tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/food-systems-9990/articlesFood systems – The Conversation2024-03-10T13:10:41Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248322024-03-10T13:10:41Z2024-03-10T13:10:41ZHow nature-based knowledge can restore local ecosystems and improve community well-being<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580297/original/file-20240306-16-iukteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C29%2C6032%2C3674&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Regenerative agricultural strategies can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production, restore local ecosystems and enhance community well-being.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Organizations in the food and agriculture sector have been <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/three-things-nature-based-solutions-agriculture">looking to nature for inspiration</a> to improve soil health, maintain water quality and foster local food security in the places where they operate.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/17/cop28-sustainable-agriculture-food-greenhouse-gases">evidence is clear</a> that our current food and agriculture systems are severely impacting global greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater usage and deforestation.</p>
<p>In response to these issues, activists, policymakers and corporate executives have been exploring <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/analysis-cop28-put-food-system-transformation-menu-who-will-pick-up-bill-2023-12-21">new strategies</a> for making our food systems more resilient and sustainable. </p>
<p>Regenerative agricultural strategies, in particular, can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production, restore local ecosystems and enhance community well-being in specific geographical locations. </p>
<p>But they also require a foundation of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/climate/the-farming-conundrum.html">nature-based or ecological knowledge</a> in order to be effective. Our recent research sheds light on how organizations can gain and make use of this knowledge.</p>
<h2>Regenerating local communities</h2>
<p>In the face of current global ecological challenges, there is a need to explore how organizations can help revitalize local communities and ecosystems. Our research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10860266231220081">farming organizations on Vancouver Island</a>, British Columbia, aims to explore this.</p>
<p>We studied nine certified organic farming organizations to examine how they were harnessing and using ecological knowledge. Certified organic farming involves business operations that are <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/ongc-cgsb/P29-32-310-2020-eng.pdf">“sustainable and harmonious with nature</a>.” In B.C., farms are awarded <a href="https://organicbc.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/BCCOP-Accreditation-Manual-v4.pdf">certification annually</a> after a rigorous evaluation process. </p>
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<img alt="Piles of strawberries and cherries on sale at an indoor market." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580299/original/file-20240306-24-3smwaf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&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">Consumers have been increasing demand for locally sourced, pesticide-free and certified organic products.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Unlike <a href="https://doi.org/10.2134/agronmonogr54.c2">conventional farming practices</a> that prioritize short-term gains through the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and monocropping, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2009.11.002">organic farms focus on long-term health and ecological balance</a>.</p>
<p>The farms we studied were actively engaged in community initiatives aimed at conserving nature and strengthening local food and nutrition security.</p>
<p>Through a series of in-depth interviews with farmers, owners and other key decision-makers, we found these organizations were helping regenerate their local communities by committing to environmental stewardship, and pursuing, acquiring and applying new ecological knowledge.</p>
<h2>Environmental stewardship</h2>
<p>The leaders and decision-makers of the farming organizations we interviewed were strongly committed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-018-9749-0">environmental stewardship</a>. Environmental stewardship refers to actions and decisions that prioritize the conservation and enhancement of ecosystems and biodiversity, and the interests of future generations.</p>
<p>This commitment was evident through two main factors. First, decision-makers demonstrated a genuine appreciation for nature, leading them to feel strongly about safeguarding it from harm.</p>
<p>During our interviews, one farmer described how the goals of building sustainable communities and healthy ecosystems influenced her business’ long-term goals. She said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In the long term if you don’t have a really solid, values-based business, then you’re going to disappear anyway. [We] put our values behind our environmental footprint and [our efforts to make] this community a better place.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Second, these leaders had a deep understanding of how their organizations relied on the health of the surrounding ecosystems. The farming practices adopted by them were based on building mutually beneficial relationships between their organizations, local ecosystems and communities. </p>
<p>One board member we interviewed emphasized their reliance on the surrounding ecosystems in an interview, stating that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“By enhancing biodiversity, we can bring back beneficial ecosystems that directly benefit our farmers. We recognized the importance of pollinators and took steps to increase biodiversity by reintroducing native bees.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This dedication to environmental stewardship led decision-makers to seek out ecological knowledge about the local ecology to help them foster the creation of healthy and diverse ecosystems.</p>
<h2>Restoring local ecosystems and well-being</h2>
<p>The decision-makers we interviewed decided to seek out new knowledge to improve their organization’s performance and promote long-term social and ecological well-being. They often did this in response to <a href="https://organicbc.org/media-release-organic-market-2021">rising demand from customers and community members</a> for locally sourced, pesticide-free and certified organic products. </p>
<p>Organizations acquired ecological knowledge by collaborating with scientists, academics and non-profit organizations through knowledge exchanges. In our study, for example, some farmers integrated scientific knowledge with their farming methods, resulting in improved crop yield and quality. </p>
<p>Organizations then put their newly acquired ecological knowledge into practice by transforming it into manuals, reports, operating procedures or other similar formats. This allowed the knowledge to be accessed easily and updated as necessary. Applying new knowledge required flexibility, a hands-on learning approach, and the willingness to discard outdated practices.</p>
<p>Once organizations fully integrated new ecological knowledge, they were able to contribute to regenerating their communities, which enhanced financial and ecological sustainability.</p>
<h2>A growing urgency</h2>
<p>With the world’s population projected to reach <a href="https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/regenerative-agriculture-jbs-global/">10 billion by 2050</a>, there’s even more of a growing urgency to address environmental impacts and ensure community well-being, ecosystem health and food security, particularly in vulnerable places.</p>
