tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/food-policy-10246/articlesFood policy – The Conversation2022-05-01T15:04:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1815852022-05-01T15:04:45Z2022-05-01T15:04:45ZWhen it comes to food prices, the Canadian government’s hands are tied<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460384/original/file-20220428-9923-bzy2dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C99%2C6016%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How much can governments actually do about rising food prices?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rhetoric around inflation and increasing food prices has become a <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-poilievre-runs-over-facts-in-his-race-to-make-inflation-case/">point of emphasis for politicians</a>, particularly for those in opposition to the incumbent government. </p>
<p>Even pundits and non-profit organizations are <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/08/opinion/canada-food-policy-leadership-at-home-abroad">pressuring the government into taking specific actions on food prices</a>. This begs the question: Should governments take steps to reduce food prices? And more importantly — <em>can</em> they?</p>
<p>This is not to say that food inflation doesn’t matter. It has clear <a href="https://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition">impacts on food security in North America and across the world</a>. While <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/politics-inflation-right-1.6426222">some argue there is little that can be done</a>, there are some steps the government can take.</p>
<h2>Putting a limit on food prices</h2>
<p>The most obvious step the government could take is regulating food prices using <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-ceiling.asp">price ceilings</a>. This is virtually unheard of in North America, but has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/philippines-economy-pork-prices-idUSL4N2K72TN">happened elsewhere</a>, most recently in Malaysia where the government <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/28/malaysia-is-taking-steps-to-control-rising-food-prices-says-minister.html">has announced price control measures for key staples</a>. </p>
<p>While this might initially seem like a good idea, price ceilings actually end up taking money out of the system. If that money isn’t replaced (i.e. <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/food-subsidies-developing-countries-costs-benefits-and-policy-options">through government subsidies</a>), products either stop being produced or make their way to other, more profitable markets. Currently, the Canadian government can’t afford these kinds of subsidies because of the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8156408/daunting-debt-what-the-pandemic-public-spending-spree-will-mean-for-canadas-post-covid-economy/">debt accumulated from COVID-19 relief</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Cows grazing inside a barn" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460376/original/file-20220428-23-dr3sth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dairy cattle at a farm in Surrey, B.C. In Canada, some products, like dairy and poultry, have domestic production controls that guarantee farmers are paid fairly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>There are some products, like dairy and poultry, that have domestic production controls. Farm prices are set based on a <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/production-cost.asp">cost-of-production</a> model, meaning farmers earn back the amount of money it costs to produce their products. If grocery prices were capped, retailers and processors would make less money and less dairy products would make it to store shelves.</p>
<p>Price ceilings are impractical for food. They are unlikely to achieve much and end up hitting farmers, processors and retailers the hardest. In the long run, they end up reducing access to products and stifling innovation and research investment.</p>
<h2>Limiting food exports</h2>
<p>In some countries, governments have chosen to limit exports — meaning goods must be sold domestically — as a way of reducing food prices. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/grains-argentina-wheat-idUSL2N2V62A9">Argentina did this recently</a> after wheat prices increased following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While this is good for domestic consumers, it puts the burden on farmers who could stop production in favour of selling unregulated products.</p>
<p>Export taxes can also be used in place of export controls. While these stabilize domestic prices, <a href="https://www.foodsecurityportal.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/DiscussionPaper_OnTheRoleOfExportTaxes_1_2.pdf">they end up hurting domestic producers</a>, who get lower prices, and importing countries, who face higher prices. </p>
<p>Canada, as a <a href="https://cafta.org/agri-food-exports/">significant exporter of food products</a>, cannot afford to let its reputation as a trusted exporter be compromised. In addition, limiting or taxing exports would only have small impacts on domestic prices, but would negatively impact Canadian producers and export customers.</p>
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<img alt="Shipping containers being loaded onto a cargo ship" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460379/original/file-20220428-24-h774w6.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A container ship is loaded at the PSA Halifax terminal. Canada is a significant exporter of food products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<p>For countries that import food, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/food/prices-of-imported-healthy-foods-fruits-may-come-down-but-marginally/articleshow/89279001.cms">like India</a>, the reduction of import duties can also help to reduce domestic prices. Import duties are often used to protect domestic producers. For the most part, Canada does not have high tariffs on food products, with the exception of supply-managed products, so this approach is not broadly applicable.</p>
<p>Some U.S. states are <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/as-food-prices-soar-some-states-consider-cutting-taxes-on-groceries.html">considering waiving food taxes</a>. In Canada, most retail food items are not taxed, so this is not an option, although a similar tax is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-fuel-tax-jason-kenney-jonathan-wilkinson-ucp-1.6405278#:%7E:text=">being used in Alberta to reduce the cost of transportation</a>. One critique of this approach is that it benefits those that spend the most, rather than those that need it most.</p>
<h2>What can governments actually do?</h2>
<p>Another option could be to deal with the root causes of the inflation. However, many of these factors — like <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-beef-prices-drought-1.6137777">drought and extreme weather events</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-war-in-ukraine-will-affect-food-prices-178693">the war in Ukraine</a> and <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/supply-chain-issues-and-bad-weather-behind-soaring-grocery-prices-experts-say-1.5609081">supply chain disruptions</a> — are beyond the control of the Canadian government.</p>
<p>There has been <a href="https://financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/food-industry-code-of-conduct-could-tamp-down-rising-grocery-bills-empire-ceo-says">discussions from CEOs</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/australia-guelph-food-price-grocery-1.6431365">political parties</a> about implementing a grocery code of conduct for regulating how large grocery companies interact with their suppliers. While a code might benefit grocers and their suppliers, it is unclear if it would actually lower food prices for consumers.</p>
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<img alt="A tractor plowing wheat in a field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460377/original/file-20220428-17-n7j6bv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Workers plow wheat in western Ukraine in March. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, leaving millions across North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia facing food shortages.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)</span></span>
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<p>While there is not a lot that governments can do about food prices, policy makers can still provide broader economic relief. <a href="https://www.dailybread.ca/blog/food-price-inflation-low-income-households/">Those with the lowest incomes are feeling the pinch of inflation more than others</a> — they are being squeezed not only by food price increases, but by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardmcgahey/2022/03/25/inflation-soaring-rents-and-the-housing-crisis/?sh=5b119f9416f5">rising rent</a> and <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/annual-inflation-rate-hit-5-7-in-february-amid-broad-based-price-increases-1.5821335?cache=yes">fuel prices</a>.</p>
<p>Income support for those with lowest incomes would hep reduce the burden of rising costs of living. Broader tax relief could also take the pressure off for the middle class, but tax relief is less effective for low income earners that pay little tax. Targeted programs, like the <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/01/19/news/finally-liberals-are-putting-school-food-programs-menu">school food programs announced in the 2022 federal budget</a>, could also increase food access for vulnerable populations. </p>
<p>Politicians who criticize incumbent government for rising food prices should be challenged to provide real proposals that would differentiate them. This is not an easy fix and we shouldn’t be pretending it is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael von Massow receives funding from a variety of organizations including the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Genome Canada, and Protein Industries Canada.</span></em></p>Rising food prices are not an easy fix and we shouldn’t be pretending otherwise.Michael von Massow, Associate Professor, Food Economics, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1644102021-07-21T14:26:32Z2021-07-21T14:26:32ZWhat is the National Food Strategy and how could it change the way England eats?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412420/original/file-20210721-17-2yjygx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4025%2C2717&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/plastic-greenhouse-vegetable-cultivation-192230612">Bibiphoto/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reforming England’s food system could save the country £126 billion, according to a recent government-commissioned report. The National Food Strategy, led by British businessman Henry Dimbleby, proposes a raft of measures to shake up how food is produced and the kinds of diets most people eat.</p>
<p>The need for action is laid out in <a href="https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/">stark terms</a>. Poor diets contribute to around 64,000 deaths every year in England, and the government spends £18 billion a year treating obesity-related conditions. How we grow food accounts for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and is the leading cause of biodiversity destruction. </p>
<p>To meet these challenges, the report calls for “escaping the junk food cycle” to improve general health and reduce the strain on the NHS, reducing the gap in good diets between high- and low-income areas, using space more efficiently to grow food so that more land can return to nature, and creating a long-term shift in food culture.</p>
<p>The strategy is, in parts, highly ambitious, particularly in its framing of the challenge as a systemic issue, and in some of the more innovative measures it proposes.</p>
<p>These include the world’s first sugar and salt reformulation tax, aimed at forcing manufacturers to make the foods they sell healthier – by reformulating recipes to remove sugar and salt – and raising around £3 billion for the Treasury in the process. Companies would also have to report how healthy and sustainable their food sales are. Cannily, the strategy team persuaded some companies to come out <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/business/supermarkets-pledge-support-for-dimbleby-food-report-over-transparency-b1885375.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1626438978">in favour of the proposals</a>, which suggests they’re serious about seeing their ideas implemented and attuned to the government’s nervousness around upsetting the food industry. </p>
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<img alt="A selection of sugar-rich processed foods." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412421/original/file-20210721-21-6uzax0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The tax is designed to reduce the salt and sugar content of processed foods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/selection-food-high-sugar-412320808">Oleksandra Naumenko/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/">Eatwell Guide</a>, which shows what proportion of our diet should come from each food group, would be based not only on the healthiness of certain foods, but their environmental sustainability too. This reference diet would underpin government decisions, and help ensure food policies are consistent with what is good for people and the planet.</p>
<p>The strategy takes a commendably bold stance on the government’s approach to trade policy, making clear that not honouring a manifesto commitment to protect food standards could bankrupt Britain’s farming sector. </p>
<h2>Missed opportunities</h2>
<p>At the same time, the strategy is politically pragmatic, clearly crafted with an eye on what what is likely to be winnable within the current government. As such, some politically-contentious issues are sidestepped.</p>
<p>The strategy sets a goal of reducing meat consumption by 30% over ten years, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/16/britains-meat-consumption-national-food-strategy-diet-climate">shies away from interventions</a> to tackle this head on, with a meat tax discounted as “politically impossible”. </p>
<p>The report notably fails to address the poorly paid, precarious and often dangerous jobs of food workers, in <a href="https://www.labourexploitation.org/publications/assessment-risks-human-trafficking-forced-labour-uk-seasonal-workers-pilot">agriculture</a> and <a href="https://www.labourexploitation.org/publications/-help-workers-i-would-tell-government-participatory-research-workers-uk-hospitality">hospitality</a>. The report details how the problems with food are systemic, but misses the chance to make the link between poor working conditions in the sector and food insecurity and health. The terrible irony of “critical workers” like <a href="https://www.fginsight.com/news/news/i-am-producing-food-i-cannot-afford---british-farmer-highlights-rural-poverty-84198">farmers</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/10/scottish-fishermen-turn-to-food-banks-as-covid-19-devastates-industry">fishers</a> and <a href="http://camdennewjournal.com/article/furloughed-school-dinner-staff-now-surviving-on-food-vouchers-themselves">catering staff</a> that feed many of us is that they’re unable to afford to eat well themselves. </p>
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<img alt="A row of stacked lobster pots on a harbour." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412423/original/file-20210721-15-1dzjs5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The strategy neglected the precarious conditions for many food workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lobster-pots-on-wooden-dock-fishing-1898045836">Emnaylor23/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The scale of the challenge has led to calls for a new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/10/appoint-minister-for-hunger-to-tackle-uk-food-insecurity-mps-urge">minister for hunger</a>, a cabinet sub-committee on food, or an independent food body. The strategy opts instead for a Good Food Bill with statutory targets around diet-related health and reporting. It also favours expanding the remit of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to encompass health and sustainability and calls for improved monitoring and measurement of the food system and the policies linked to it.</p>
<p>If enacted, <a href="https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/handle/2299/24812">these proposals could benefit food policymaking</a>, but they’d leave the difficult question of how different government departments can coordinate on the issue untouched. Expanding an existing body may be politically expedient, but does the non-ministerial FSA have the clout and capacity to drive reform in the many other departments with <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/who-makes-food-policy-in-england-map-government-actors/">a hand in food policy</a>? </p>
<p>An ambitious and innovate strategy in parts, and wise for its political astuteness. Whether it has achieved the right balance will become clearer in the next phase, when the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs delivers its response. The recommendations will need to survive the political jungle and overcome obstacles both bureaucratic and ideological.</p>
