometimes eat meat. Then there are pollotarians, who eat poultry and fowl but not other meats. Pescatarians eat fish, but not other meats.

 There are also some different kinds of vegetarians. First, ovolactarians (lacto-ovo-vegetarians) eat dairy products and eggs. Lactarians (lacto-vegetarians) eat dairy but not eggs. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy.

 Then there are vegans! Vegans do not eat animal products at all. However, a variant of veganism called beeganism describes people who do eat honey, but not other animal products.

 If you are interested in moving toward a plant-based diet for environmental reasons, Food is the Solution is a helpful starter. It has good recipes for people who are new to plant-based eating.

 History of Vegetarianism

 Vegetarianism has a long history.

Proto-vegetarianism

 Humans have been vegetarian since before recorded history. Anthropologists believe that early humans would have eaten a predominantly plant-based diet, out of ease. Ancient Egyptians relied mostly on wheat and barley for their diets. They refrained from eating meat, except during festivals and special occasions, for religious reasons (source).

 Pythagoreans were some of the first self-proclaimed vegetarians. This refers to the followers of Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher. They were vegetarian for religious and ethical reasons. Pythagoras considered it wrong to treat any animal differently than one would treat a human (source), as he believed all living beings had a soul. For many years following, a meatless diet was referred to at the Pythagorean diet .  Following a Pythagorean diet was linked to piety and asceticism, since meat was a symbol of wealth and power.

 During the Renaissance, being a Pythagorean was viewed as heresy. But during that same time, influential figures like Leonardo da Vinci and Montaigne began to speak out against animal cruelty (source). Leonardo da Vinci followed a Pythagorean diet and, apparently, was known to set free any caged birds that he found in the marketplace (source). Moral arguments against meat consumption gained speed after the Renaissance, but was still a fringe movement that faced ridicule from society (source)

 The early vegetarian movement

 The term ‘vegetarian’ was first listed in the OED in 1839 (source). The Vegetarian Society of England, the first vegetarian society, formed in England in 1847 in Ramsgate (source). The American Vegetarian Society formed in NYC in 1850. Notable early vegetarians include: Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi (practice of Ahimsa, non-injury), and Susan B. Anthony. Vegetarianism in the 19th and early 20th century was often associated with temperance and abstinence. There is also an uncomfortable association between some early vegetarians and the eugenics movement (e.g., John Kellogg, inventor of corn flakes, was vegetarian and a huge eugenics promoter).

 Vegetarianism goes mainstream

 Vegetarianism grew in the 1970s after the publication of a bestselling book called Diet for a Small Planet, written by Francis Moore Lappe (1971). The book is on the environmental impact of eating meat. Around the same time, Peter Singer (1975) published Animal Liberation.

 1990s-today

 From the 1990s onward, it has become increasingly popular to eat a plant-based diet. As of 2018, 3 million Canadians identify as vegetarian or vegan (almost 10% of the population). This is according to research done by Sylvain Charlebois at Dalhousie University. About 8% of Americans are vegetarian or vegan, and that figure has been relatively flat since the late 1990s, according to Gallup polling data. Flexitarianism is also gaining in popularity – between 2014 and 2018, sales of meat substitutes doubled in the US (from $702M to $1.44B)

 Animal Welfare

 The animal welfare justification for vegetarianism is rooted in two questions. First, is it wrong to raise/kill animals for human consumption, even if it is done humanely? Second, is it wrong to raise/kill animals for human consumption in the way that we are doing it via industrial agriculture? Vegans would extend that question to ask whether it can ever be right to use animals for our consumption purposes (but we’ll go into that in the upcoming veganism episode).

 Animal Rights versus Suffering

 There is a debate on whether to apply a framework of rights to animal welfare concerns. The animal rights (or non-human person rights) movement argues for applying rights to non-human animals. The argument for animal rights typically relies on taking aim at the difference between animal and humans. Animal rights activists argue that humans and animals are not so different on things like consciousness and having distinct preferences. Others argue that animals don’t have rights on grounds that animals and humans are different.

 The non-human animal rights movement has often focused efforts on ‘higher’ animals like primates. In 2016, an Argentine court ordered that a chimp named Cecilia should be released from a zoo. The argument of animal rights lawyers was essentially that Cecilia’s confinement without companionship had a detrimental impact on her health.

 Peter Singer has famously rejected the use of a rights-based frame to justify vegetarianism. Instead, he uses suffering as the metric. This approach is rooted in utilitarianism. Singer essentially says that speciesism is wrong: that we shouldn’t discriminate on the grounds that a being belongs to a species. So, Singer argues that we should take into account whether we are causing harm to another being irrespective of the species. Taking that frame, Singer argues that the key metric is capacity to feel pain. It’s for this reason that he thinks it’s okay to eat bivalves (oysters, mussels, clams) because they probably don’t feel pain.

 So, even if you don’t think that animal rights, you can think that animals have interests that are violated (e.g., to live in decent conditions, to make free choices, to be free from fear/pain, to live healthy lives, to enjoy the normal social/family/community life of its species).

 Factory Farming

 You know this already: factory farming is a nightmare-scape. Factory farms are operations with more than: 500 beef or dairy cattle; 1,000 hogs; 100,000 egg-laying chickens; or 500,000 broiler chickens (sold annually). In America, the vast majority of meat is factory-farmed: upwards of 95% for most animal protein.