<p>As businesses navigate today’s complex social and environmental challenges, the importance of <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/win-win-win-how-regenerative-farming-can-help-the-planet-farmers-and-you-1.5330180?cache=tzbrsjtr">turning to nature for inspiration is becoming increasingly evident</a>. </p>
<p>Businesses, in particular large corporations, have the responsibility to address the environmental impacts of the food system by committing to promote regenerative farming practices. </p>
<p>By situating themselves within their communities and prioritizing ecological knowledge, businesses have the potential to not only improve their own sustainability, but also to ignite positive change within the communities they operate in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saeed Rahman received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowships.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Slawinski 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>In the face of growing social and environmental challenges, organizations in the food and agriculture sector are increasingly turning to nature for inspiration.Saeed Rahman, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, University of The Fraser ValleyNatalie Slawinski, Professor of Sustainability and Strategy, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2201422023-12-20T13:38:01Z2023-12-20T13:38:01ZWhy the COP28 climate summit mattered, and what to watch for in 2024<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566693/original/file-20231219-17-i3ffem.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C9%2C2038%2C1352&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, had front-row seats at COP28's final session. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/unfccc/53394837161/in/album-72177720313353788/">Kiara Worth/UN Climate Change via Flickr,</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reading down the lengthy <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17_adv.pdf">final agreement of the COP28</a> United Nations climate conference held in December 2023, you’ll go a long way before finding a strong, active verb. The lengthy recitation of climate impacts “notes with concern” and occasionally with “significant concern” <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">glaring gaps</a> in countries’ current policies. But while countries volunteered pledges to act, they were less keen to have those pledges framed as binding agreements in the final text.</p>
<p>Reactions to COP28’s conclusion have been understandably mixed. Going into the talks, the world was <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-is-the-global-stocktake-and-could-it-accelerate-climate-action/">more on track</a> to avert catastrophic warming than it would have been without the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement">2015 Paris Agreement</a>, but a long way from where it needs to be.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/iea-assessment-of-the-evolving-pledges-at-cop28">if all the pledges made at COP28 are implemented</a>, the world will still exceed the Paris goal of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial temperatures.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart shows if all COP28 pledges were met, the world would be closer to the goal of keeping emissions under 1.5 C but not on track." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566601/original/file-20231219-27-qde9s6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Climate Action Tracker assessment of countries’ pledges at COP28 to reduce emissions shows progress toward the 2030 goal, but a large gap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://climateactiontracker.org/publications/cop28-initiatives-create-buzz-will-only-reduce-emissions-if-followed-through/">Copyright Climate Analytics and NewClimate Institute</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Politically, the agreement may have been the best that nations could reach at this time of <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/age-great-power-distraction-kimmage-notte">rising geopolitical tensions</a> and under the leadership of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a country of contradictions – a petrostate with renewable energy ambitions, keen to emerge onto the global stage as a green champion, but also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/30/the-new-scramble-for-africa-how-a-uae-sheikh-quietly-made-carbon-deals-for-forests-bigger-than-uk">accused of colonization tactics</a> in Africa.</p>
<p>Most headlines have focused on the COP28 agreement’s mention of fossil fuels for the first time. The convoluted language called for countries to “<a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_L17_adv.pdf">contribute” to</a> “transitioning away from fossil fuels,” not the phaseout supported by a majority of countries. With an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/05/record-number-of-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-get-access-to-cop28-climate-talks">unprecedented number of energy industry lobbyists</a> on hand, the consensus was described by the most vulnerable countries as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cop28-failed-the-worlds-small-islands-219938">litany of loopholes</a>.</p>
<p>The final agreement was, in large parts, written in a way to secure the future of the natural gas industry. It portrayed natural gas as a necessary bridge fuel while renewable energy expands, an argument that was <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2023">disproved by the International Energy Agency</a> before COP28. The agreement also furthered the expectation of continued heavy subsidies for carbon capture and storage, which many energy analysts and economists have dismissed as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/carbon-capture-removal-cop28-fossil-fuels-oil-gas-2bc53c6a8df6d337c1afcabad56377e8">unscalable at a reasonable cost</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the UAE blasted through some of the old shibboleths of climate negotiation. It broke the polarity of climate finance – the Global South waiting for the Global North to fulfill its promises of public finance – by <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2023/12/10/what-is-alterra-the-uaes-30-billion-green-investment-fund/">focusing on private investment</a> and putting tens of billions of dollars of its sovereign wealth into play. It was not able to persuade others to match its generosity, but there will be more pressure in 2024.</p>
<p>So, what should we look for in the coming months?</p>
<h2>1. Turning new energy pledges into action</h2>
<p>COP28 included <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/af71fc48-b89f-4920-a35b-2867b7adcc0c">significant commitments toward an energy transition</a> away from fossil fuels, including pledges to triple <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/global-renewables-and-energy-efficiency-pledge">renewable energy capacity, increase energy efficiency</a> and cut <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/2/at-cop28-oil-companies-pledge-to-lower-methane-emissions">methane emissions</a>.</p>