<p>Should they make it through in one piece, these policies could tackle some of the biggest challenges related to food. But more importantly, the strategy could disrupt the politics and ideas about what people should want from their food system, and give licence to additional policy interventions in trade, meat and jobs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Barling receives research grant funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme under their Sustainable Food Security theme, and from the Cadogan Charity. He leads the Food Systems and Policy Research Group that is a member of Sustain: the Alliance for better food and farming. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly Parsons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new report calls for a greener and fairer food system in England.Kelly Parsons, Food Systems Policy & Governance Research Fellow, University of HertfordshireDavid Barling, Professor of Food Policy and Security, Director of the Centre for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Management, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1559342021-03-30T11:36:15Z2021-03-30T11:36:15ZHow school lunch could improve when classrooms are full again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389649/original/file-20210315-17-16klgq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5439%2C3587&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">School lunch is a lot less fun during a pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/school-children-are-spaced-apart-in-one-of-the-rooms-used-news-photo/1228514555?adppopup=true">Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The COVID-19 pandemic has completely upended school lunches, like just about everything else for students. Once schools turned into virtual learning platforms, they found <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-connecticuts-schools-have-managed-to-maintain-lunch-distribution-for-kids-who-need-it-most-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-154308">creative ways to feed students</a>, including distributing meals at outdoor <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305875">pickup locations</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/12.22.20-Universal-School-Meals-Sign-On-Letter.pdf">pandemic has renewed and strengthened national</a> and <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB364">state-level calls to make school meals free</a> for all students.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. asked four school nutrition experts what the break from daily in-person learning may change about school lunch.</em></p>
<h2>1. Cafeterias with more space, less noise</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hsGKoXYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Christine Caruso</a>, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Saint Joseph</strong>: Even prior to the pandemic, staff and students were concerned about <a href="https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.30.1.0101">crowding and noise levels</a> in cafeterias, according to research my colleague and I conducted on <a href="https://foodcorps.org/case-studies/">school meal programs</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html">Now it’s clear that crowding</a> and <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/13/1001696/loud-talking-could-leave-coronavirus-in-the-air-for-up-to-14-minutes/">loud talking</a> are also serious COVID-19 risk factors.</p>
<p>As more children return to in-person learning, many school districts are <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2020/10/23/how-are-cafeteria-s-operating-in-covid-19-">letting students eat in their classrooms</a>. Schools are also relying on <a href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/back-to-school/schools-reveal-plans-for-lunchtime-protocols-amid-covid-19-pandemic/2323699/">courtyards or outdoor tents</a> to create safer eating environments. </p>
<p>These measures are critical because the coronavirus spreads <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30514-2">through airborne droplets and aerosols</a>. </p>
<p>As a public health precaution, I believe that most schools need to redesign their cafeterias to provide more and varied spaces for students to spread out, rather than being tightly packed together, and muffle noise. In addition to using outdoor spaces and classrooms, students can also eat in hallways and other spaces as needed. </p>
<h2>2. Fewer families paying for meals</h2>
<p><strong>Michael Long, Assistant Professor of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University:</strong> <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/nslp-fact-sheet">Serving the 30 million</a> students who rely on school meals has required radical rule waivers and program changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes include adjusting meal requirements and allowing schools to provide free meals <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-040120">to all students</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670">my research team’s analysis</a> of government <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-nutrition-and-meal-cost-study">data</a> collected during the 2014-2015 school year regarding costs and nutrition, medium and large schools that offered everyone free lunch and other meals spent US$0.67 less per meal than similar-sized schools that certified students for free and reduced price lunch eligibility based on <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/income-eligibility-guidelines">household income</a>. Despite the lower costs – likely due to administrative savings – nutritional quality remained the same. </p>
<p>The pandemic has renewed and strengthened <a href="https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/12.22.20-Universal-School-Meals-Sign-On-Letter.pdf">national</a> and <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB364">state-level calls to make school meals free across the board</a>. </p>
<p>However, this shift will not be possible without new rules and increased federal funding. Without it, when the COVID-19 waivers expire – currently scheduled for the fall of 2021 – many schools will return to the familiar experience of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670">inadequate funding</a>, big administrative burdens and <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304102">lower participation</a> rates.</p>
<h2>3. Healthier, tastier meals</h2>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.fcs.uga.edu/people/bio/caree-cotwright">Caree Cotwright</a>, Assistant Professor of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia</strong>: Since the pandemic began, schools have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.09.018">modified their lunches</a> in numerous ways, introducing new delivery methods and meal packages to deter the spread of the coronavirus. </p>
<p>Schools need more federal funding and support to continue providing healthy meals to students to reduce <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db288.pdf">health disparities</a>. School lunch is more widely consumed by kids from <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S136898002000259">low-income families and communities of color</a> than their counterparts.</p>
<p>When students return to school, many are eating lunch in their classroom or outside rather than in the cafeteria. In my assessment, eating in a learning atmosphere offers a unique opportunity to bolster nutrition education programs and encourage students to taste new entrees that may be packaged in unfamiliar ways. </p>
<p>For example, one school nutrition director in the Atlanta area described to me a program using online taste tests to make school lunches more appealing to students. To start, parents pick up a week’s worth of school meals, which can be quickly heated and served. Then, a group of students participate in a live Zoom session with a school chef who guides them through warming and assembling a simple school lunch meal, such as cheesy chicken tacos with salsa. Students taste and rate the recipe with the chef. Finally, the video, student comments and taste-test results are posted for other students to view before the recipe is added to the menu.</p>
<p>My research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0113">making school meals more nutritious and delicious</a> requires engaging school nutrition directors, teachers, parents and students. These partnerships can encourage students to try new recipes and better understand how food and the environment are linked – which may result in <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014002948">less food waste</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1563%2C1041&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Child carries lunch in plastic bag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C1563%2C1041&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389647/original/file-20210315-15-1lrbknf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cafeteria workers have distributed breakfasts and lunches during the pandemic, even when school buildings are closed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/myah-abeloff-holds-a-packed-lunch-and-breakfast-as-the-news-photo/1213017507?adppopup=true">Lauren A. Little/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. More food justice efforts</h2>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.jenniferelainegaddis.com/">Jennifer Gaddis</a>, Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison:</strong> <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46681">Congress provided limited funding</a> in March 2020 to help reimburse school food providers for the <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2020/sna-survey-finds-school-meal-programs-financial-losses-mount/">financial losses</a> they experienced during school closures. But it wasn’t enough. </p>
<p>More than a quarter of districts <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2020/sna-survey-finds-school-meal-programs-financial-losses-mount/">surveyed</a> by the <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/">School Nutrition Association</a>, a nonprofit trade group, said they had cut hours for school cafeteria workers during the pandemic in order to cut costs.</p>
<p>These workers – mostly <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.15779/Z38M341">women and people of color</a> – are far more likely to be in <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.15779/Z38M341">part-time, low-wage jobs</a> and far <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news/research/2020-Compensation-and-Benefits-Report/">less likely to belong to unions</a> than the teachers they work alongside. </p>
<p>Before the pandemic, a growing number of schools were employing cafeteria staff to cook nutritious <a href="https://wearescratchworks.org/">meals from scratch</a>, and implementing <a href="https://www.farmtoschool.org/about/what-is-farm-to-school">farm-to-school programs</a> and <a href="https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/program-overview/#_values">other practices</a> to improve jobs, local economies and the environment.</p>
<p>Due to <a href="https://schoolnutrition.org/news-publications/press-releases/2021/new-usda-data-fewer-meals-served-2B-loss-for-school-meal-programs/">fewer kids eating school meals during the pandemic</a> and the increased costs associated with COVID-19 safety protocols, these positive changes may stall, or even be reversed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520300033/the-labor-of-lunch">My research suggests</a> these reforms are needed to <a href="https://foodcorps.org/cms/assets/uploads/2019/09/Reimagining-School-Cafeterias-Report.pdf">transform the school lunch experience</a> and maximize the <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RF-FoodPolicyPaper_Final2.pdf">ability of school meals</a> to improve public health and contribute to a post-pandemic economic recovery.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155934/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Gaddis is affiliated with the National Farm to School Network as an advisory board member.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine C. Caruso is affiliated with the Hartford Food System and Hartford Decide$ as a board member. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Long received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct research on school meal costs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caree J. Cotwright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students are spreading out when they eat and using more single-serve packaging. Future changes to school meals could be less visible.Jennifer Gaddis, Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies, University of Wisconsin-MadisonCaree J. Cotwright, Assistant Professor of Food and Nutrition, University of GeorgiaChristine C. Caruso, Assistant Professor of Public Health, University of Saint JosephMichael Long, Assistant Professor of Prevention and Community Health, George Washington UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1527462021-02-02T13:11:31Z2021-02-02T13:11:31ZWhat is food insecurity?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381339/original/file-20210129-13-1e60axw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=56%2C18%2C6174%2C4128&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. reliance on food assistance is rising during the coronavirus pandemic as more people grapple with economic hardship.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mother-and-daughter-wait-for-assistance-at-universe-city-a-news-photo/1257635151?adppopup=true">Spencer Platt/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the many striking images from the pandemic is an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/long-lines-at-food-banks-across-us-idUSRTX7EHU2">aerial photo showing cars</a> in seemingly endless rows lined up at a food bank in San Antonio, Texas.</p>
<p>A jarring awareness of <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/measurement/">food insecurity</a> in the U.S. has accompanied the health and financial concerns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, with <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/covid-19-means-new-normal">record numbers of people visiting food banks</a> <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/food/americans-turning-to-food-banks-during-the-pandemic/">for the first time</a>.</p>
<p>Even those not immediately in need were made increasingly aware of food insecurity in 2020, amid conversations not only of the economic fallout of the coronavirus, but also how structural racism has <a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000183">disproportionately left Black and Hispanic households at risk</a>.</p>
<p>This conversation is overdue. Long consumed with <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/diseaseandconditions/lifestyle/obesity-epidemic.html">the obesity epidemic</a>, Americans have found it harder to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101804">grapple with the issue of food insecurity</a> as a wealthy nation.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VmCnHgYAAAAJ&hl=en">researcher of food policy</a>, I have seen how people have focused more attention on addressing the issue of food insecurity in recent years. In 2000, just seven research articles with “food insecurity” in the title or abstract were listed in the leading database of biomedical literature. The total rose to 137 in 2010 and to 994 by 2020.</p>
<p>I am currently conducting the first <a href="https://www.supershelfmn.org/evaluation">National Institutes of Health-funded study of the charitable food system</a>, which includes <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-food-banks-help-americans-who-have-trouble-making-ends-meet-we-can-workshop-this-headline-soon-148150">food banks</a> – nonprofits that procure, store and distribute food, usually to smaller agencies – and food pantries, which distribute food directly to households that need it.</p>
<p>Although awareness of food insecurity is growing, it is important to understand what is meant by the term and how it fits with other food access concepts, such as hunger and food sovereignty. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view shows volunteers loading cars with turkeys and other food." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381332/original/file-20210129-23-ffi0u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Laid-off Walt Disney World employees line up in cars at a food distribution center in Orlando, Florida.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-aerial-view-from-a-drone-volunteers-load-cars-with-news-photo/1230097449?adppopup=true">Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is food insecurity?</h2>
<p>According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture), <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/measurement/">food insecurity</a> occurs when households are unable to acquire adequate food because they have insufficient money and other resources.</p>
<p>Food insecurity is measured at the household level and reflects limited access to food. This makes it <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/measurement/">different from hunger</a>, which is a physiological condition experienced by an individual. The USDA does not measure hunger in the U.S. Instead, the agency sees it as a consequence of people having limited access to food.</p>
<p>The USDA has <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/survey-tools/">measured food insecurity</a> for 25 years. This metric captures both the uncertainty of not knowing where one’s next meal is coming from and the disruptions of normal eating patterns and reductions in food intake.</p>
<p>Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of food insecurity peaked at <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=45021">just under 15% of households</a> in 2011. Rates then steadily declined each year through 2019, when just over <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=99281">1 in 10 households</a> reported experiencing food insecurity. </p>
<p>But then came 2020.</p>
