We label fridges to show their environmental impact – why not food?

Mandatory environmental labels would change how we produce and consume in three far-reaching ways.

• Huge reduction in meat-eating 'essential' to avoid climate breakdown

If you buy a washing machine, a fridge or a television in Europe, it comes with a sticker. Thanks to a 1992 EU directive, all appliances must be labelled with their energy efficiency.

So why has our food system - which threatens 10,000 species with extinction, emits about 30% of greenhouse gases, and drives 80% of our nitrogen and phosphorus pollution - only ever had voluntary ecolabels?