<p>Now it’s up to countries and companies to show progress. That will depend on investments and overcoming supply bottlenecks, as well as new policies and, in the case of methane, <a href="https://www.piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/how-international-agreement-methane-emissions-can-pave-way-enhanced">standards for imports and exports</a>.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-cooling-pledge">Global Cooling Pledge</a> to reduce emissions from cooling by 68% while increasing access to cooling technology is increasingly critical. <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings/space-cooling">Demand for cooling is driving up energy demand</a> across the globe, particularly in populous countries hard hit by extreme heat, such as India. Developing technologies that help the billions of people most at risk and improve cold supply chains for food and medicine will require more investment and greater priority from governments.</p>
<p>Watch for <a href="https://www.climateresilience.org/">more cities to appoint heat czars</a> to spearhead efforts to protect populations from extreme heat, <a href="https://time.com/6336537/america-tree-equity-urban-climate-solution/">adoption of tree equity plans</a> to increase shade and cooling, and more investment in cooling technologies.</p>
<h2>2. Deploying innovations in finance</h2>
<p>COP28 saw significant innovation in finance, including the UAE’s announcement of the Alterra Fund – a <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2023/12/10/what-is-alterra-the-uaes-30-billion-green-investment-fund/">$30 billion commitment</a> to mobilize private investment in developing countries.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iosco.org/news/pdf/IOSCONEWS717.pdf">International Organization of Securities Commissions</a> sent a strong statement in support of <a href="https://www.ifrs.org/groups/international-sustainability-standards-board/">corporate sustainability disclosure standards</a> and welcomed <a href="https://icvcm.org/icvcm-and-vcmi-join-forces-to-operationalize-a-high-integrity-market-to-accelerate-global-climate-action/">corporate integrity standards in the voluntary carbon markets</a>. Look for more countries to add rules around <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition">“net-zero emissions” pledges</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Putting trade to work for the climate</h2>
<p>Linked to finance and investment is trade, which <a href="https://www.thebanker.com/How-trade-and-trade-finance-can-assist-the-transition-to-net-zero-1701941013">COP28 welcomed</a> to the main stage for the first time.</p>
<p>There are two things to look for in 2024. First, look for the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to align their advice to governments on effective carbon pricing.</p>
<p>Second, while trade and climate negotiators traditionally move in different circles, they will <a href="https://earth.org/free-trade-agreement/">need to work together</a> to ensure the trade system supports climate action. For example, making sure green products and services are not made more expensive than their polluting alternatives.</p>
<h2>4. Fixing the carbon markets</h2>
<p>2023 was a year of pushback on the voluntary carbon markets, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe">investigations questioned their effectiveness</a>. COP28’s failure to advance agreements on carbon markets under <a href="https://www.undp.org/energy/blog/what-article-6-paris-agreement-and-why-it-important">Article 6 of the Paris Agreement</a> means they will be a focus in 2024.</p>
<p>In this case, <a href="https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/12/13/cop28-article-6-failure-avoids-a-worse-outcome/">no deal was better than a bad deal</a>, but the delay means countries that plan to use carbon markets to meet their net-zero targets are left with uncertainty.</p>
<h2>5. Getting more adaptation funding where it’s needed</h2>
<p>An agreement on a global goal on adaptation, a collective commitment to build resilience and adaptive capacity across the world, was finally reached, but negotiators left the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-what-would-an-ambitious-global-goal-on-adaptation-look-like-at-cop28/">details to be filled in over the next two years</a>.</p>
<p>To get adaptation funding flowing to where it is most needed, top-down discussions will need to start, including <a href="https://www.wri.org/initiatives/locally-led-adaptation/principles-locally-led-adaptation">locally led efforts</a>. Look for adaptation to become a much bigger part of countries’ second-generation climate plans to be submitted to the U.N. before COP30.</p>
<h2>6. Turning new food and ag pledges into action</h2>
<p>A majority of the world’s countries, 159, signed the <a href="https://www.cop28.com/en/food-and-agriculture">UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action</a>. They agreed to include food systems, which contribute a significant percentage of global emissions and which are fundamental to adaptation and resilience, in the next generation of climate plans to be submitted to the U.N.</p>
<p>The pledge was thin on details, however, so how each country turns words into actions will be crucial in 2024.</p>
<h2>The next big climate milestones</h2>
<p>In late 2024, COP29 will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan – another oil-producing nation. The focus will be on finance. But the <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era">next big milestone is in 2025</a>, when governments must submit their future pledges and plans for reducing emissions.</p>
<p>COP30 is to be held in Belen in the Brazilian state of Para – the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-amazon-land-grab-how-brazils-government-is-clearing-the-way-for-deforestation-173416">frontline of Amazon protection</a>. This will bring a focus on nature-based solutions, but from the perspective of the Global South. President Lula da Silva, who is also the host of the G20 in 2024, wants to see change in the international trade and finance system to reflect shifts in the global economy.</p>
<p>COP28 set forth important initiatives but balked at binding commitments. As countries work on their next generation of plans to try to get the world on track to limit global warming, they will have to consider the whole of their economies and cover all greenhouse gases. The world can’t afford to balk twice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Kyte is affiliated with VCMI - Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative, and Climate Resilience for All CRA</span></em></p>The UN climate conference brought some progress. A former UN official who has been involved in international climate policy for years explains what has to happen now for that progress to pay off.Rachel Kyte, Visiting Professor of Practice, Blavatnik School of Government, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2099812023-07-22T08:22:52Z2023-07-22T08:22:52ZKenya’s logging ban has been lifted – it’s a political decision and a likely setback for conservation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538145/original/file-20230718-25-ewgu2f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A scout from Kenya's forest protection unit walks past mangrove tree stumps in Malindi.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Kenyan president William Ruto has <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/07/06/2023/lifting-kenya-logging-ban">lifted a six-year ban on logging</a>, despite <a href="https://www.vuma.earth/petitions/hands-off-our-forests-don-t-lift-the-ban-on-logging-public-community-forests-in-kenya">public objections</a>. Ruto said it would create jobs and boost economic growth. Lisa E. Fuchs has <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013477/a-political-ecology-of-kenyas-mau-forest/">studied the Mau Forest Complex</a>, one of Kenya’s most important – and most threatened – forests. She unpacks the implications of this decision.</em></p>
<h2>Why is the lifting of Kenya’s logging ban controversial?</h2>
<p>A logging ban is a political instrument. Its effectiveness depends mainly on two things. First, who is included and who is not, and why and how these actors will be supported to re-orient themselves sustainably. Second, the political will to implement it according to its intention. </p>
