ABSTRACT
The movement for sustainable food has its origins in the 1970s as a result of increasing public awareness about environmental issues that impact on the global economy. Sections of society realized that the health of the planet and of people depended on innovations that would save the environment for the present as well as future generations. Sustainable food has its roots in the prevailing liberal climate of the time and in the ‘back to nature’ movement that stressed the importance of integrity of foods derived from natural agricultural systems in the locality, following the seasons. Even before this period, during the early stages of the food industry that developed in the 1850s thanks to new food processing techniques, groups were founded across Europe that sought a more natural and authentic nutrition. People following this lifestyle were aware of the necessity to protect nature and the problems of animal welfare which together sparked the establishment of the vegetarian movement and healthy lifestyles.
