At Christmas, we treat ourselves by presenting a beautiful table where there is sometimes a superb fruit basket. Often there are strawberries and cherries. However, eating strawberries and cherries at Christmas is not trivial… As they are not seasonal fruits, this consumption has negative effects on the climate and agriculture. The Mousquetaires group is taking action by deciding to no longer sell strawberries and cherries in winter. A small step for the agri-food industry and the planet which will become big if we all get involved.
Less red fruits at Christmas, more Blue White Red
“It’s an impulse. Eating seasonal fruits and avoiding importing products from the other side of the world, this supports the French farm,” explained to Le Figaro Thierry Cotillard, president of the Les Mousquetaires group bringing together 8 brands, including Netto and Intermarché.
Intermarché precisely wishes to “encourage the principle of preference for French productions”. The group plans to work with 20,000 local producers within a 70 kilometer radius around their supermarkets within three years – compared to 10,000 today – and create an “Intermarché Terroir” label.
Eight brands and eight commitments
This measure, to put an end to the sale of strawberries and cherries at Christmas, is part of a set of commitments announced by the Les Mousquetaires group. In a post on the social network LinkedIn, Thierry Cotillard addresses his peers “we all have a share of responsibility in this ecological aberration which consists of consuming summer fruits in the middle of winter… Consumers, producers, industrialists… . and my competitors, we all have the power to act. »
In a press release, the group said it was giving itself “until spring 2025 to study the results of this first experiment before considering an expansion of this initiative to other products with strong seasonality in the years to come”. They are in line with the principles of the Ministry of Agriculture which is now called the “Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry”. Eating French means supporting French food sovereignty and supporting our farmers.
The cherries found in France in winter mainly come from Chile or South Africa. Eating seasonally will reduce the carbon footprint. According to the Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME), 1kg of strawberries consumed in winter generates 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than 1kg produced in peak season (between May and July). Eating French limits the use of transport for the delivery of food products and therefore greenhouse gas emissions. This is why, according to ADEME, it is important to considerably reduce our consumption of exotic products or foods from the other side of the planet which travel thousands of kilometers before arriving on our table. Let’s also try to forget the basket of exotic fruits at Christmas. Intermarché therefore wishes to expand its range of winter fruits from France to replace strawberries and cherries in December and January.
It is a small hope for the agricultural, agri-food and ecological future.
So, let’s eat seasonally now, to get a head start on our January 1st resolutions! Moreover, with their beautiful orange color, clementines are also very pretty in a basket.