<p>The same applies for lifting a logging ban. But it’s important to keep in mind that controversial political announcements and decisions target different audiences. </p>
<p>Kenya’s latest logging ban was <a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/government-bans-logging-191860">introduced in 2018</a>. This government directive was informed by shrinking water resources and came amid discussions to save Kenya’s water towers. </p>
<p>Deforestation in Kenya rose steeply from the early 1990s. According to estimates from the United Nations Environment Programme, the deforestation rate in Kenya was <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/8513/Montane_Forests_Kenya.pdf#page=10">5,000 hectares per year by 2010</a>. This had several effects, including changes in biodiversity, river flows and the microclimate. They had an impact on agricultural production, hydropower generation and inland fish production. Human health and well-being were also affected.</p>
<p>Environmentalists have argued that lifting this latest ban risks reversing the gains made in recent years to improve Kenya’s tree cover. The country surpassed its <a href="https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/kenya-surpasses-10-tree-cover-assessment-report-2021-says/">10% minimum tree cover target in June 2022</a>. It now plans to raise tree cover to <a href="https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/kfs-begins-1-5-billion-tree-project/">30% by 2032</a> by planting 15 billion trees. </p>
<p>Trees and forests <a href="https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/regulating-services/en/">provide ecosystem services</a> like air, climate and water regulation. These influence landscapes, livelihoods, economies and entire food systems.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-politics-has-subverted-conservation-efforts-to-protect-kenyas-mau-forest-187473">How politics has subverted conservation efforts to protect Kenya’s Mau Forest</a>
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<p>I have <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013477/a-political-ecology-of-kenyas-mau-forest/">studied Kenya’s failure</a> to “Save the Mau”. This was the tagline of <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/kenya-launches-multimillion-dollar-appeal-restore-vital-mau-forest">a large-scale campaign</a> to rehabilitate the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-politics-has-subverted-conservation-efforts-to-protect-kenyas-mau-forest-187473">Mau Forest Complex</a> in 2009. It involved multiple stakeholders, led by government and supported by civil society.</p>
<p>The Kenyan state has <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013477/a-political-ecology-of-kenyas-mau-forest/">historically</a> viewed and dealt with forests in terms of production and economic development, rather than biodiversity and conservation. Ruto, as minister for agriculture (2008-2010) and as deputy president (2013-2022), has <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/mps-demand-land-for-evicted-mau-squatters-614656">repeatedly defended this stance</a>. </p>
<h2>How have previous logging bans in Kenya played out?</h2>
<p>A similar ban – or rather, a three-month moratorium that was never officially lifted – existed between <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342136715_Logging_Ban_in_Kenya_Convergence_or_Divergence_from_the_Forest_Law_and_Policy_and_Impacts_on_Plantation_ForestryLogging_Ban_in_Kenya_Convergence_or_Divergence_from_the_Forest_Law_and_Policy_and_Impact">1999 and 2011</a>. In 1999, <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/28379/MauForest.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y#page=4">the country’s forests were in a bleak state</a>. “Post box sawmillers” – companies that existed on paper but not in practice – were held responsible for much of the disaster, alongside the Forestry Department, which was in charge of registering and licensing them. </p>
<p>The moratorium nullified these sawmillers’ licences. It restricted them from legal logging, denying them access to public forests. What many people don’t know is that this <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342136715_Logging_Ban_in_Kenya_Convergence_or_Divergence_from_the_Forest_Law_and_Policy_and_Impacts_on_Plantation_ForestryLogging_Ban_in_Kenya_Convergence_or_Divergence_from_the_Forest_Law_and_Policy_and_Impact">ban was only partial</a>. Kenya’s big timber producing companies (Timsales, Raiply, Comply and, intermittently, Pan-African Paper Mills) continued harvesting, processing and selling wood, timber and non-timber forest products without restriction. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013477/a-political-ecology-of-kenyas-mau-forest/">politically well-connected companies</a> held a monopoly over the production and export of wood products. </p>
<p>In 1999, forest management was still regulated by the <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/ken3176.pdf">1960 Forest Act</a>. This law was widely held responsible for legal forest destruction by allowing the minister for forestry to <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/ken3176.pdf#page=3">convert the legal status of public forest land</a> through a simple order published in the government Gazette. </p>
<p>However, even after the adoption of the landmark <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/ForestsAct_No7of2005.pdf">2005 Forests Act</a> and the formation of the <a href="https://www.environment.go.ke/kfs/">Kenya Forest Service</a> in 2007, the situation didn’t change as much as it should have. Existing regulations were poorly applied. </p>
<p><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/how-moi-played-role-in-plunder-of-greater-mau-forest-206962">Corruption</a> played a part in forest destruction by both big timber companies and small-scale saw millers. The Kenya Forest Service has repeatedly been named in this context in both <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/tnrc-topic-brief-anti-corruption-and-equitable-benefit-sharing-in-kenya-s-wildlife-and-forest-sectors-gaps-and-lessons">academic</a> and public inquiries, including a <a href="https://dc.sourceafrica.net/documents/119389-2018-Taskforce-Report-on-Forest-Resources.html">2018 investigation</a>. </p>
<h2>What is the current political context?</h2>
<p>The political climate in Kenya is <a href="https://acleddata.com/2023/04/28/kenya-situation-update-april-2023-rise-in-disorder-as-opposition-stages-mass-demonstrations/">heated</a>. </p>
<p>Ruto has been under tremendous pressure since he took office in September 2022. The opposition has <a href="https://theconversation.com/mass-protests-in-kenya-have-a-long-and-rich-history-but-have-been-hijacked-by-the-elites-202979">mobilised public protests</a> over the cost of living. Sending a message about creating jobs can be read as an attempt to address people’s worries related to the economy. </p>
<p>At the same time, discussing forests can be interpreted as directly engaging opposition leader Raila Odinga, who <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/raila-s-campaign-blitz-to-save-the-mau-669288">led the “Save the Mau” campaign</a> until its abrupt halt in 2010-11. Ruto and his allies played an important role in the halt. </p>
<p>During Kenya’s 2022 electoral campaign, Ruto promised change and economic empowerment through a <a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/the-six-pillars-of-dp-rutos-bottom-up-economic-model-and-why-he-believes-it-is-the-solution-n301225">bottom-up development model</a>. Redistributing access to and benefits from the country’s forests might speak to many rural people and communities who are dependent on forest commodities – and to their political representatives. And having inherited a <a href="http://www.parliament.go.ke/index.php/public-debt-stock-projected-surpass-kshs-10-trillion-mark-june-2024#:%7E:text=As%20of%20January%202023%2C%20the,a%20threshold%20of%2055%20percent.">deeply indebted economy</a>, Ruto has been looking for new avenues to generate revenue.</p>