<p>Although official statistics have not been released yet, early evidence suggests that <a href="https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/documents/reports/ipr-rapid-research-reports-pulse-hh-data-10-june-2020.pdf">food insecurity rates hit unprecedented levels</a>, affecting perhaps <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13100">17 million more</a> Americans than in 2019. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2005638">Households with children</a> were struck at <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/07/09/about-14-million-children-in-the-us-are-not-getting-enough-to-eat/">alarmingly high</a> rates, exacerbated by the closure of schools and child care facilities. In particular, Black and Hispanic families with children were disproportionately affected. </p>
<p><iframe id="Kneyc" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Kneyc/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Food justice, sovereignty and apartheid</h2>
<p>That Black and Hispanic households were hit the hardest by food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic is part of a bigger picture. <a href="https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2017/05/what-is-health-equity-.html">Food insecurity is fundamentally an issue of health equity</a> – the fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible without facing obstacles like poverty and discrimination. Even in normal times, food insecurity <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=99281">disproportionately affects low-income households</a>, Black and Hispanic families, female-headed households and families with children.</p>
<p>Families struggling with food insecurity face not only insufficient food, but also <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2020/march/food-insecure-households-score-lower-on-diet-quality-compared-to-food-secure-households/">insufficient nutritious food</a>. Because of this, people who are food-insecure have higher risks of a range of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645">diet-related chronic diseases</a> such as diabetes and hypertension.</p>
<p>Food insecurity can be exacerbated by living in low-income areas without access to sources of healthy and affordable food. These areas have often been referred to as “<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation/#definitions">food deserts</a>,” although this metaphor is being phased out by <a href="https://www.changefood.org/video/ladonna-redmond-food-justice-democracy/">food justice advocates</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.02.032">researchers</a>, and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/03/11/updated-web-tool-maps-us-food-access-greater-detail">government agencies</a>.</p>
<p>Another term that has emerged – “<a href="https://pubmed-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/29135909/">food swamp</a>” – describes neighborhoods where sources of unhealthy foods outnumber sources of healthy food – for example, the number of fast-food outlets outnumbers grocery stores.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, several other terms bring civil rights into U.S. urban food activism. “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9625-8">Food justice</a>” is a food movement rooted in addressing class and race issues, often through local community food production. “<a href="https://viacampesina.org/en/the-jakarta-call/">Food sovereignty</a>” originates from indigenous and global agrarian communities, and refers to the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.</p>
<p>Another term, “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/15/food-apartheid-food-deserts-racism-inequality-america-karen-washington-interview">food apartheid</a>,” even more explicitly identifies structural racism as a root cause of food-related inequalities.</p>
<p>What these terms – food sovereignty, food justice and food apartheid – have in common is that they prod citizens, researchers and policymakers to move beyond issues of geographic food access and “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731420913184">how to feed the poor</a>” and instead focus on how food systems can be reformed to address fundamental causes of food insecurity and health inequities.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s newsletter explains what’s going on with the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-going-on">Subscribe now</a>.</em>]</p>
<h2>A new era</h2>
<p>Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration tightened restrictions on <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/work-requirements-policies">SNAP benefits</a>. Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP is the largest of the federal food programs, providing monthly benefits to supplement the food budget in income-eligible families. Food insecurity was a critical part of policy discussions of SNAP restrictions.</p>
<p>But the issue of food insecurity has seemingly seeped more broadly into the public consciousness in conversations about racial justice, economic hardship, school reopening, pandemic preparedness and the food supply chain that ramped up in 2020 – conversations that are continuing in 2021. </p>
<p>The recent rise in food insecurity has prompted a response that has at times <a href="https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-pop-up-food-shelves-transition-to-meet-neighborhoods-needs-after-floyd-death/571369952/">overwhelmed food banks and food pantries</a> and the providers of free meals. But more sustainable solutions, such as <a href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/antipoverty-policies-programs">anti-poverty policies</a>, are needed to address the problem’s root causes.</p>
<p>Food insecurity is not a new problem, but the current challenges come in an era in which more people are aware of the problem. My hope is that the long-overdue public exposure of America’s fault lines can be the catalyst for new efforts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlin Caspi receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>A food policy researcher helps make sense of the lexicon of US food policy terms, and explains how they relate to racial justice.Caitlin Caspi, Professor of Public Health, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1461402020-09-14T16:13:34Z2020-09-14T16:13:34ZWhat food-insecure children want you to know about hunger<p>Footballer and food poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/06/marcus-rashford-clashes-with-tory-mp-over-child-food-poverty">has rebuked</a> Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake on Twitter for suggesting that parents who need help to feed their children are failing in their responsibilities.</p>
<p>Children growing up in poverty today recognise it is their parents’ duty to make sure they are fed adequately. But, like Rashford, whose family struggled with food security when he was a child, they know from experience that parents cannot always fulfil this obligation. In this context, they argue, government and others have a responsibility to act.</p>
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<h2>Children speak out about hunger</h2>
<p>We know this because we have asked children about this exact issue as part of <a href="https://cpag.org.uk/news-blogs/news-listings/living-hand-mouth-now-free-access">our research</a> into food poverty. In a European study of <a href="https://foodinhardtimes.org/">low-income families</a>, we asked young people between 11 and 16 years old who they consider to be responsible for making sure children have access to enough decent food. Most children argued that parents, government and organisations like schools should work together to achieve this. Phoebe, age 16, whose father had lost his job in the local authority, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a family is unable to provide food then I think it’s up to schools and government to kind of make that up, if there is really nothing that they can do. So free school meals and fruit at break I think is really important. I think it’s really important that there is enough money for schools to be able to provide free school meals, breakfast club and fruit and stuff like that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, attributing responsibility to those in power did not mean children exempted parents from taking responsibility. On the contrary, several young people talked about the importance of “doing the right thing” and not spending on “what you don’t really need”. </p>
<p>A quarter of the young people in the UK said it was primarily parents’ duty to ensure that their children had enough to eat. But they did not blame them when this proved difficult.</p>
<p>As Dayo, aged 15, whose family had no recourse to public funds and was on the edge of destitution, vividly put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a child dies, the government is always serious … if the child doesn’t die, they should still be serious about the child anyway.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sean, aged 14, whose single-parent household was reliant on benefits, suggested that while parents do the best they can, no one is taking responsibility for food poverty at a higher level:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think that it should be the government’s job, but I don’t think there is anyone that takes responsibility over that. I think parents do the best that they can. And, you know, there’s not much you can ask for other than for their best.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Taking responsibility</h2>
<p>Marcus Rashford has forcefully and eloquently written about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/15/protect-the-vulnerable-marcus-rashfords-emotional-letter-to-mps">his own experiences</a> of going without enough decent food as a child, despite his mother being in paid work. The shame and guilt he has spoken of were shared by children we interviewed too. </p>
<p>Rashford is rightly supporting the three main demands of part one of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53979648%20-%20:%7E:text=The%20taskforce%20is%20calling%20for,children%20aged%20seven%20to%2016">National Food Strategy</a>, led by Leon founder Henry Dimbleby, which include widening the free school meal entitlement to children in all families who receive universal credit. Given that more than <a href="https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/5_NFS_Report_spv_Ch4_JobsHunger.pdf">a million children</a> growing up in poverty in the UK do not currently qualify for free school meals, this is a welcome and, in the current climate, realistic ask.</p>
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<p>But it leaves out those children whose families have <a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/covid_19_right_to_food_nrpf">no recourse</a> to public funds because of their migration status and are in the <a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/publications/covid_19_right_to_food_nrpf">most dire need</a> as a result. Fundamentally, the demands do not address the underlying causes of rising levels of poverty and food poverty in this country, which are outside the strategy’s remit.</p>
<p>Part of the problem is that, as the children we interviewed pointed out, <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1491/149105.htm">no UK government department</a> has explicit responsibility for food poverty or food insecurity. Although some universal and targeted benefits entitle children to free school meals, these are the responsibility of the Department for Education rather than the Department of Work and Pensions, which looks after social security. </p>
<p>Successive UK governments have also depended on the market to provide cheap food. In the context of this “leave it to Tesco” approach to food policy, as Tim Lang <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-exposed-uk-governments-failure-to-implement-a-long-term-food-plan-136911">puts it</a>, it has been up to civil society, trade unions, researchers and, yes, footballers, to argue that neither welfare benefits nor statutory minimum wages <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611005545?casa_token=4WH-IvHxiFgAAAAA:A9w2Ngji7253ubcHCuvQsEsotss9M9FLtJsz8EutE3E_nAHFGGAx41sRnNpQG_imWvlBt3BH">are sufficient</a> to enable people to purchase enough food for good health, particularly in families with children to feed.</p>
<p>Charity is <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-food-banks-are-needed-to-feed-the-hungry-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-136164">not the solution</a>. To address the immediate crisis faced by the growing number of households in poverty as a result of the pandemic and lockdown measures, Child Poverty Action Group, along with almost 70 other organisations and individuals, are calling for an increase in child benefit of <a href="https://cpag.org.uk/campaign-increase-child-benefit">£10 per child per week</a> - emergency support to ensure all parents can cover the basic costs of raising their children in the face of reduced income. This is an effective, fast way to get money to most families so they can buy necessities, including food for their children. </p>
<p>In the medium to longer term, it is vital that the UK government reviews wages and benefits in line with <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-policy-and-society/article/which-types-of-family-are-at-risk-of-food-poverty-in-the-uk-a-relative-deprivation-approach/D27506D39A4FF47596BF5445905ADBBA">research on living standards</a>, to ensure families can live and eat with dignity. Fundamentally, the UK government needs to recognise, as young people do, that ensuring our children can eat properly is indeed a duty it shares with parents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Marcus Rashford has spoken eloquently about what happens when the government does not provide adequate support for food-insecure families. Children we interviewed said the same thing.Rebecca O'Connell, Reader in the Sociology of Food and Families, UCLJulia Brannen, Emerita Professor, Sociology of the Family, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/976222018-06-01T15:12:04Z2018-06-01T15:12:04ZEuropeans deserve a food policy that focuses on the environment and people’s health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221372/original/file-20180601-142086-1rs21xa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C169%2C4899%2C3280&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Per Bengtsson / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The European Union’s common agricultural policy is a sprawling programme of farming subsidies that covers everything from income support for farmers to supporting the promotion of products such as wine. No wonder then that the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, wants to “modernise and simplify” the policy.</p>
<p>This is why the EC has just published its legislative proposals for the common agricultural policy (CAP) after 2020. Its aim to make sure that the CAP continues to support farmers and rural communities, that it leads the sustainable development of EU agriculture, and that it reflects the EU’s ambitions on the environmental and climate change. Across the years 2021-2027, the proposed CAP’s total budget will be <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-3974_en.htm">around €365 billion</a>.</p>
<p>However, the food system in Europe and the UK faces some critical sustainability challenges. And, despite some welcome new objectives – particularly on the environment – and new support payments for young farmers, the proposals clearly do not go far enough on areas such as health. </p>
<p>Europeans deserve an agricultural policy that addresses their health. Too much red and processed meat, and food with lots of fat, sugar and salt means <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/obesity/data-and-statistics">more than 20%</a> of the continent is now obese. Poor diets are also responsible for half of the burden of cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the EU. </p>
<p>However, the CAP announcement contains little on health measures. The EC recently called for <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/future-of-cap/future_of_food_and_farming_communication_en.pdf">better access</a> to “nutritious valuable products such as fruit and vegetables”, yet the new CAP contains no new policy instruments and no specific targets for fruit and veg. </p>
<p>This is disappointing and, unless addressed in the final legislation, will not go unnoticed. From a public health perspective, this really is “low-hanging fruit” as the need for more fruit and vegetables is uncontroversial: the World Health Organisation’s 400 grams per day is a <a href="http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet">widely accepted minimum standard</a> and Eurostat already provides <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/product?code=hlth_ehis_fv1u">comparable data on consumption in the EU</a>. </p>
<p>Implying that the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/school-scheme_en">school scheme</a> will do the trick is a severe disappointment. The scheme promotes the benefits of healthy eating to children and encourages them to increase their consumption of fruit, vegetables and milk – yet its current budget is just 0.33% of the CAP. </p>
<p>The CAP’s sometimes incoherent position on the use of public money is nicely illustrated by its support for the wine sector. Excessive alcohol consumption is a well known <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014067361830134X">public health problem</a>, and wine subsidies themselves have often been <a href="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/0dd035037a9c33496642b1516/files/3c4d6acb-3a61-464b-b313-1f030994693d/Europe_s_Billion_Euro_Wine_Spillage.pdf">criticised</a>. Yet the draft proposal for CAP reform accords considerable attention to wine promotion measures. Most perversely, the increased value of wine sales may well be one of the policy’s indicators of success.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221381/original/file-20180601-142072-v45zir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vineyards good…. alcohol bad?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FreeProd33 / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CAP reform does outline new environmental initiatives such as a new agri-environmental scheme and the first ever initiative to address the decline of pollinating insects. This is welcome, bearing in mind the overuse of pesticides means three-quarters of flying insects have <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809">disappeared</a>, jeopardising pollination and yields. </p>
