It was the state of natural resources in the Czech Republic that was evaluated very positively in the index. While the proportion of degraded land in the world is around 20% on average, in our country it is only 6% of the land that is degraded, e.g. eroded or contaminated. The mild climate of our territory or politicians’ interest in the topic of food safety are examples of factors that contributed to the high ranking.
Diversity in local dishes was also evaluated above average. Other strengths (i.e., indicators in which the Czech Republic scored higher than 75 points) included, for example, a very low percentage of people living below the poverty line, agricultural advancement including investment in research and development, or the availability of financial resources and services for farmers.
The good results of the Czech Republic in the index are also reflected in the approach of Prague catering companies, which, as part of their initiatives, focus on local sources of raw materials, waste reduction and waste-free policy. For example, Zátiší Catering, when preparing refreshments for events, pays a lot of attention to selecting such suppliers who meet the conditions of suitable soil cultivation and approach to natural resources, seek and prefer local growers and breeders, and respect the seasonality of individual raw materials. Meals can be prepared fresh on site, without the need of long-distance transport and preparation of semi-finished products.
Four European countries came ahead of the Czech Republic, which had a score of 78.6 points: Finland (85.3 points), Ireland (83.8 points), the Netherlands (79.9 points) and Austria (79.4 points). Very closely behind them was the Great Britain with 78.5 points and Sweden with78.1 points. The top ten countries also include Israel, followed by Japan and Switzerland. Germany, with which the Czech Republic is often compared regarding food quality, placed 13th, while our Slovak neighbours were 40th. The complete results of all evaluated countries can be found here.