<h2>What’s the way forward?</h2>
<p>Depoliticising environmental and forest conservation will help in seeking sustainable solutions. It will be particularly important to address the speculation over the lifting of the logging ban. The environment ministry <a href="https://www.environment.go.ke/logging-ban-lifted-in-commercial-forests-only-cs-tuya-reiterates/">recently said</a> the ban had been lifted only in commercial forests.</p>
<p>During <a href="https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781847013477/a-political-ecology-of-kenyas-mau-forest/">my research in the Eastern Mau Forest</a>, it became evident that political changes – or even the fear of political changes which could result in a redistribution of access and user rights – led to what local residents described as a “cutting craze”. </p>
<p>Timber companies, small- and medium-sized sawmills, and even ordinary community members all took extremely short-term approaches to securing benefits from the forest and its resources. </p>
<p><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/kenyans-invade-forests-for-charcoal-after-lifting-of-ban-4302878">Short-term vision</a> has harmed the country and the environment in Kenya and globally. </p>
<p>Sustainable forest management (which includes both forest production and forest conservation) is not impossible or awfully complicated – at least when it’s not politicised. It mainly requires real political will.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209981/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa E. Fuchs 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>The Kenyan state has historically viewed forests in terms of production and economic development – not biodiversity and conservation.Lisa E. Fuchs, Independent researcher, French Institute for Research in Africa in Nairobi (IFRA-Nairobi)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092342023-07-16T20:00:36Z2023-07-16T20:00:36ZTalking about eating less red and processed meat provokes strong feelings. That’s why this new evidence-based report is welcome<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537222/original/file-20230713-24-5i48tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4813%2C3216&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Emotions can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34588091">run high</a> when the topic of how much red and processed meat to eat is raised. For many of us, eating these foods is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666315001166?casa_token=VNY4M7HKk9cAAAAA:dNNXkbFr6wo5Q8gb1EG7J2kB379GhNJVZ23ArvxhFLlsm-_2K_mEacVE8PLUr-UZRIX7EGmBaBw">culturally important</a> – often tied to specific dishes and traditions.</p>
<p>That’s why this week’s landmark <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240074828">new report</a> from the World Health Organization (WHO) is welcome. The report focuses explicitly on what the science says about how red and processed meat affects our health – and the health of the ecosystems on which we depend. </p>
<p>What does it say? Moderation is important. In high-income countries, we tend to eat too much red meat, which boosts the risk of some cancers and heart disease. We should treat processed meat, such as salami, with even greater caution, as the link to cancer risk is even clearer.</p>
<p>If you want a quick take-home, it’s this: eat less red meat, avoid processed meat and choose meat farmed under better conditions. But this is not always easy or affordable for everyone. So most importantly, we need changes to the policies that affect how our food systems operate so that our well-being and the health of the planet are prioritised.</p>
<h2>What does the evidence say about red meat and our health?</h2>
<p>Red meat is a rich source of many <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/61245">important nutrients</a>, including iron, B-vitamins and all essential amino acids. These are compounds essential for human growth, development and good health.</p>
<p>Importantly, these nutrients are not exclusively found in red meat. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.806566/full">Beans and legumes</a> are also high in iron and B-vitamins, though in less easily absorbed form. Many cultures have developed healthy diets without an over-reliance on red meat by including beans and legumes. </p>
<p>In populations that experience food insecurity, red meat can be an important source of nutrition. In these contexts, it doesn’t make sense to advise people to avoid red meat.</p>
<p>But in other parts of the world, red meat intake is too high. Australians are some of the world’s biggest <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550922002147?via%3Dihub">red meat eaters</a>, which puts us at higher risk of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35291893/">chronic diseases</a> such as bowel cancer and cardiovascular disease. Both of these are amongst Australia’s top killers. </p>
<p>Processed and ultra-processed meats such as ham and chicken nuggets come with even greater health risks, especially when consumed in excess. The WHO considers processed meat a <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat">Group 1 carcinogen</a>. That means there’s strong evidence linking consumption to cancer risk.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cc0639en/cc0639en.pdf">way we produce</a> red and processed meat comes with a host of other health issues, such as antimicrobial resistance due to overuse of antibiotics, as well as the risk of new zoonotic animal-to-human diseases. Intensive farming done on industrial scales poses <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090904">particular risks</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="processed meats" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537224/original/file-20230713-17-4hds6p.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>
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<span class="caption">Processed meat consumption has a clear link to cancer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What does the evidence tell us about red meat and the environment?</h2>
<p>Ruminant livestock need grass, which often means farmers chop down the trees or shrubs previously there, making pasture inhospitable for native species. In feedlots, these animals are often fed on grains or soy. Producing the volumes needed - of both animal feed and livestock - means felling more forests. That’s why we can clearly link increased livestock farming to <a href="https://www.unnutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/Livestock-Paper-EN_WEB.pdf">damaged biodiversity</a>. </p>
<p>There are issues on the climate front, too. Livestock production accounts for <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i3437e/i3437e.pdf">up to 78%</a> of all greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Of this, cattle farming <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/10/4/14/5943514">contributes 80%</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, livestock farming is generally less intensive compared to the United States. Even so, deforestation to make room for cattle is still a major issue in Australia. In the last five years, <a href="https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2021/12/15/australia-beef-deforestation-climate-brexit-trade-deal/">13,500 hectares</a> have been cleared for beef cattle operations in Queensland alone.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be so destructive. Mixed farming systems, where <a href="https://theconversation.com/intensive-farming-is-eating-up-the-australian-continent-but-theres-another-way-130877">cattle graze</a> on land covered by trees and native grasses, is less destructive. </p>
