HAK: Vegetable and local becomes the 'Green Normal'

The Netherlands would benefit if it were to switch more quickly to sustainable, local cultivation methods, shorter supply chains, and a more vegetarian diet in which vegetables and legumes from the season play the main role. However, this new 'Green Normal' can only come about if growers, producers, retailers and consumers all play their part. That is what top man Timo Hoogeboom of vegetable manufacturer HAK says in HAK's first Social Impact Report (MIR), which Minister Schouten received on 18 June 2020.

System change

The system change advocated by Hoogeboom must have a serious impact on two areas: health & consumption and cultivation & production. "These are also central to the Social Impact Report for 2019. The urgency of health & consumption is obvious. We do not eat healthy enough, we systematically eat too few vegetables despite years of food education, we often unnecessarily take our food from too far away and we pay too little for it. The system must therefore be overhauled. Because it is not sustainable in the long term", says Hoogeboom.

According to Hoogeboom, change is also necessary on the issues of cultivation & production. Hoogeboom: "Today's grower has an unsustainable earning model. The yields are getting lower and lower. Cultivating even more at low prices for an international market is not a sustainable solution - not for the grower, not for the consumer and not for the planet. So what is? A better price for local certified sustainable cycle agriculture. With less environmental impact and a better product for the consumer and a better price for the grower. That should work, shouldn't it? After all, we're not talking about euros, we're talking about pennies."

Green Normal 

The fact that the food system must change structurally for the health of people, the sustainability of our planet and to help growers grow more sustainably is reason for HAK to call on retail partners and consumers to contribute to what the company calls 'The Green Normal'.

Hoogeboom: "We think it should be possible to help and inspire consumers to put vegetable proteins such as vegetables and legumes on the menu more often. And to choose more often locally grown vegetables and legumes from the season, instead of imported vegetables from far away. Such a diet is not only healthier, it is also much less harmful to the planet. For all this to work, it is important that the grower is compensated for his sustainable efforts. And in order to reinforce this plea, together with all chain players, we are placing a full-page call in various newspapers this weekend for 'The Green Normal' to be realised together.

HAK intends to work even more closely with the supermarkets on this in the coming years, as they have a great deal of influence on the choices made by consumers on the shop floor on a daily basis. Hoogeboom: "If you want consumers to choose a more vegetable-based daily diet with more vegetables and legumes, we can make the supply of these on the shop floor even more accessible, easier and more inspiring".

HAK's Social Impact Report 2019 can be read here (Dutch only)

hak.nl