<p>Taking into account that global food and farming production contributes 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions – with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/1/1/19/4638592">18% from livestock</a> – it will be important to see the details of how the new environmental scheme incentivises climate action. It was disappointing so see nothing specific on soils, as Europe loses <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Agri-environmental_indicator_-_soil_erosion">970m tonnes of topsoil</a> every year to degradation and erosion. Europeans also <a href="http://eu-fusions.org/phocadownload/Publications/Estimates%20of%20European%20food%20waste%20levels.pdf">waste 71kg of food per person</a> every year costing €143 billion (2012 figures) in wasted resources and environmental impact – and there is nothing in today’s announcement on waste measures, which is a missed opportunity.</p>
<h2>A new food policy?</h2>
<p>What Europe desperately needs is a new comprehensive food policy – one that actually tackles these huge challenges to human health and society, or the environment, across the food system not just at farm level. The EC could start by making healthy and sustainable choices easier for regular people. That might involve new guidelines on public procurement, a continent-wide child obesity strategy or more CAP money set aside for promoting fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p>Europe could also set targets for using less antibiotics and pesticides and could integrate healthy and sustainable nutrition into school curricula. Rising food insecurity across the UK and Europe also means measures must be targeted at those vulnerable groups who aren’t able to access healthy diets.</p>
<p>Protecting soils in the face of degradation and nutrient loss could deliver major environmental and health benefits, but the EU and member states have failed to act on this basis, and a <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/media-release-biodiversity-nature%E2%80%99s-contributions-continue-%C2%A0dangerous-decline-scientists-warn">proposed directive on soil</a> has remained stalled since 2006. Targeting CAP payments for ambitious crop rotations with a minimum share of legumes would be a more positive approach. Perhaps the new environmental scheme could be more ambitious and include such measures.</p>
<p>Incentives should be targeted at those practices across the food system that positively pursue improvements in the soil, water and biodiversity. Let’s also target specific payments for environmental services that favour mixed crop-livestock farms and grassland systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bob Doherty does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Proposed reforms to the common agriculture policy (CAP) do not go far enough.Bob Doherty, Professor of Marketing and Chair of Agrifood, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/764452017-06-11T20:30:21Z2017-06-11T20:30:21ZChoosing healthy food: your surroundings can help or hinder your dining choices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166008/original/file-20170420-2392-im9b0r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can encourage people to make healthy adjustments to their diets with simple behaviour techniques.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/63783690@N08/13951998939/">Anas Maarawi/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of us know what sort of food we should eat to optimise our health and help avoid lifestyle diseases like obesity and heart disease. But we don’t stick to our ideal diets.</p>
<p>Part of the reason is that food producers and retailers spend a lot of money trying to influence our <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/everyday-shopping/supermarkets/articles/supermarket-sales-tricks">food choice</a> toward more expensive and processed food, the sort we’re overeating. But several things can be done to encourage healthier eating. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.behaviourworksaustralia.org/about/">We recently</a> reviewed research investigating <a href="http://www.behaviourworksaustralia.org/projects/fast-facts-fast-food/">how to promote healthy eating</a> when dining out. The review found manipulating the environment in dining and shopping areas, as well as some behavioural techniques, can make healthy choices more likely. </p>
<h2>Doing what’s considered normal</h2>
<p>Australians <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/risk-factors/nutrition/">don’t eat enough fruit or vegetables</a>, and too many of us are <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/overweight-and-obesity/">overweight</a>. Our diet choices are two out of the top three contributors to the burden of disease in Australia. </p>
<p>Humans get a large amount of information from watching the people around them, and it’s important to us to fit in.</p>
<p>We do this and understand how to act by watching the language, posture and activities of others. These are social models or norms, and we get information about what is a normal diet by seeing what other people eat. </p>
<p>This is so strong that when we see people eating healthy foods in small portion sizes, we’re more likely to <a href="http://www.behaviourworksaustralia.org/projects/fast-facts-fast-food/">choose lower calorie foods in smaller serves</a>. This means we can influence our families, including our children (and possibly even teenagers) and our colleagues, to eat better while reaping the benefits of eating better ourselves. </p>
<p>Organisations like hospitals, staff canteens and schools can also harness the power of social norms by displaying healthy meals of an appropriate size as normal and pleasurable choices made by people like us.</p>
<h2>Tangible labelling</h2>
<p>Fortunately, the responsibility of food producers to provide measurements of the energy contained in foods they produce is well established. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is evidence kilojoule counts don’t influence people to make <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-8-135">lower kilojoule choices when they appear on menus</a>. It seems the kilojoule and calorie count numbers are too abstract to influence most people.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165991/original/file-20170420-2398-14tnjvw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Healthy eating is more likely to become a habit when most of those around us are engaging in the same behaviours.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anthonyalbright/4713745704/in/photolist-m68aDF-boQCak-nVwuak-7Mi6XT-5Lihau-caXtZN-8oEgpz-bpq7rT-5AVdTK-4PESNZ-dJJCoG-boQzD4-gfWiYX-6bBCvX-kqyW-8u3XXv-75QcLj-m69Ct9-bV3Dco-65Q99B-kfxuUt-66PvpL-caXuhA-abxqd3-7ycuqG-dQsWAM-7oFeJq-6gN4PL-qSSVTT-6Qrm3p-mXporv-gqNUyW-bnnFDk-Jv2Ed2-gzoz2U-mXpj5p-5S5JB3-8ek3no-6gHT2P-969nbi-83qM8p-pgUCG-ABvXJ-7B4JC9-n5H9T-8bxbnE-dG92ko-7LK3yJ-edk4dN-kfzbkG">Anthony Albright/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What does seem to work is translating those numbers into a meaningful rating system. Kilojoule counts are more effective if we <a href="http://www.andjrnl.org/article/S2212-2672%2814%2900599-1/pdf">relate it to something tangible</a>, such as the number of minutes of a specific exercise someone would need to do to work off the energy in a meal. </p>
<p>For example, making people aware it takes two hours of walking to burn off a can of cola could encourage them to make healthier choices.</p>
<p>Any organisation providing food can use this method, which could apply to meals, snacks and drinks sold for eating in, taking away, or even in vending machines. There are some easy to use sources of kilojoule-activity ratios, including one from the <a href="https://nccs.org.au/sites/default/files/_local_upload/others/Exercise%20to%20Counteract%20the%20Kilojoules%20Dec2015.pdf">Cancer Council NSW</a>.</p>
<h2>Plate size</h2>
<p>Although there is good evidence social norms and tangible labelling influence healthy eating behaviours while dining out, not every method to encourage healthy choices is effective.</p>
<p><a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/JACR/Small_Plates_Lose_Weight">Studies have</a> proposed choosing a smaller plate or fork encourages people to eat less. It seems logical that a meal would seem larger if it’s on a smaller plate. </p>
<p>But when tested experimentally, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sofia_Lourenco2/publication/233723061_Choice_architecture_as_a_means_to_change_eating_behaviour_in_self-service_settings_A_systematic_review/links/02e7e51920268e1cc4000000.pdf">this technique doesn’t work consistently</a>. When it does work, it may work only on those who <a href="http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30072779/dubelaar-sizingup-2014.pdf">already have a healthy weight</a>.</p>
<p>On the bright side, this is a timely reminder of why efforts to change behaviour should be based on evidence and also tested in the field. When something sounds like it works, and has a logical pathway of influence so we understand how it would work, it still might not work in the field.</p>
<h2>Strategic positioning</h2>
<p>There has long been the assumption that increasing the availability or manipulating the placement of healthy food within places like supermarkets and cafeterias will lead to consumers making better choices. This technique is called “food architecture” and its logic makes sense, as marketers have been using <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-that-makes-us-spend-more-in-supermarkets-and-feel-good-while-we-do-it-23857">principles of product placement</a> to encourage us to buy certain products and spend more money for a long time. But can we assume the same principles for healthy food placement? </p>
<p>While there is some evidence to suggest that manipulating how food is positioned in a store can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230684130_Healthy_Bodegas_Increasing_and_Promoting_Healthy_Foods_at_Corner_Stores_in_New_York_City">increase the sales of healthier options</a>, the fact that we are
still constantly bombarded with alternative products and considerations such as cost make it unlikely that placement alone will sway our choices.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301798224_Nudging_consumers_towards_healthier_choices_A_systematic_review_of_positional_influences_on_food_choice">recent review of studies into food architecture</a> concluded that while healthy food placement does show promise for increasing healthy food choice, we still need to learn more about how it actually influences diet and obesity levels.</p>
<h2>Manipulating people</h2>
<p>Even if these techniques are effective, is it ethical to influence peoples’ eating behaviour without their knowledge? Researchers and policymakers do think about the ethics of influencing people.</p>
<p>In our daily lives, we’re subjected to many efforts to influence us one way or another, from government policy to marketing and advertising. <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.708.8779&rep=rep1&type=pdf">Even the weather influences our decisions</a>. </p>
<p>Work to change people’s behaviour, also called “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/behavioural-insights-team">nudge</a>” and “<a href="https://www.chicagobooth.edu/news/2008mancon/01-thaler.aspx">choice architecture</a>” by researchers and governments, only changes elements of the space around us that may encourage us to make particular choices. It doesn’t take any decision out of our control. </p>
<p>And the opportunity to support people to be more healthy without costing them more, punishing them, or taking away any of their choices, is too good to pass up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A lot of money is spent by food producers and retailers to try and influence the type of food we buy and eat. But what can be done to encourage healthier choices?Breanna Wright, Research fellow, Monash UniversityDenise Goodwin, Research Fellow, Monash UniversityNicholas Faulkner, Research Fellow, BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/766592017-06-09T13:42:53Z2017-06-09T13:42:53ZWhat we can learn from the (often gruesome) history of food in hospitals and prisons<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173114/original/file-20170609-20829-1855dj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">JoJo Whilden / Netflix</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the popular series Orange is the New Black (OITNB), food has often emerged as a theme: there are menus for religious diets, food to control prisoner behaviour – and even the baking of phallic goods (a <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2015/06/history-of-food-on-orange-is-the-new-black.html">penis cookie</a>). The series brings to a general audience the problem of food provision in an institutional setting, a topic the average viewer is likely only to have experienced at school or during a brief hospital stay.</p>
<p>Comparing diet in different institutions may not seem important at first glance. Prisons, schools and hospitals are fundamentally different spaces, catering to populations of different sizes, ages and needs. But comparisons between hospital and prison food, specifically, have been regularly made by <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/690330/prison-food-beats-grub-in-hospital/">tabloid newspapers</a> since at least 1945. The Sun, for example, questioned why “jailed criminals are fed better than sick hospital patients” in 2013. Despite never receiving rigorous study, this comparison reveals a deep-set assumption that some people in the care of the state might deserve a healthier diet than others.</p>
<p>Looking back, we can see how assumptions about prison and hospital diet have changed over time. A typical daily diet in a 19th-century English prison included a small portion of bread, meat, a pint of gruel and – less frequently – a portion of cheese, potatoes or soup. Given this, prison regulations in the 19th century allowed prisoners to complain to the prison administration about the diet provided. But repeated complaints of a frivolous or groundless nature could result in punishment – which would most likely – and ironically – have resulted in a decrease in diet. This is a punishment also passed out in OITNB, by the prison guards but also informally by inmates who run the prison canteen.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173111/original/file-20170609-20824-1tsqiyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=798&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A British prison, 1944.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wakefield_Training_Prison_and_Camp-_Everyday_Life_in_a_British_Prison,_Wakefield,_Yorkshire,_England,_1944_D19215.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite periodic reforms to prison food during the century, culminating in a standard national prison diet in 1878, complaints about what ended up on prisoners’ plates persisted. Prisoners’ narratives reveal that the low quality, insufficiency and inability to make decisions about their daily routine was a great source of frustration and anxiety. </p>
<p>Looking at historical hospital dishes may likewise raise the eyebrows of contemporary food critics. The Lothian Health Archive has found that in the 1920s, the “<a href="http://peopleshistorynhs.org/food-for-thought/">spleen diet</a>” was offered to patients, involving “pulp scraped from the fibrous part of the spleen, tossed in oatmeal and fried”. And a recipe for “<a href="https://peopleshistorynhs.org/museumobjects/recipe-for-fish-custard/">fish custard</a>” was discovered in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh archive. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173107/original/file-20170609-20829-6m1wsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cooking hospital soup.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hospital._Ste._Justine_BAnQ_P48S1P10642.jpg#/media/File:Hospital._Ste._Justine_BAnQ_P48S1P10642.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These dishes may not appeal to contemporary tastes – and certainly diet in NHS hospitals, like in prisons, has long been a subject of complaint. In 1954, the Manchester Guardian published a letter from a schoolboy writing that hospital food was “orable” (horrible). In 1972, inspectors from the Egon Ronay food monitoring group visited 31 hospitals and found that many meals were of a “scandalously low standard”. At the same time, the inspectors also found delicious and nutritious food available elsewhere.</p>
<p>Food varied not only across regions, but also according to the type of patient, who had different nutritional requirements. More controversially, in the 1970s some hospitals also provided different food in canteens for different types of staff. Junior staff believed that some dining rooms even had <a href="http://peopleshistorynhs.org/mynhssubmissions/2216/">table service</a> and tried to sneak in to those reserved for consultants or sisters. In other hospitals, particularly smaller ones, <a href="http://peopleshistorynhs.org/mynhssubmissions/2216/">all staff would dine together</a>.</p>
<h2>Lucky dip</h2>
<p>This kind of variation continues today at the local level in hospitals and in prisons. The Stoke Mandeville Hospital uses data from patient surveys and holds staff tastings to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523049/Hospital_Food_Panel_May_2016.pdf">update their patient menus monthly</a>. By contrast, the Campaign for Better Hospital Food publishes photos sent by patients who are less impressed by contemporary hospital diet. The group’s <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/93802629@N02">Flickr page</a> shows examples of “mystery meat” and plates entirely filled by beige food, as well as examples of excellence.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"857574285707268096"}"></div></p>