<p>So are farming methods built around <a href="https://theconversation.com/regenerative-agriculture-is-all-the-rage-but-its-not-going-to-fix-our-food-system-203922">agro-ecological principles</a> where the health of the land and fairness <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z#:%7E:text=FAO%20(2018d)%20first%20described%20the,2020">are prioritised</a>. </p>
<p>As global heating escalates, it will pose increasing challenges for livestock farmers (and livestock animals). Increases in extreme weather have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/af/article/9/1/3/5272569">major implications</a> for animal welfare, farmer livelihoods and food security. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="grassy woodlands cattle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537223/original/file-20230713-15-4hds6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Grassy eucalypt woodlands used for cattle farming in subtropical Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tara Martin</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>What does the evidence say about industrial farming?</h2>
<p>Many farmers care greatly about the welfare of their animals and the environment. </p>
<p>But meat production in many parts of the world is now <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901122002490">dominated by large corporations</a>. To maximise production, these companies rely on intensive farming techniques such as feedlots and extensive use of antibiotics. These techniques are spreading as low- and middle-income countries such as China and Brazil gain more appetite for meat. </p>
<p>Industrial scale farming comes with real costs. If we can make meat production better, we will lower the risk of antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss, and improve the lives of workers and the animals themselves.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/organic-grass-fed-and-hormone-free-does-this-make-red-meat-any-healthier-92119">Organic, grass fed and hormone-free: does this make red meat any healthier?</a>
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<h2>Knowing this, what should we do?</h2>
<p>If we leave the situation as it is, intensive farming and red and processed meat consumption will continue to increase. </p>
<p>But this is not sustainable. To improve the health of people and the planet we need to change how we produce meat. And we need to consume more diverse diets. These changes have to be sensitive to the local context.</p>
<p>Changing what we eat must involve governments. Just as governments have a role in encouraging food manufacturers to avoid carcinogens or dangerous chemical additives, they have a role in promoting healthy diets from food systems that are sustainable over the long term. </p>
<p>What does that look like? It could be investing in agro-ecological farming practices, tackling corporate concentration of meat production, penalising <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-017-9660-0">antibiotic overuse</a> and subsidising healthy options like beans and legumes. Taxing the riskiest meat-based foods, such as heavily processed meat, is <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204139">another option</a>. </p>
<p>Sensible policy-making may also help shift <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329319300394?via%3Dihub">cultural norms</a> in which meat is so highly valued.</p>
<p>Could we just swap red meat for different meat? It’s not that simple. The majority of chickens are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/%20environmental-impacts-of-food#dairy-vs-plant-based-milk-what-are-the-environmental-impacts">intensively farmed</a>, too, meaning antibiotic resistance remains a risk. Ultra-processed plant-based meats may <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.834285620056561">also pose problems</a> for human health. </p>
<p>A better option is to focus on minimally-processed whole foods (think brown rice, nuts and pulses) and sustainably-produced foods from animals. But we need action from the government to make these options affordable and convenient.</p>
<p>Importantly, the WHO report does not say stop eating red meat – it simply lays out the evidence about what it does to your health. It also points to ways of farming livestock that are less destructive and outlines ways to reduce our habitual consumption.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="mediterranean diet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537225/original/file-20230713-19-56laau.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">Wholefoods, fresh fruit and vegetables and moderate quantities of sustainably produced meat offer a better path for us and for the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/intensive-farming-is-eating-up-the-australian-continent-but-theres-another-way-130877">Intensive farming is eating up the Australian continent – but there's another way</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Sievert received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council for previous work related to this topic. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Sacks receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and VicHealth.</span></em></p>Too much red meat – and especially processed meat – is linked to cancer and heart disease. But moderation is the key – alongside better farming practicesKatherine Sievert, Research Fellow in Food Systems, Deakin UniversityGary Sacks, Professor of Public Health Policy, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044522023-04-30T13:12:17Z2023-04-30T13:12:17ZBasic income could help create a more just and sustainable food system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523025/original/file-20230426-1071-apkuk4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=398%2C0%2C3627%2C2275&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer at the Roots Community Food Centre urban farm in northwestern Ontario harvests Gete-Okosomin squash in summer 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(C. Levkoe)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada’s food system is <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/62f0014m/62f0014m2022014-eng.htm">experiencing ongoing stresses</a> from supply chain disruptions, price inflation and extreme weather events. Canadians are feeling the effects of these stresses: in 2021, nearly 16 per cent of provincial households <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Household-Food-Insecurity-in-Canada-2021-PROOF.pdf">experienced some degree of food insecurity</a>.</p>
<p>Federal programs such as the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html#h2.03">Canada Emergency Response Benefit</a> and the recent <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/04/minister-fraser-highlights-budget-2023-commitments-to-provide-a-new-grocery-rebate-for-canadians.html">grocery store rebate</a> point to the impact direct government income interventions can have on ensuring equity in times of emergency, including access to food. </p>
<p>Some have discussed <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-ottawas-grocery-rebate-signal-a-shift-to-a-broader-guaranteed-basic-income-203132">the new grocery store rebate</a>, which is to be delivered through the GST/HST tax credit system, as closely aligned with proposals for a basic income guarantee. But a basic income guarantee would involve regular payments, not just a one-time rebate.</p>