 Animals in factory farms have very little space. Breeding sows kept in ‘gestation crates’ that keep them completely immobilized. Most chickens are kept in ‘battery cages’, which hold 5-10 birds. Each bird may have an amount of floor space equivalent to less than a sheet of letter-sized paper. Stress from overcrowding and boredom causes aggression, which is why most pigs have their tails cut off to prevent tail-biting. For the same reason, chickens, turkeys, and ducks are often de-beaked (and a significant portion die during the ordeal). Cows are dehorned and castrated, usually without pain management.

 The overcrowding also means that animals get sick a lot, which is why factory-farmed meat is so pumped with antibiotics.

 Factory farming prioritizes productivity over the well-being of the animals. Egg-laying chickens are put through something called ‘force molting’ where they are denied food for up to two weeks, in order to shock their bodies into another egg-laying cycle. Calves in feed lots are fattened for slaughter on an unnatural diet in order to reach “market weight” of 1,200 pounds within six months. Once they reach this weight they’re killed.

 There are ways to eat non-factory farmed meat, which maybe we’ll cover in a future episode.

 Environment

 Approximately 70 billion animals are raised annually for human consumption. From an environmental perspective, animal agriculture is less efficient than plant-based agriculture, simply because we also need to feed animals when we raise them.

 Shout out to this cool study by Clark, Springmann, Hill and Tilman 2019 on the multiple health and environmental impacts of foods. They look at five health metrics: mortality, coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and stroke. Clark et al. compare this against five environmental metrics: acidification potential, eutrophication potential, GHG emissions, land use, and scarcity-weighted water use. The study finds that unprocessed and processed red meat is worse on both; animal products like chicken, fish, and dairy are healthier but bad for the environment; and plant-based foods like nuts, legumes, vegetables, and grains are healthier and better for the environment. There are some really cool charts in this study for the nerds out there, so I would definitely recommend taking a look.

 Land Use

 Animal agriculture uses up a lot of land: approximately 26% of Earth’s ice-free land is used for livestock grazing. And beyond that, 33% of croplands are used for livestock feed production. So, the land footprint of animal agriculture is huge. 

 We have talked about land use on the podcast before. Essentially, you want land use to be as efficient as possible because we have a finite amount of space. The more space we put toward animal agriculture, the less we have available for carbon sinks like forests and wetlands. Climate Nexus estimates that replacing beef with plants in your diet reduces the land footprint of that food by 90%. This report has cool maps on land use change in the American heartland.

 Greenhouse Gas Emissions

 Animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change: it is responsible for an estimated 18% of human caused emissions are from animal agriculture. Animal agriculture is also responsible for 44% of methane emissions and 44% of nitrous oxide emissions, two particularly bad greenhouse gases (GHGs). A total of 26% of emissions are from food more broadly (58% of which is from animal products, and 50% of which is from just beef and lamb).

 Why are emissions higher for animal agriculture? GHG emissions in animal agriculture result from the methane that is released from the digestive processes of animals, as well as animal manure. When land is converted to animal agriculture, this results in a loss of stored carbon. And we also have to include the fossil fuels used to produce mineral fertilizers for feed production. Climate Nexus estimates that replacing beef with plants in your diet reduces the GHG emissions of that food by 96%.

 Water Footprint

 We’ve talked about this before on the podcast: most of our water footprint comes from the indirect water usage that it takes to make our food. And generally speaking, meat is a lot more water-intensive to produce than plant-based food. Per calorie, beef is 10x more water-intensive than vegetables, and 3x as water-intensive at nuts. Nuts are the most water intensive category of plant-based food. Chicken is actually slightly less water-intensive to produce than nuts (per calorie), but the difference is fairly minor.

 Air Pollution

 Animal agriculture is also really bad for the air, and that is making us sick. In addition to the release of GHGs, animal agriculture produces particulate matter.

 Ambient air pollution is responsible for about 8% of all deaths annually, according to the WHO. Particulate matter is harmful to human health – it affects lung function and can aggravate other conditions (such as heart and lung disease), even leading to death. In many places like the US and Europe, the biggest source of fine-particulate air pollution isn’t cars; it’s agriculture. That fine particulate pollution comes from dry manure, feathers, bits of feed, and animal dander. When those break down, they’re released into the air.

 Eutrophication

 Animal agriculture also pollutes our waterways, leading to eutrophication. Climate Nexus estimates that replacing beef with plants in your diet reduces nitrogen fertilizer use by 94%.

Sources of eutrophication in animal agriculture include: nitrogen fertilizer run-off and leaching; manure run-off and leaching; and aquaculture. Aquaculture farms generate concentrated amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous from excrement, uneaten food, and organic waste (dead fishies).

 In addition to polluting our freshwater, this is creating something called “ocean dead-zones”. Basically, run-off of nitrogen and phosphorous creates low-oxygen areas that affect fish reproduction or even kill fish. There are more than 400 ocean dead-zones worldwide. The size of ocean dead zones has quadrupled since 1950. And most of that increase has been in coastal areas proximate to agricultural production. Coastal eutrophication from animal agriculture also contributes to ocean acidification.

Kyla’s Notes

Cheese rennet makes her sad.