<p>The quality of hospital and prison food have varied across place and time for many reasons. The NHS and prison system are vast and complex. They serve large populations – which have increased over time. There were <a href="http://content.digital.nhs.uk/media/14385/Hospital-Care-fact-sheet/pdf/Hospital_Care_fact_sheet_FINAL.pdf">15.5m admissions to NHS inpatient care</a> in 2013-4. The UK prison population is about 85,000. Hospitals and prisons have different management structures and governing bodies – and populations with a variety of dietary requirements. So one key challenge for policymakers and reformers is deciding whether – and how – institutional diet should be managed, provided and controlled at a local or at a national level.</p>
<p>Hospitals and prison caterings also have to adhere to strict budgets. The average NHS hospital food budget is <a href="http://hefs.hscic.gov.uk/ReportFilterConfirm.asp?FilterOpen=&Year=2015%2F2016+01&Level=T&Section=S+12&SHA=&Org_Type=&Foundation=&Site_Type=&PFI=&getReport=Get+Report">£10.75 per inpatient per day</a>. The average prison food budget is as low as £2.02. </p>
<h2>Taking the long view</h2>
<p><a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/chm/events/instdiet">Lessons from history</a> can help caterers in large institutions face continuing challenges. History suggests that individual, local campaigns have made a difference to providing quality food in prisons and hospitals, despite multiple constraints. From 1931, the Home Office required all prisons to inmates of all classes a portion of plum pudding on Christmas day. This was the result of numerous offers in preceding years from reform organisations and concerned individuals who wanted to provide inmates with special food at this time.</p>
<p>The key questions are about how to ensure that local examples of excellence can be adopted across these large systems. The Campaign for Better Hospital Food <a href="http://www.bmj.com/bmj/section-pdf/750967?path=/bmj/348/7940/Views_Reviews.full.pdf">argues that</a> only stricter legal standards and enforcement can bring about improvement. But another method to drive improvement may be to provide further funding to enable these small-scale local pilot schemes to expand.</p>
<p>Cultural and attitudinal change is also important. At present, by funding food improvement or self-catering schemes in prisons, legislators may face criticism from factions of the media which already <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/690330/prison-food-beats-grub-in-hospital/">bemoans the money spent on prisoners’ food</a>.</p>
<p>Changing institutional diet is challenging – but the possible rewards are great. Improving institutional diet could have positive implications for population health. Improved hospital and prison food will not only improve the diets of patients and prisoners, but also of the large workforces of these institutions. This is not insignificant: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786">the NHS is the fifth-largest workforce in the world</a>. Furthermore, well-fed patients and prisoners, particularly those who stay in these sites for a significant amount of time, may also institute healthier practices of eating and cooking when they return to the community.</p>
<p>Bringing change to large institutions is difficult, but has huge potential impacts. Something to muse on, perhaps, as we binge-watch OITNB and see how prison food continues to be shaped by – and drives – social relations, inmate health and the everyday power dynamics at Litchfield Penitentiary.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76659/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Crane receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. The research conducted for this article was funded by several projects and centres at the University of Warwick: Warwick Food GRP; the Centre for the History of Medicine; the 'Cultural History of the NHS' project (Wellcome Trust-funded), and the 'Prisoners, Medical Care and Entitlement to Health in England and Ireland, 1850-2000' project (Wellcome Trust-funded).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Charleroy receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. This project was also funded by the University of Warwick Food Global Research Priority (GRP). </span></em></p>What would you prefer: spleen diet, fish custard, or a modern prison meal?Jennifer Crane, Research Fellow in the History of Medicine, University of WarwickMargaret Charleroy, Research Fellow in the History of Medicine, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/690762016-11-29T14:29:44Z2016-11-29T14:29:44ZGood food policies – it’s time we all got involved to get what we want<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147902/original/image-20161129-10969-1gk92de.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/pic-494804332/stock-photo-bangkok-nov-23-soda-products-on-the-shelf-at-tesco-lotus-hypermarket-on-nov-23-2014-in-bangkok-thailand.html?src=gBNQ8EaYGG_MGMw0ZstqIA-2-39">Tooykrub/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t notice. In the furore of Trumpagedon, a little publicised revolution was taking place in America: <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2016/11/14/5-more-locations-pass-soda-taxes-whats-next-for-big-soda/#5f4d0745193f">five cities in the US</a> voted for sugary drinks taxes. </p>
<p>Sugary drinks taxes are already in place in <a href="http://www.wcrf.org/int/policy/nourishing-framework">several countries</a>, including Barbados, Chile, France and Mexico. And other countries, such as the UK, have made plans to introduce such a tax. In the 2016 budget, the former chancellor, George Osborne, proposed a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-12-things-you-should-know">soft drinks industry levy</a> to be launched in April 2018. </p>
<p>But the US has been tough. It took 15 years from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446261/pdf/10846500.pdf">publication of the original article</a> proposing taxes on “foods of low nutritional value” for the first US city (<a href="http://www.healthyfoodamerica.org/taxing_sugary_drinks">Berkeley</a>) to impose a tax in January 2015. <a href="http://www.healthyfoodamerica.org/taxing_sugary_drinks">Philadelphia</a> followed. What was notable in the next four cities – Boulder, San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany – is that they were all voted in by people <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/soda-taxes-approved-in-four-cities-vote-looms-in-chicagos-cook-county-1478698979">at the ballot box</a>. Following a county board vote, Cook County (including Chicago) also joined the party. There are now <a href="https://www.census.gov">8.3m people</a> in the US who live in a locality with a sugar tax. Some of the support is about health, some about raising cash. Whatever their reasons, people are saying: this is what we want for our communities. It’s allowing public participation – bringing people’s voices into policies designed to improve the food system. </p>
<p>Food is hotly debated around the world, but we still have a long way to go to do food better, to create a food system that isn’t feeding half the world so badly they are either undernourished or overweight, that isn’t emitting around 25% of greenhouse gases, that isn’t wasting 30% of what it produces, and that isn’t treating its millions of workers like dirt (and many of its animals). </p>
<h2>Four ways to use people power</h2>
<p>Taking a people-centered approach will be key to the solutions. This means four things.</p>
<p>First, people defining the problem. Decades of research on food insecurity has found that the most accurate way to measure what is also termed “food poverty” is to rely on people’s responses to questions. This is a completely different approach to relying on numerical measures of how much food is available and is why the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations is developing a global measure of access to food called <a href="http://www.fao.org/in-action/voices-of-the-hungry/en/">Voices of the Hungry</a>. Asking people to describe their food situations can help identify solutions more effectively – if the main cause is housing costs, for example, trying to solve it only with food won’t work. </p>
<p>Second, people’s participation. Voting, as in the five cities, is one way. Another are the food policy councils that allow citizens to have a voice in policy making. This is about people bringing their own solutions to the table which can then be translated into action by government officials. We have much to learn about how to do this from what is still a <a href="http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/_pdf/projects/FPN/how_to_guide/getting_started/Food-Policy-All-4-8.pdf">work-in-progress</a> in the US.</p>
<p>Third, listening and learning from people’s experiences. If policymakers listen properly they become open to learning. One of my favourite examples of this comes from Amsterdam, a city where, unusually, the number of overweight kids from poor households is <a href="https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/sociaal/onderwijs-jeugd-zorg/amsterdamse-aanpak/programma/">trending downwards</a>. Here the municipal government has listened to communities and caregivers and improved the design of solutions in their <a href="https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/organisatie/sociaal/onderwijs-jeugd-zorg/amsterdamse-aanpak/programma/">Healthy Weight Programme</a> as a result. </p>
<p>Fourth, engaging with the people delivering the solutions. A great example comes from the International Institute for Environment and Development think tank. By bringing street vendors into their research in urban slums, <a href="http://www.iied.org/air-citizen-scientists-map-food-dangers-nairobi">they found that</a> creating sanitary conditions for selling fresh nutritious food is key, far more so than proposals proffered by the external “experts” like modern markets, subsidies or aid.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.city.ac.uk/arts-social-sciences/sociology/centre-for-food-policy#unit=welcome">Centre for Food Policy</a> at City University has been studying, teaching and engaging in food policy for over 20 years. Our work has shown how complex and messy it can be. Bringing people in might appear to make it even messier. But do it we must. In the wake of Trump and Brexit we have to learn the lesson of people power. We have to engage with people at the grass roots. Making top-down assumptions about what is good for people isn’t going to run anymore. Nor can it just be about bottom-up, small-scale action. It’s that sweet spot in-between that’s going to lead to food policy that is both inclusive and effective.</p>
<p>Some years ago I was reporting from New York City for an article about farmers markets in poor neighbourhoods. “What’s the key to the success of this market?” I asked the market manager, curious to know why a low-income group was flooding in to buy veggies in a community known for poor diets. “I’m an ex-cop,” he told me. “Unlike other places, they feel safe here.” Who knew. Sometimes, you just have to ask.</p>
<p>_Corrections: The original article stated: “What was notable in the next five cities – Boulder, San Francisco, Oakland, Albany and Cook County (including Chicago) – is that they were all voted in by people at the ballot box.” This has been amended to: “What was notable in the next four cities – Boulder, San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany – is that they were all voted in by people at the ballot box. Following a county board vote, Cook County (including Chicago) also joined the party.
The original article also stated: "There are now 7.5m people in the US who live in a locality with a sugar tax.” That figure should have been 8.3m people. _</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Corinna Hawkes is Director, Centre for Food Policy, which hosts an initiative (the Food Research Collaboration) funded by the Esmee Fairburn Foundation. She receives some research funding from the World Health Organization. She is co-chair of the Global Nutrition Report which receives funding from a range of donors, including the UK Department for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She sits on the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems, the Lancet Obesity Commission and co-chairs the Global Future Council on Food Security and Agriculture of the World Economic Forum.
</span></em></p>For more effective food policies, consult the public.Corinna Hawkes, Professor of Food Policy, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/679092016-10-30T23:47:25Z2016-10-30T23:47:25ZFeasting for our future as millennials table solutions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143832/original/image-20161030-15793-vbpoyj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This month, at tables across the planet, millennials are feasting on gamechanging ideas for a healthier future.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.ncdfree.org</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>This week, I had the pleasure of sitting with <a href="https://twitter.com/jessicanne_r">Jessica Renzella</a> - an Australian PhD student with Oxford University and a budding global health shaper. She told me about a new social campaign she’s leading, aimed at rethinking our food system - and with it, our collective future.</em></strong></p>
<p><em><strong>Hi Jess, great to see you again! Let’s start at the start. Tell me about NCDs, what are they and why do they matter?</strong></em></p>
<p>NCDs stand for “noncommunicable diseases”, and represent the greatest global health challenge of our time. They account for over 60% of global deaths, with the burden ever-increasing across the world, but disproportionately affecting those from low income groups, and low- or middle-income countries. </p>
<p>Unlike their better-known counterparts communicable diseases (such as HIV, influenza, tuberculosis), NCDs are not transmitted from person to person, and include five groups of diseases: cardiovascular disease (heart disease), diabetes (type 2), cancers, respiratory diseases (lung), and mental health issues.</p>
<p>Physical inactivity, tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diet are the main risk factors for the development of NCDs – all of which are modifiable.</p>
<p>Treatment is often long, complicated, and expensive, so prevention is paramount. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, NCDs receive little prevention funding, as return on investment is long-term. Adding to this is the huge profitability of risk factors for industry – and money talks. The sugar industry’s interference in soda tax regulations recently is just one example of this. </p>
<p>As a result, the NCD community is continuously innovating and advocating. </p>
<p><em><strong>One of many in this NCD community, tell me about the non-profit you volunteer with. Who is NCDFREE?</strong></em></p>
<p><a href="http://ncdfree.org/">NCDFREE</a> is a global social start up that aims for a world free from preventable noncommunicable diseases. We’re dedicated to getting NCDs on the map of millennials everywhere through social media, design, short film, campaigns and creative events. </p>
<p>We believe that the key to winning the battle against NCDs, the fight of our generation, lies in creative new ways of thinking about global health.</p>
<p><em><strong>Innovation seems a core theme. So why a Feast of Ideas?</strong></em></p>
<p>Our current food system is making us sick. Malnutrition impacts every country around the world. Over two billion people suffer from overweight and obesity whilst 795 million do not have enough to eat. </p>
<p>This greenhouse gas intensive system is failing people and planet. Evidently, food is a global killer, but also our greatest opportunity for intervention. </p>
<p><a href="http://ncdfree.org/our-solution/campaign/">Feast of Ideas</a> is a one-month global effort to crowdsource thousands of solutions to our biggest food-related health challenges from people’s kitchens and dining rooms. Anyone can sign up to host a meal, invite their friends, cook something healthy and sustainable, and chat about the challenges we need to solve together.</p>
<p>I like to think of it as the edible embodiment of “Think Global, Act Local”. </p>
<p>We all speak the language of food and have the opportunity to communicate our ideas up to three times (meals) a day. Feast of Ideas is simply a way to tap into the important, world-changing conversations already taking place around the table with friends, family and colleagues. </p>
<p>Twelve out of the 20 leading health risk factors for the global burden of disease are linked to diet.</p>
<p><em><strong>Sounds like a fun idea. Is this a global effort?</strong></em></p>
<p>Absolutely. Global issues require global solutions and it’s evident that people are hungry for change and ready to serve up solutions EVERYWHERE. </p>
<p>We’ve seen 300 feasts in 56 countries (and counting) including Trinidad, Finland, Egypt, Taiwan, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Morocco, Greece, Chile, and Italy. </p>
<p>It’s made Feast of Ideas a truly global crowdsourcing effort! </p>
<p>Receiving solutions via Twitter from the Amazon was a campaign highlight. If passionate young minds can share a meal and rewrite our future in the jungle, anyone can. </p>
<p><em><strong>With the month almost done and just a few days left, how is the campaign going?</strong></em></p>
<p>The response has been overwhelming, demonstrating that people care about our health and our future and want a seat at the decision-making table.</p>
<p>Beyond the numbers (300 feasts in 56 countries), three unexpected outcomes have contributed to the success and uniqueness of this campaign: </p>
<p><strong>1) Cultivating community.</strong>