<p>A basic income guarantee could play a key role in <a href="https://www.northernpolicy.ca/bigandfoodinsecurity">reducing individual and household food insecurity</a> among society’s most vulnerable and ensure everyone can meet their basic needs with dignity. </p>
<h2>What the research says</h2>
<p>There is general support among basic income advocates in Canada for implementing <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/what-is-basic-income/basic-income-we-want-for-canada/">income-tested basic income</a>, which would involve delivering cash transfers to individuals whose incomes fall below a certain threshold.</p>
<p>As sustainable food systems experts, we suggest that a basic income guarantee could not only be an important tool for addressing economic access to food, but also in supporting sustainability across the food system. </p>
<p>We draw on our research with <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/about-coalition/">Coalition Canada</a>, a network of basic income advocacy groups. Our research brought interdisciplinary teams of scholars and practitioners together to <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/en/actions/case-for-basic-income/">develop a series of case studies</a> examining basic income through the lens of different sectors. These sectors include the arts, finance, health, municipalities and the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>Our work focused on the <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1.-Case-for-agriculture-March-3-2023.pdf">agriculture</a> and <a href="https://basicincomecoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Fisheries-basic-income-case-formatted-July-2022.pdf">fisheries</a> sectors and involved members of the National Farmers Union, Union Paysanne, Ecotrust Canada and the Native Fishing Alliance.</p>
<p>Overall, our research suggests that a basic income guarantee could have a significant impact on the <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/policy/towards-a-national-agricultural-labour-strategy-that-works-for-farmers-and-farm-workers/">economic uncertainties faced by farmers</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-005-6333-7">and fishing communities</a> in Canada. It could also contribute to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/local-food-is-not-enough-we-need-a-sustainable-transition-in-the-food-system-201991">more just sustainable transition in the food system</a>.</p>
<h2>Reducing economic uncertainty</h2>
<p>One potential impact of a basic income guarantee would be reducing economic uncertainty for the most vulnerable agriculture and fisheries workers.</p>
<p>People employed in food and fish processing and as farm labourers are especially vulnerable to seasonal unemployment, low wages, uneven employee benefits and unsafe working conditions, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.736680">high rates of occupational injury and illness</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A combine harvesting a wheat crop in a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523316/original/file-20230427-20-qzpm6j.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A guaranteed basic income could have a significant impact on the economic uncertainties faced by those working in the agriculture and fishing industries in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A basic income guarantee could offer individuals more financial security and control over their employment choices, and thus address the racialized, classed and gendered <a href="https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v9i2.521">disparities prominent in food systems labour</a>. </p>
<h2>Supporting new fishers and farmers</h2>
<p>A second potential impact of a basic income guarantee could be supporting new entrants in agriculture and fisheries. Across Canada, <a href="https://atlanticfisherman.com/the-greying-of-the-fleet/">the commercial fishing</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220511/dq220511a-eng.htm">farming workforces</a> are aging. </p>
<p>Supporting new farmers and fishers, especially those using more socially and ecologically sustainable practices, is an essential part of building a more resilient food system. </p>
<p><a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/community-networks/new-farmers-fishers">New entrants face substantial barriers</a> related to high entry costs, such as access to land and equipment or purchasing a boat and fishing license, combined with uncertain and fluctuating prices for their goods. </p>
<p>While a basic income guarantee alone can’t address these challenges, it could provide greater <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/policy/an-income-stability-supplement-for-new-farmers/">economic stability for new farmers</a> and fishers when they invest in infrastructure and training.</p>
<h2>Preparing for future stressors</h2>
<p>A basic income guarantee could also be a step towards building resilience against ongoing stressors, like the climate crisis and extreme weather events, along with preparing for future emergencies. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that those with more stable incomes and flexible work arrangements are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.614368">better able to adapt to unexpected shocks</a>. For example, during the pandemic, boat-to-fork seafood businesses better weathered seafood chain disruptions because of their adaptable supply chain configurations and proximity to consumers. </p>
<p>At present, small-scale farmers and fishers tend to receive the least support, because most <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.539214">subsidies go to larger industrial enterprises</a>. However, these small-scale producers play a crucial role in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-food-is-ready-for-harvest-103050">supplying food for regional and local markets</a>, which can serve as important buffers during times of crisis and reduce the stress of long-distance supply chains.</p>
<p>Establishing a basic income guarantee would be a proactive step in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2015.1004220">supporting equitable livelihoods</a> for small-scale farmers and fishers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People stand on the deck of a small fishing boat that is floating in the harbour of a body of water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523094/original/file-20230426-20-ukmpko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous fishermen leave the harbour in Saulnierville, N.S. in October 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Next steps for the food system</h2>
<p>Although a basic income guarantee has the potential to bring about many positive impacts, it shouldn’t be a substitute for existing government-funded agricultural and fisheries programs such as grants, public research, and training and skills development programs.</p>
<p>A basic income guarantee also shouldn’t replace contributory programs, like the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-fishing.html">Employment Insurance fishing benefits</a>. A basic income guarantee would offer support to fishers whose earnings are too low to qualify for employment insurance, or who are unable to go out on the water.</p>
<p>Further research and policy efforts will be crucial for gaining a fuller understanding of how a basic income guarantee might intersect with other financial supports like insurance, loans and climate funding.</p>
<p>Additional research will also be crucial for understanding how a basic income guarantee could support migrant workers brought in through the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/temporary-foreign-worker.html">Temporary Foreign Worker program</a>. Migrant workers are an essential part of fisheries processing and meat and horticulture production.</p>
