The Food industry’s role during wartime

Although access to food is absolutely necessary for human survival, there seem to be no clear plans in at least Sweden and Denmark to secure food production in a crisis. Food production is widely based on foreign supply of even most essential products and for several retailers the whole distribution set-up and stock holding is based on only a few days of shelf stock. And most products have short shelf life. We at Green Seed Nordic actually have had requests in recent weeks to find long shelf life products and products that are efficient in terms of fulfilling basic nutritional needs .In several Nordic countries stockpiling is talking place as we speak, canned food is on the rise as one example, bottled water is another.

In a new analysis Swedish firm Macklean outlines the challenges and opportunities in Sweden and Finland. Sweden’s crisis preparedness lacks a robust food supply whereas Finland already during the pandemic showed that it is well prepared. Being prepared means that state and private owned companies have an operational plan with a clear structure in place that both are committed to. It involves alternative access to energy supply to be able to maintain food production. A state-owned storage system and security of supply and a distribution set-up being able to deal with extreme crisis, or war.

“The time for advance warnings in military crises has been shortened and the threshold for the use of force has been lowered. At the same time, society’s vulnerability has increased”, according to Finland’s security plan. State security warehousing to ensure domestic supply, so that the amount available in the country corresponds to the average consumption of human food for at least six months is in the plan. In addition, safety stocks of certified seeds, protein crops and other goods necessary for primary production can be maintained. Sufficient financial resources are reserved for plant breeding and maintenance of various varieties.

There is a clear goal for Sweden’s total defence: the country must be self-sufficient for at least three months in case of crisis – but there is no concrete plan and structure for implementation. It lacks a robust food system that can secure food supply for more than three months, showing vulnerabilities in both primary production and industry, distribution and trade.

A defence strategy not only involves a military strategy but also, amongst many other things, a clear food supply system.

It also forces reflection to be given to which products are absolutely necessary and how can we in the food industry develop new products.

The covid crisis opened our eyes. The Ukrainian war situation show that action is needed.