We never expected people would sign up and proceed to open their homes or picnic rugs to like-minded strangers. Spin-off Facebook events and Twitter call-outs, naming a time and location for people to gather and discuss the Feast of Ideas questions, is a truly sensational and unexpected outcome. </p>
<p><strong>2) Concept ownership.</strong>
From menus to locations, decorations and discussion points, people have added so many personal touches to their Feast of Ideas. Over the weekend, a group of German students travelled to the market to source local produce, proceeded to cook together, and gathered their solutions on NCDFREE-coloured paper in the shape of a flower, demonstrating the connection between their ideas. It was magnificent! </p>
<p><strong>3) Shattering the echo-chamber.</strong>
Sometimes we feel like we’re preaching to the converted. Young, passionate medical or global health students are receptive to complex problems and innovative (often ambitious) ways of sourcing solutions. The diversity of minds that have gathered around Feast of Ideas has contributed to the richness of discussion and has provided a wonderful inquiry and sometimes opposition of ideas – an essential ingredient in finding the harmony between the ambitious and the practical. </p>
<p><em><strong>Millennials can sometimes get criticised for online advocacy. Why use crowdsourcing and social media in this effort?</strong></em></p>
<p>The internet connects and amplifies, with social media giving everyone a seat at the table from the comfort of their own home. </p>
<p>The issue we face is not a lack of ideas or passion to create change, it’s opportunities to communicate them and place them on policy menus. Crowdsourcing via social media overcomes so many barriers placed on the NCD movement. It allows us to raise awareness, inspire local and global action and amplify simple solutions to complex problems. </p>
<p>In each Feast of Ideas pack sent to participants, we’ve quoted Margaret Mead, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” This is what Feast of Ideas, facilitated by modern technology, is all about.</p>
<p>By feasting, solving and sharing, Feast of Ideas is not just “clicktivism”, it’s activism. This campaign has created a global community of change-makers by unleashing the extraordinary power of sharing a meal. </p>
<p><em><strong>Once the month is done, what is planned with the hundreds of crowd-sourced health solutions?</strong></em></p>
<p>We’re planning the ultimate mouth-watering menu of solutions for a healthier food future.</p>
<p>This menu will be served in London at the campaign closing event at Aesop, attended by nutrition and health leaders and ground-breaking organisations such as EAT forum, Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and NCD Alliance. </p>
<p>Following this, the menu will have the magic wand of our policy-lead waved over it to be presented at Westminster, where health ministers and policy-makers will be all ears. Most importantly, the people’s menu will be made available to everyone via <a href="http://ncdfree.org/">NCDFREE’s website</a> and mailing list.</p>
<p>As the campaign continues to develop and gain momentum, interest from decision-makers continues to grow, along with opportunities for presentation! </p>
<p><em><strong>Thanks Jess! Until next time and good luck!</strong></em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Local and international experts, including myself, will be discussing food security, nutrition and prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases, at The University of Sydney’s conference on <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/law/health/food_governance/index.shtml">global food governance</a> from 1 to 3 November.</em></p>
<p><em>To continue the conversation, follow Sandro on Twitter or Insta at <a href="http://twitter.com/SandroDemaio">@sandrodemaio</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This column post was written by Dr Alessandro Demaio in his personal capacity. The views, opinions and positions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the views of any third party. This interview does not suggest an endorsement by Dr Demaio, nor any third party. Additionally, those providing comments on this blogs are doing so in their personal capacity, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of the author.</span></em></p>This week, I had the pleasure of sitting with Jessica Renzella - an Australian PhD student with Oxford University and a budding global health shaper. She told me about a new social campaign she’s leading…Sandro Demaio, Global Health Doctor; Co-Founded NCDFREE & festival21; Assoc. Researcher, University of CopenhagenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/515262015-12-02T11:43:44Z2015-12-02T11:43:44ZThe elephant in the room at Paris climate talks: why food production must change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103749/original/image-20151130-10285-1epevys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rotten to the core. Can Paris help create a less wasteful food system?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/maggyver/5943153/in/photolist-9bMXmH-jQKMQe-kJY7NY-8VTAT3-4NDcAy-8nibAi-dcsHKT-9qPv7S-6v6e11-oDy4RT-cEhimf-easRzQ-oYgwM4-qBqajG-9BowUw-wsGa-9DnVuf-9Cba1W-hMoQ4Q-9nvUPe-9iPHRa-d266pu-moQTvk-8Hjz4X-x3Wwxt-pVkCuY-pEyehP-7qaJS-3aqKZ-hB8XY6-4orJr7-fK3vgM-s2icLL-kfR4WM-p2BGkj-prV5WA-4Qf3eC-9gUMVQ-dyEAKu-kJY7bA-53ToSy-ayY6Dn-kMEemK-EaGa9-9jEywT-aZJVwk-9r2EQP-wESiX-gziNgD-fNJAz1">Maggie Houtz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The grand political narratives around the COP21 conference in Paris will barely touch on one crucial aspect – food. The Paris talks are of vital importance, not just for climate change itself but for framing what kind of food economy follows. And why does food matter for climate change? Well, it’s a major factor driving it yet barely gets a mention. </p>
<p>From growing food to processing and packaging it, from transporting to selling it, cooking it, eating it and throwing it away – the whole chain contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock alone makes up 14.5% of all anthropogenic <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. And agriculture emissions have increased rapidly in the last decade, as <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/216137/icode/">global diets and tastes change</a>. Deforestation and forest degradation (often because of agricultural expansion) cause an estimated <a href="http://www.unep.org/climatechange/reddplus/Introduction/tabid/29525/Default.aspx">17% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. </p>
<p>People used to argue that this was a regrettable cost of progress. But most analysts now think differently, reminding us that the current food system is failing many. <a href="http://www.fao.org/hunger/key-messages/en/">Almost 800m people in the world are hungry</a>, at least two billion <a href="http://www.fao.org/about/what-we-do/so1/en/">are not getting enough nutrients</a>, and <a href="http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/overweight/en/">1.9 billon adults are overweight or obese</a> (39% of all adults over 18 years of age). Meanwhile, a third of all food produced globally is <a href="http://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/en/">lost or wasted</a>. </p>
<h2>Consumers are voters</h2>
<p>Sobering evidence like this has mounted for years but climate change policy makers have focused on energy rather than food. This policy blind spot is because tackling food emissions means tackling consumers. And consumers vote. Politicians have endless rationalisations for inaction: eating more is a sign of affluence and cheaper food is an indicator of prosperity. Don’t meddle with food – it’s about freedom of choice. So the result is that both Right and Left would rather not confront or help their voters. </p>
<p>Many politicians also think that tackling food emissions would mean they’d have to persuade business to take the issue seriously. It’s true that some agribusinesses are hostile to change, but <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/231185/icode/">others have read</a> the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/projects/new-vision-agriculture">writing on the wall</a>. Even some nervous politicians see the folly of food waste.</p>
<p>The waste issue exposes the inefficiencies of the food system <a href="http://www.unep.org/wed/2013/quickfacts/">that have emerged in recent decades</a>. More food is being produced, processed and consumed, yet more is also being wasted. </p>
<p>Pressure to do something about food around COP21 was signalled when some “Big Food” companies went public about worries that they – not just the poor – will be destabilised by climate change. Coca Cola, Walmart and PepsiCo have signed up to US president Barack Obama’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/27/fact-sheet-white-house-launches-american-business-act-climate-pledge">American Business Act on Climate</a> promising to reduce their carbon emissions. In the UK, meanwhile, <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b4dcdef8-9524-11e5-ac15-0f7f7945adba.html#axzz3t0CGsSvl">Tesco, Nestle and Unilever</a> have reportedly urged David Cameron to rethink his policy on cutting green energy subsidies.</p>
<h2>Locked in</h2>
<p>But Big Food cannot sort out climate change. It is locked into the issue of unsustainable food, too – in hock to consumers who have become used to what an industrialised globalised food system offers them. So are we doomed? </p>
<p>No. But we do need a new framework. Since neither Big Food, nor consumers, nor individual political parties can tackle this issue alone, what’s needed is a systemic approach. We need to recognise the different players on the global food stage, their different relationships, their different perspectives. We need to understand that food emissions are happening within a broader social, economic, cultural and environmental context. Such thinking is emerging in the consumer <a href="http://www.consumersinternational.org/news-and-media/news/2014/05/global-obesity-report/">response to obesity</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/103750/original/image-20151130-10269-hcl8ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is Big Food a slave to its shoppers?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/n1ct4yl0r/9721353130/in/photolist-fP3tAJ-wyXCR-cUtqLW-6xYGi-7CX4d9-7yA8FH-5YmQ7d-5NxbZ1-63x6gv-c8Vz5C-C8FQ-K1EaH-7q8SxW-7q8TTQ-7q4XxX-akFknF-5GGdGZ-dTSd2f-5nwWDs-Bwxri-3P49Um-3ggYHf-8DkxKs-9Vi67J-fv5vZ1-86kRtz-2dEdK-9G5Wba-7oHk5P-j44bK-71dZ3m-6bC7Nn-7ojt9X-nmHqgd-8dW7Tp-5GR7kW-BSjM6-71vuxX-5KPPXE-8bqsYU-b5kKwH-7tspdo-8bqs9d-8bncZF-EiRjo-JgyHe-cWSvoy-78SuPq-5ct5g-76VYn8">Nic Taylor</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Systemic change is easier said than done, of course. But we take heart from the fact that the kind of food culture and food system that now contributes to climate change and many other health and environmental problems was created by humans, so humans can now chart a different course. At the academic level, our <a href="http://www.ifstal.ac.uk">Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning programme (IFSTAL)</a> is building the kind of interdisciplinary thinking – from anthropology to zoology – which we need to reframe food systems in the long term public interest.</p>
<p>At the policy level, politicians must accept the systemic nature of the problem. No single interest group or politician can resolve this on their own. Next, they must agree a phased 30-year change of course from what is the legacy of 70 years of building a food system oriented mainly on increasing output. New indicators are needed. Not on the amount of food – there is already huge over-production – but the number of <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/3/034015/media">people fed per hectare</a>. Productionism <a href="https://www.routledge.com/sustainability/posts/8617">is out of date</a>. The future is about sustainable systems <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3022e.pdf">delivering sustainable diets</a>.</p>
<p>While the arguments are over the numbers and targets, there surely ought to be a commitment to shift away from diets and production systems which are high in emissions. This almost certainly means more horticulture and less meat and dairy, a food culture which would also be good for health, jobs and environment. </p>
<p>Getting the whole food system to change is a seriously big challenge. But one thing is clear: no change in food means no gain in climate change prevention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51526/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Lang receives funding from Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (for the Food Research Collaboration) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (for IFSTAL). He is a Trustee of Borough Market, London. He is Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Wells works as a Teaching Fellow for IFSTAL at City University London. IFSTAL receives funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England. She has been working as a freelance journalist for The Institute of Food Safety, Integrity and Protection and Sustain the Alliance for Better Food and Farming. </span></em></p>The food on our tables is central to the #COP21 debate and any Paris agreement must help build a system that moves us a long way from our current habits.Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City, University of LondonRebecca Wells, Teaching Fellow at the Centre for Food Policy, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/500962015-11-03T16:26:27Z2015-11-03T16:26:27ZHow to end Britain’s destructive addiction to food banks<p>It’s a strange world if I can greet with pleasure two reports which actually shame my own country. But alas, it is so. In the UK, two excellent examinations of food poverty have been published just as Westminster is arguing over whether the government’s tax credits cuts are excessively punishing poorer working families. The timing couldn’t be better.</p>
<p>Not only has the House of Lords <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34631156">sent the tax credit legislation back</a> for review, but Tory backbenchers are getting fidgety as the policy bites into their electoral base. These new studies should add to that unease. One is on the <a href="http://foodandpoverty.org.uk/publication-hungry-for-change/">national situation</a> from a Fabian Society’s Commission on Food and Poverty; the other is focused on the <a href="http://www.sustainweb.org/publications/london_food_poverty_profile_2015/">state of food poverty affairs in London</a> and is written by Sustain, a large alliance of NGOs working on food matters. </p>
<p>The irony is that both come from the voluntary/non-profit sector, the very sector which the state is asking to do its dirty work by setting up food banks to stave off dire hunger. </p>
<h2>What the Dickens?</h2>
<p>Both the Fabian and Sustain contributions argue that food banks are no solution to food poverty, whether in the rich or poor worlds. They suggest that notions of welfare as a democratic investment of decency – a citizenship bottom line – are being replaced by a neo-Dickensian idea of absolute starvation and modernised charity. This has more than a whiff of the punitive and of humiliation about it – and arguably, that’s the motivation of some, but not all, who favour food banks as a policy instrument. Talking with some food bank volunteers in Wales this year, they told me they are uneasy and wished food banks could be phased out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100621/original/image-20151103-16550-b3jns5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black and white to the future?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/23875695@N06/18134683322/in/photolist-tCuZxQ-4bSBoG-jJpWff-9gDgHs-mzMGzK-BCSDu-ccbsC7-4DquAh-pEDdc-4EKfn4-q48zJ-7EtVRj-4bSBKW-nL3GEM-7BseTU-2WVMUq-8tgptE-4Dmdui-8V9Efz-4EJPYM-a77MFy-xW2qK-4grkME-5xeLpS-gmt9r1-eAbRCy-bKXa1F-eifsUp-qLE4BL-cyEAi3-a8rRfX-s1aFB9-yNk6u8-8zd4M4-qLMkUx-acX5YK-sv7q2-ab86ht-4bNAzB-d81iCU-qTqNyX-81XxUJ-octA47-4Dqtt3-mksTaH-4zncNF-c9e5kA-e9oZm4-sv6M9-sPr1M">Lloyd Rich</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A persistent niggle about Food Banks is that they do little to reduce health inequalities. People on low incomes tend to be more overweight and have lower life expectancy. Hardly surprising if cheap, unhealthy foods are targeted at them. It is hugely difficult to juggle the competing costs of living on a low income. Cheap food is a boon when you have a limited budget. The trouble is, it then slowly adds to your risk of ill-health. </p>
<p>That’s why the modern Fabians support the development of a pilot tax on sugary drinks, as <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3803">recommended by the British Medical Association</a> and want more heat to be applied to the “self-regulation” of the advertising industry, as powerful a bloc as exists in Britain today.</p>
<p>Rightly, the Fabian Commission also recognises that food banks and poverty are also indicators of policy failure. It wants a new cross-departmental minister with responsibility for eliminating household food insecurity in the UK. I would go further, arguing that we actually need a decent food policy which addresses problems at source rather than offering inadequate short-term sticking plaster.</p>
<h2>Food 2030</h2>
<p>There were moves in that direction in the last three years of the Labour government (2007-10), culminating in the <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100111085422/http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/strategy/index.htm">Food 2030 strategy</a>. It was a period of rapid policy development, catalysed by the banking and food price crises.</p>
<p>Back then, rich economies realised that they needed to get their food act together – and some serious thinking followed. The Cabinet Office encouraged UK food plc to focus on building a food system which was low carbon and healthy. Not either/or, but both. </p>
