So informed consumption can drive supply chains to become more sustainable, but first we all need the information and incentives to make better choices.
French consumption of beef plunged last year when three supermarket chains said they had sold beef from a herd containing an animal infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as mad cow disease.
Many products and services are created along supply chains that travel from idea conception to final consumption and that include value-added activities of varying degrees of labor-, physical capital-, and intellectual capital-intensity.
Therefore suppliers, processors, distributors and retailers need to step up their control and visibility across the supply chains, tracking products from raw material to the point of consumption.