<p>New global and national food security indicators were developed to deliver this commitment to a joined-up food policy. The mess of public nutrition was to be recalibrated by reforming guidelines to promote sustainable diets, and new advice for the public, linking health and the environment, began to be developed. </p>
<p>Shamefully, this leap forward was all quickly swept away by the new government in 2010. No announcements. Just dropped.</p>
<h2>Against the grain</h2>
<p>Today, if there is a UK food policy it is focused on how to sell more “British” foods to foreigners and a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/agricultural-technologies-agri-tech-strategy">dream about hi-tech solutions</a>. Why? Because the UK’s import bill is steadily rising, and the food manufacturing sector is the largest manufacturing sector left in Britain. </p>
<p>The UK food trade gap is now £21 billion in the red. And the Government’s response is not to grow more food here for ourselves, but to flog more of our processed products abroad. This is a vision of the UK as food trader, not the home of a sustainable food system. It ignores the fact that diet already has huge health and environmental costs, and reinforces rather than prevents the current mismatch of bodies, needs and supply.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/100619/original/image-20151103-16554-s8ndhs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Against the grain. The charity sector is biting back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewgustar/14630034898/in/photolist-ohNKF1-ae4thH-7DY1tY-8rJZPb-27o3UL-8zHMhR-dDFK4z-8fTUPg-odnfMz-xLNtZD-8qSVtz-a8ekwo-53LNLJ-ofJpXY-9LiVxg-ycND6J-cYcZhw-cCWpEo-2acrPn-cYotYj-oeZvmj-9Z9AHe-9ZctYA-9Zcuk3-cHVgCU-nNs126-8ws5YV-cCWrnw-fbYScB-xDGbyX-cTRjkb-fZPdt4-fN8mrJ-8emGRo-ftmAZ7-skoUT1-51ATo9-ogfdZ9-obcEdg-8AGHBh-8ddk1G-om6Mfc-nLnvw8-cCWvSs-8aGeqG-a4WoLi-adNEcH-a7biqe-9HEjZo-cEbaQL">Andrew Gustar</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why is Britain being locked into a stupid policy? It all goes back to the British love affair with something known as the “cheap food policy”. This default UK position began to take shape in the <a href="http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic637538.files/Schonhardt%20Bailey.pdf">1840s</a> with the fierce battle between landed, financial and industrial interests over food trade tariffs. The industrialists won. They wanted cheaper, imported food for their low-wage industrial workers. We are now seeing that legacy unravel. </p>
<p>You see, ultra-cheap food isn’t really cheap – at least not for the country. It leads to higher rates of non-communicable disease. It has unleashed a flood of non-food foods, foods that are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.12107/abstract">ultra-processed, salty, sugary and fatty</a>. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="http://bit.ly/1FUZRPU">Global Burden of Disease study</a> suggests that diet accounts for about a third of all risk factors for premature death and morbidity world wide. Here, that burden is accelerated by unprecedentedly cheap food, by firms circling schools, and by voracious marketing aimed at netting new customers as young children and pushing us towards a permanently eating society. </p>
<h2>Crude charity</h2>
<p>The result is an expensive National Health Service, lost quality of life, and public health advocates who are as angry and outraged by the ignorance or weakness of the political classes as I have ever known them to be. This is neither civilised nor efficient and we need to be able to measure our progress towards a way out from it. </p>
<p>The situation is complex, but also clear. It has taken decades to get into this mess, where obesity and hunger co-exist, where rich societies return to crude and inefficient charity to paper over the food cracks, and where the food system provides enough food for everyone but then fails to share it, while adding to societal and eco-system damage. </p>
<p>The good thing is that the charitable sector which the government is using to offer sticking plaster is now increasingly saying that the solution won’t work. It’s right to cry foul. UK food policy requires a major rethink. A more civilised food economy would be one which ushered in the demise of the food bank.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Lang receives funding from Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. These do not contribute to this article.</span></em></p>Britain is more worried about being a food trader than building a system that properly feeds its people.Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/496512015-10-26T02:29:45Z2015-10-26T02:29:45ZTo feed growing cities we need to stop urban sprawl eating up our food supply<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99580/original/image-20151025-27601-jxkwfg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New season asparagus from farmland on Melbourne's city fringe</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Carey</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve eaten any of the new season’s asparagus recently, it probably came from Koo Wee Rup, a small town 60 kilometres to the south east of Melbourne. Koo Wee Rup produces <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/casey-cardinia-food-production/">over 90% of Australia’s asparagus</a>. The region has perfect conditions for asparagus growing, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-good-earth-peaty-black-vertosol-and-asparagus-13049">its ancient peaty soils have a reputation</a> for producing some of the best asparagus in the world. </p>
<p>Koo Wee Rup is just one of many food growing areas on the urban fringe of Australia’s state capitals that make an important contribution to the nation’s fresh food supply. The foodbowls on the fringe of cities like Sydney and Melbourne are <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/osisdv/sustainable_development_of_agricultural_business/submissions/T._Budge_Attach_3.pdf">some of the most highly productive agricultural regions</a> in Australia.</p>
<p>But as these cities expand to accommodate rapidly growing populations, fertile farmland on the city fringe is at risk due to urban sprawl. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Melbourne Foodbowl at 7 million infographic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Foodprint Melbourne project</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Melbourne’s foodprint</h2>
<p>Early findings from a new study of food production on Melbourne’s city fringe highlight the impact that continued urban sprawl could have on the supply of fresh, local foods in Australia’s cities. The <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project_content/melbourne-urban-sprawl-infographic/">Foodprint Melbourne</a> project is investigating the capacity of Melbourne’s city fringe foodbowl to feed the population of Greater Melbourne. </p>
<p>The research explores the capacity of Melbourne’s foodbowl to feed the current population of 4.4 million and the <a href="http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/data-and-research/population/census-2011/victoria-in-future-2015">predicted future population</a> of around 7 million in 2050. The project also investigates the city’s “foodprint” – the amount of land, water and energy required to feed the city, as well as associated greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>Early project findings indicate that Melbourne’s foodbowl currently has the capacity to supply a significant proportion of Greater Melbourne’s food needs across a wide variety of foods, including poultry, eggs, red meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. The city’s foodbowl <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project_content/melbourne-urban-sprawl-infographic/">can supply just over 40% of the food needed to feed Greater Melbourne</a>, including over 80% of the fresh vegetables consumed and around 13% of fruit. </p>
<p>However, we can’t be certain exactly how much of this food is currently consumed in Melbourne, because food freight isn’t tracked within the state or between Victoria and other states. </p>
<h2>Food in 2050</h2>
<p>By 2050, 60% more food will be needed to feed a population of around 7 million in Greater Melbourne, but if the city continues to sprawl at its current rate, then it is likely to lose a significant amount of farmland, and the city’s foodbowl will only be able to meet around 18% of the city’s food needs, including just 21% of the fresh vegetables consumed and 3% of fruit. </p>
<p>One of the long term impacts of this loss of capacity in Melbourne’s foodbowl is likely to be higher food prices, due to the increased costs of transporting and cooling foods over longer distances. Many of the foods produced on the city fringe are highly perishable – foods such as leafy greens, broccoli, mushrooms and berry fruits. These foods have historically been grown in market gardens on the city fringe close to consumers, and they require energy-intensive refrigerated transportation to reduce spoilage. </p>
<p>Another likely impact of reduced capacity in the city’s foodbowl is increasing vulnerability in Melbourne’s food supply. Both global and local food supplies are becoming more volatile, with significant impacts from climate change. Droughts, storms and floods are increasingly likely to affect our food supply. To maintain a stable and resilient food supply in the future, cities need to have the capacity to source fresh foods locally, as well from national and global sources.</p>
<h2>Eat local</h2>
<p>Australia produces a large surplus of some types of foods, exporting around 60% of all food produced. Australia has an enviable capacity for food production, but our perception of the nation as a land of plenty masks vulnerabilities in future food supply. </p>
<p>Less <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Buxton-and-Carey-2014.pdf">than 10% of Australia’s land</a> is suitable for agriculture, and only a small proportion of this land has the type of soil and water access that is appropriate for growing fruit and vegetables. Much of it is on the coastal fringe of Australia around our major cities. </p>
<p>As Australia’s cities expand to accommodate rapidly growing populations, urban sprawl could mean that locally grown fruit and vegetables become scarcer in future. Cities such as Melbourne and Sydney need to plan now for how to feed their growing populations by introducing measures to protect their urban fringe foodbowls. </p>
<p>One of the ways that we can all contribute to protecting our city foodbowls is by buying from the producers who farm there, what Michael Pollan calls <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/eat-your-view/">“eating the view”</a>. It can be difficult to know where fruit and vegetables in supermarkets are from, but farmers markets and local vegetable box schemes offer a way of buying locally grown fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p><em>Foodprint Melbourne is a joint project between the <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/">Victorian Eco-Innovation Laboratory</a> at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University. These early project findings have been released as an infographic, and a full report will be made available in November 2015. For more information, see the <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project/foodprint-melbourne/">project website</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Carey is a Research Fellow on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne's city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Research Fellow at Monash University on the project 'Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia', which is funded by the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jen Sheridan is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Larsen is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above. Through the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab at the University of Melbourne, she has also received funds from the Australian Research Council for 'Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia's food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges'. Kirsten is also a Director of the Open Food Foundation, which has received money from the Victorian Department of Health and Vichealth. </span></em></p>Melbourne’s farms currently supply over 40% of the city’s food. But a growing population and urban sprawl mean by 2050 they’ll supply half as much.Rachel Carey, Research fellow, Deakin UniversityJennifer Sheridan, Researcher in sustainable food systems, The University of MelbourneKirsten Larsen, Manager, Food Systems Research and Partnerships, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/421842015-06-19T02:20:06Z2015-06-19T02:20:06ZPlanning ahead to reduce feast and famine after natural disasters<p>Since <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-13/flooding-destructive-winds-as-cyclone-pam-bears-down-on-vanuatu/6316590">Cyclone Pam tore through Vanuatu</a> almost 100 days ago, food has been scarce for many rural people in Vanuatu. </p>
<p>Those in the worst-affected areas have been living on food gleaned from damaged gardens and coconuts, as well as imported rice and other foods distributed by the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office. Many non-government organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Uniting World and others, have also been involved in cyclone recovery.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85145/original/image-20150616-5810-1a3t2ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Port Vila’s fresh food market, where yams were still selling for twice their usual price earlier this month.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Constable</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By early June, faster-maturing food crops, particularly green leafy vegetables, were being sold in larger quantities again in the Port Vila fresh food market. </p>
<p>However, the slower-growing staple food crops – including yam, taro, banana and sweet potato – were still in limited supply, with prices higher than before Cyclone Pam.</p>
<p>Fortunately, rural people across Vanuatu have greater security of food supply than they did in the past.</p>
<p>Here we examine the issues of food security in Vanuatu since Cyclone Pam, as well as patterns of food shortages that have emerged from other recent Pacific emergencies. By learning from these past emergencies, the region’s most vulnerable communities could be better positioned for the future with both pre- and post-disaster planning.</p>
<h2>Recurring food gluts and shortages</h2>
<p>A number of phases for food supply can typically be distinguished following a major natural disturbance, such as a cyclone or a flood. This pattern has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-13/cyclone-pam-thousands-still-without-food-water-one-month-vanuatu/6389450">largely been observed</a> in post-Cyclone Pam Vanuatu. </p>
<p>At first, there is a glut of food when crops are damaged, but the tuberous roots or fruit are still edible. This phase can last for several weeks. Then relief may be provided, for some people at least, by government or non-government agencies.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85178/original/image-20150616-5854-rmffyd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Banana trees blown over on Ipota, Vanuatu, after Cyclone Pam.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69583224@N05/16835624926/in/photolist-rDGYKh-qHvcRx-rnQEEH-rnJh3j-rnJjVf-r2Q9yK-rGb9pV-rG39WS-rEivSF-qH121d-qHerMv-rDTDKh-rBHhu7-rnqy4U-qHemUz-rDULPq-rDVUBg-sdHnwb-sg3GnJ-r2CqJ5-rWkky3-rG4qpL-rG38Ff-r2QaVn-rEiuzF-rGbbGF-r2CpRo-rWkkzA-rYykQ2-rWkmnC-rGbbkZ-r2Q9Bv-r2QaKn-rYCDDe-r2Coqh-r2Cqcd-rYCD9r-r2Cp65-r2Q9HT-rYv7Sf-r2CoVf-rG39Z7-rWkjNq-rG4q1Q-rGb9Kp-rG39eu-rGbaCM-rG39vG-rEivQ6-rGb8Sn">Flicker/EC/ECHO</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many developing countries, food relief is typically patchy, the timing is not always appropriate and the supply does not last as long as the food shortage. Commonly, a critical gap occurs between the end of relief supplies and the start of harvests from new plantings following the disaster.</p>
<p>Finally, subsistence food production is resumed. This starts with fast-maturing green vegetables, maize (also known as corn) and sweet potato, and then slower-maturing crops, such as taro, yam and banana.</p>
<p>Following an extreme natural event that disrupts food supply, it is common for government officers or outsiders to assess the food supply situation. </p>
<p>Over the decades, we have observed that the impact of more spectacular events, such as landslides, local floods, mild drought or frosts, tends to be overestimated in those assessments. </p>
<p>In contrast, the impact of other, less visible events is ignored or underestimated. In particular, these events include inadequate planting rates that result in food shortages, or excessively high rainfall that leads to good top growth in some root crops but reduced tuber yield.</p>
<h2>Improving food security in rural Vanuatu</h2>
<p>The locations most vulnerable to <a href="http://www.meteo.gov.vu/TropicalCyclone/tabid/169/Default.aspx">cyclones in Vanuatu</a> are low-lying islands near the path of a cyclone, particularly those that are remote or distant from urban centres, with small populations and poor communications. Islands such as Emau, Tongoa, Tongariki, Mataso and Aniwa appear to have suffered disproportionately from Cyclone Pam.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1109&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84978/original/image-20150615-1962-8zvqow.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The islands of Vanuatu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanuatu_Regions_map.png">Wikimedia Commons/Burmesedays, Eric Gaba, ru Wikipedia user Переход Артур</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Three out of four people in rural Vanuatu live in rural settlements, a situation similar to that of other countries in the Southwest Pacific. Villagers grow most of their own food, with 70-85% of energy foods coming from their subsistence food gardens. The most important energy foods for rural Vanuatu are taro, banana, yam, cassava and “Fiji” (Xanthosoma) taro.</p>
<p>In the past when garden food was scarce, for whatever reason, people ate coconuts, “wild yam”, breadfruit (stored in pits in the northern islands), fish and various edible green leaves. In many communities, dependence on some of these traditional coping mechanisms appears to have been reduced or lost altogether in recent decades. For example, fewer people now store breadfruit after harvest and not so many people manage “wild” yams. </p>
<p>Despite this, rural people across much of the Pacific have greater food security than they did in the past. This improved security comes firstly from crops introduced by Europeans and other Pacific Island people over the past 200 years, including cassava, “Fiji” taro, sweet potato, maize, African yam, pumpkin and a number of types of green vegetable. Some of the newly adopted food crops are more tolerant of extreme conditions, particularly cassava, while others mature within a few months when planted after a disaster, particularly maize and sweet potato.</p>
<p>The other major factor in increased food security is the availability of cash, which can be used to purchase imported food, particularly rice, or locally grown foods when subsistence food supplies are scarce.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"577251562667397120"}"></div></p>
<h2>Learning from past disasters to help in future</h2>
<p>A number of lessons can be gleaned from subsistence food shortages elsewhere in the Asia Pacific area. </p>
<p>Food intended for rural villagers may not be moved far beyond the capital city or provincial capital; even when it does get moved to rural areas, distribution is commonly very uneven and does not always reach those in greatest need. </p>
<p>Planting material is often distributed with the best of intentions, but is sometimes not appropriate to local conditions, such as crops with low nutritional value like cucumber or cabbage. The most appropriate planting material to distribute following a disruption to rural food supplies is that of fast-growing crops of high nutritional value, particularly maize and sweet potato.</p>
<p>In 1997, <a href="http://aciar.gov.au/files/node/306/0002pr99chapter2.pdf">Papua New Guinea experienced</a> a major El Nino-related drought with accompanying frosts, the most severe of these events in 130 years of recorded history. This resulted in over 40% of rural villagers being short of subsistence food and a significant increase in the death rate in a number of locations. </p>
<p>The common element in those locations was that people had very limited access to cash income to purchase alternative foods; there was no road access; and people had limited capacity to influence authorities to provide aid, because of isolation and lack of formal education.</p>
<p>It is not possible to predict the impact of any natural catastrophe with complete confidence. Nevertheless there are some recurring patterns. The most vulnerable communities live in remote locations, with poor road, river or sea access to urban centres; and the populations at these locations are typically small, with few educated members in positions of power. </p>
<p>Rising sea levels and more extreme climatic events associated with climate change, including more frequent drought, excessive rainfall events and stronger cyclones, are very likely to <a href="http://www.ifad.org/events/apr09/impact/islands.pdf">challenge food supply in our region</a> in coming decades. These threats can be reduced by improving the capacity of authorities to identify the most vulnerable communities, improving communications, ensuring appropriate and timely responses, and maintaining or building on traditional coping strategies.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-written with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-constable/61/58/ab?trk=pub-pbmap">Mike Constable</a>, a long-time aid and development worker who has recently been in Vanuatu as part of <a href="http://www.unitingworld.org.au/">Uniting World</a>’s relief effort. He has previously worked for AusAID.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Bourke receives funding from Australian government organisations to conduct research and development work in Pacific Island countries. This article was co-written with Mike Constable, a long-time aid and development worker who has recently been in Vanuatu as part of Uniting World's relief effort. Mike Constable has previously worked for AusAID.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Ballard received funding from UNESCO to assist in the assessment and repair of damage from Cyclone Pam to the Chief Roi Mata's Domain World Heritage site in Efate, Vanuatu.</span></em></p>Food has been scarce for many rural people in Vanuatu since Cyclone Pam – but overall, they now have greater security of food supply than they did in the past.Richard Michael Bourke, Visiting Fellow, Australian National UniversityChris Ballard, Associate Professor in Pacific History, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/395982015-04-09T13:39:15Z2015-04-09T13:39:15ZManifesto Check: Plaid bites off more than it can chew with ambitious food plans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77334/original/image-20150408-18070-yy3zc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sheep farming would be protected by an Animal Welfare Commissioner</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep_farming_in_Wales#/media/File:Springtime_scene_-_geograph.org.uk_-_383776.jpg">from en.wikipedia.org</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Plaid Cymru’s agricultural and food policy contains a mixed bag of EU-wide and domestic policies. The manifesto pledges continued support for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). CAP is an EU policy, which delivers financial support to farmers, as well as helping promote wider rural economic activity. It transfers approximately <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-funding/beneficiaries/shared/index_en.htm">£3 billion each year</a> to the UK. </p>
<p>This is mostly allocated toward <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/cap-funding/financial-reports/index_en.htm">direct payments made to farmers</a> in support of their farming activities, which are called “pillar one” payments. In contrast, “pillar two” directs funds into a range of measures, including the promotion of environmentally-friendly agriculture and rural economic activities, as well as supporting measures to help farmers become more efficient – such as <a href="http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/plaid-cymru-woos-farmers-with-six-day-standstill-pledge.htm">investment into farms</a>.</p>
<p>Pillar one is, in the main, not differentiated locally. Pillar two is very different: each nation must produce a Rural Development Plan (RDP), setting out how the money available will be spent on different measures. The Welsh RDP for 2020 is not yet finalised.</p>
<h2>A gripe with the status quo</h2>
<p>Despite being called “common”, many CAP decisions are delegated to member states. <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-papers/RP14-56/cap-reform-201420-eu-agreement-and-implementation-in-the-uk-and-in-ireland-updated">In the UK</a>, many are then delegated to the separate nations. A key theme in Plaid Cymru’s manifesto is its disagreement with decisions taken in the Welsh Assembly, and how the party would wish to do things differently, if in power. </p>
<p>One of the few local decision related to pillar one concerns “modulation”. This involves top-slicing some of the direct payments – pillar one – and moving the money into rural development – pillar two. Plaid Cymru disagrees with the current approach for two key reasons. </p>
<p>First, because direct payments are so important to Welsh farmers, it opposes the decision to maximise the amount modulated into rural development. Second, it disagrees over the allocation of money to different elements of rural development, wanting more to be spent promoting economic efficiency. These points are broadly consistent – if 80% of Welsh farmers rely on direct payments to keep farming, this raises questions about their efficiency. That said, it is difficult to know exactly how many farmers need the payments to keep farming.</p>
<p>Plaid’s claim that modulation took over <a href="http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/farming-funding-shake-up-set-announced-6506592">£250 million out of Wales’ rural economy</a> is misleading. It is taking money out of direct payments to farmers, but is still available to Wales’ rural economy via rural development measures. The difference is that with direct payments, farmers do not have to do anything extra to receive it; whereas with rural development, bids would have to be made for project funding. </p>
<p>It is clear that Plaid Cymru believe Welsh farmers are largely dependent on direct payments, and that Wales’ rural development money should focus on measures aimed at improving efficiency. Their manifesto indicates that they believe funding for the latter should not come at the expense of the former.</p>
<h2>Welsh meat for Wales!</h2>
<p>Money that is lost from Wales is part of the Red Meat Levy. This is collected from abattoirs and used locally to promote meat. But with much Welsh meat going to English abattoirs, that money does not go back to Meat Promotion Wales but to the English equivalent. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/groceries-code-adjudicator">Groceries Adjudicator oversees imbalances</a> in economic relationships between (large) supermarkets and (small) farmers. Strengthening their role would also give help to farmers in the marketplace.</p>
<p>The other measures also show Plaid Cymru’s support for Welsh agriculture. The European Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication schemes <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/schemes/index_en.htm">offer protection and promotion to named products</a> from particular localities. With livestock farming particularly important, support for an Animal Welfare Commissioner – a proposal led by Plaid Cymru – also promotes the values of Welsh agriculture. So too is confronting food fraud (no more <a href="http://theconversation.com/horsemeat-scandal-was-a-damning-indictment-of-the-state-of-our-food-21490">horse meat sold as beef</a>!) and keeping agriculture GMO-free. </p>
<p>Yet it is not just about food producers. Consumers, especially the most vulnerable economically, would benefit from the proposed Food Waste Bill, which seeks to address the amount of food waste at the retail end of the food chain.</p>
<p>Overall, these measures represent a coherent set of goals for the promotion of Welsh agriculture. That said, Plaid Cymru’s ability to deliver on some measures is questionable. The party can continue to lobby for changes to the Red Meat Levy and push for a Food Waste Bill. But its ability to deliver changes to the modulation rate on direct payments – let alone to alter the policy priorities for spending within the next Rural Development Plan – are likely to be limited, within both the Welsh Assembly and the Westminster Parliament.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39598/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Ackrill has received funding from The Leverhulme Trust and from the UK Economic and Social Research Council in support of his academic research on the EU Common Agricultural Policy. None of this work involved engagement with partisan party politics, and this article reflects his own expert opinion. </span></em></p>Plaid Cyrmu’s agricultural policies clash with Wales’ current course of action.Robert Ackrill, Professor of European Economics and Policy, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/255892014-05-19T20:18:32Z2014-05-19T20:18:32ZWhy there’s lots to love – and learn – about English food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48135/original/y37jfydv-1399611140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The mad cow disease epidemic in the UK led to the creation of the Food Standards Agency, which put the public interest back into food policy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ennor/212478993">Barry/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the English cricket team toured Australia last year they were ridiculed for their dietary requirements long before their humiliation on the pitch. But while English cricket may be wanting, England’s approach to nutrition leaves Australia in the dust.</p>
<p>The debacle around Australian food labelling policy highlights the problem. For two years now, the largest industry bloc in the country has systematically delayed, undermined and watered down efforts to have the nutritional content of foods displayed on the front of packaging. And with the current government, it’s working hard to get out of it completely. </p>
<p>By contrast, the United Kingdom has sector-wide agreement on traffic light labels.</p>
<h2>A new nicotine</h2>
<p>Why is Australian industry dictating the terms when poor dietary choices kill more people than tobacco? Very simply because salt, sugar and fat are the nicotine of food corporations. </p>
<p>They drive the profits of a $100 billion-sector that employs one in 20 Australians and walks tall in Canberra. The downsides of this success are unprecedented epidemics of obesity, diabetes and heart disease and billions of dollars in health-care expenditure. </p>
<p>But it seems it’s still easier to patch up the problem with the health system, than risk the wrath of the food industry by invoking prevention. Because there’s nothing to see if a stroke or a heart attack is prevented, but plenty to write about if the “nanny state” tries to prevent a grown adult eating a toxic waste burger.</p>
<p>Australia managed to overcome issues like these for smoking with some inspirational leadership. And our tobacco control measures are now the envy of the civilised world. </p>
<p>The UK has managed something similar with food - in particular its program of work to remove salt from the national diet is world leading.</p>
<h2>A silver lining</h2>
<p>Paradoxically, it was another food disaster that gave salt reduction efforts in the United Kingdom their leg up – bovine spongiform encephalopathy better known as mad cow disease. </p>
<p>Analysis of the mad cow disease epidemic showed that having the same UK ministry responsible for both farming practices and food safety produced unmanageable conflicts of interest. Policies designed to maximise profits allowed grossly unsafe approaches to animal husbandry to flourish. </p>
<p>Out of this was borne the UK Food Standards Agency, established to put the public interest back into food policy. Mad cow disease turned out not to be the health catastrophe first feared and the Agency was able to turn its attention to other areas. </p>
<p>Salt reduction was one of the first to benefit. The special provisions of the UK Food Standards Act allowed the Agency to publish all advice provided to ministers, and it has done this from its inception. </p>
<p>It also elected to take all decisions about food policy at open meetings of its Board, providing unprecedented transparency in decision making and recommendations. This is a far cry from the opaque processes operating in Australia.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-food-industry-resign-from-the-health-department-too-23292">unedifying spectacle</a> of <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-food-lobbying-tip-of-the-iceberg-exposed-23232">recent Australian food labelling policy</a> needs no further description. But it’s symptomatic of a deeper problem - decisions about food policy are made at a glacial pace behind closed doors and are dominated by industry groups and commercial considerations. </p>
<p>In the first four years of its current action plan, the federal government’s Food and Health Dialogue set food reformulation targets in only 11 out of a possible 124 areas. And has formally reported on the success or failure of none.</p>
<h2>Hope yet</h2>
<p>What hope for us down under then? Well, it’s pretty much the Wild West out there at the moment, so the only way is up. If the previous government was slow on the uptake, perhaps the current administration can do better. </p>
<p>Government is right to see control of over-the-horizon health-care costs as key to balancing its books. Policies and incentives that steer Australians away from salt, sugar and fat will not only deliver for the national waistline, but also for the treasurer’s bottom line. </p>
<p>Immediate roll out of front-of-pack labelling would be a great opener. Not only would consumers get to see what’s in the foods they’re eating but industry will be forced to compete on health - five-star foods will attract more buyers than three-star products.</p>
<p>Better implementation of the Food and Health Dialogue objectives would make for a sweet follow through. Providing consumers with better choices is a first step. But changing the food environment so that healthier products become the norm will drive really large, really cost-effective improvements in health. </p>
<p>A government seeking a quick fix for its expenditures need look no further. England is already reaping the health and economic benefits of putting nutrition before politics; <a href="http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PH25">recent data</a> shows salt reduction is now preventing thousands of deaths, and saving the UK billions of dollars in health care costs. </p>
<p>It’s just not cricket for Australia to be left sitting on the sidelines.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Neal is Chair of the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health </span></em></p>When the English cricket team toured Australia last year they were ridiculed for their dietary requirements long before their humiliation on the pitch. But while English cricket may be wanting, England’s…Bruce Neal, Chair, AWASH and Senior Director, George Institute for Global HealthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.