<p>There is also a need to think systematically and holistically about the role of basic income across the food system. The only way to accomplish this is with further input from farming and fishing communities and Indigenous communities in collaboration with anti-poverty, food sovereignty and food justice organizations.</p>
<p>We believe a basic income guarantee is a promising tool for contributing to sustainability and justice across agriculture and fishing sectors, while encouraging the development of cross-sectoral networks, research and policy agendas.</p>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the author teams of Coalition Canada’s Case for Basic Income Series for their contributions to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lowitt receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Z. Levkoe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Government of Ontario.</span></em></p>A guaranteed basic income is a promising tool for contributing to sustainability and justice across agriculture and fishing sectors.Kristen Lowitt, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Queen's University, OntarioCharles Z. Levkoe, Canada Research Chair in Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems, Lakehead UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2036352023-04-25T21:00:49Z2023-04-25T21:00:49ZHow schools and families can take climate action by learning about food systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522794/original/file-20230425-25-yv0cq7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=265%2C512%2C5159%2C3063&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students and a teacher seen on a rooftop garden at École Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School in Lacombe, Alta., in June 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>News about the climate crisis alerts us to the urgent need for drastic global changes. Given this, it’s not surprising that one study surveying thousands of young people found most respondents were worried about climate change, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3">over 45 per cent said worries about climate change affected them daily</a>. </p>
<p>Young people are experiencing high levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30223-0">climate anxiety</a> which is characterized by feelings of fear, worry, despair and guilt and can negatively affect psychosocial health and well-being. </p>
<p>Taking climate action is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101887">one proposed way to reduce climate anxiety</a> by turning negative emotions in response to the reality of urgent challenges into positive action. </p>
<p>Engaging with food systems presents a major opportunity to act on the climate crisis, as they <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/">contribute 21 to 37 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Both home-based discussions with parents or caregivers and school curriculums have a place in helping young people connect relationships with food to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-community-owned-grocery-stores-like-co-ops-are-the-best-recipe-for-revitalizing-food-deserts-122997">advocating for change to food systems</a> or making more sustainable choices to benefit our shared planetary health. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two girls seen with a sign 'There is no Planet B.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522833/original/file-20230425-16-9z9oyx.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Focusing food education only on nutrition and cooking doesn’t consider the positive impact people can have on transforming food systems to be more just and environmentally sustainable. Protesters seen at Global Climate Strike protests in New York on Sept. 23, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is a food system?</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.oecd.org/food-systems/">food system</a> includes everything that happens to food from farm to fork. The food system also includes all the people involved in each of those steps, including us. </p>
<p>Every time we eat, we participate in the food system. Yet, due in part to the increased number of steps between farm to fork, and the fact that in our dominant global economy food is positioned as a product to consume, there is a <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/kitchen-literacy">growing disconnect between people and the food system</a>. </p>
<p>This disconnect has both contributed to current issues caused by food systems, and continues to perpetuate them. These issues include <a href="https://pymwymic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Global-Food-System-Analysis-1.pdf">biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and global inequalities</a> related to both labour practices and resource extraction.</p>
<h2>Impact of daily choices</h2>
<p>Many of us rarely consider the impact our daily food choices have on the environment. Those that do seldom see our own potential in engaging with and transforming the food system beyond eating on the basis of conscience.</p>
<p>Recognizing our role in the food system can be empowering, as it presents opportunities to act on the climate crisis.</p>
<p>Primary and secondary schools are a logical place to engage students in these issues as they are locations where young people spend most of their day and <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-pandemic-ignoring-science-affects-everyone-citizenship-education-can-help-ensure-that-doesnt-happen-173636">institutions that have goals of</a> <a href="https://bcforhighschool.gov.bc.ca/offshore/bc-curriculum-assessment-overview/the-educated-citizen/">promoting an educated and engaged citizenry</a>. </p>
<p>Despite the potential of educational institutions to engage young people in issues related to food systems, many school <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042019">curriculums around the world</a>, including throughout <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2015.1091440">Canada, fail to do</a> this.</p>
<h2>Beyond nutrition, cooking</h2>
<p>For example, research about primary school curriculums in 11 countries including Australia, England, Japan, Norway and Sweden finds that curriculums tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042019">focus on nutrition education or cooking skills</a> with little to no mention of the ways current food systems are destroying our environment or perpetuating gross social injustices. Research about Canadian curriculums has similarly found curriculum policies tend to focus on eating in healthy ways as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2015.1091440">matter of individual choice</a>. </p>
<p>Although much curriculum does not take a holistic approach to food systems education, there are many <a href="https://www.foodspan.org">third-party organizations that have created resources</a> for educators examining food systems in a more comprehensive way.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People seen with grocery carts in a produce section near a fish section." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522829/original/file-20230425-3095-j93b29.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Talking about where food comes from can help young people connect our relationships with food to making more sustainable choices. People seen shopping at the Granville Island Market in Vancouver in July 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nutrition and cooking are important for individual health. But this limited focus can be disempowering for young people as it does not consider the positive impact people can have on transforming food systems to be more just and environmentally sustainable. </p>
<p>By showing the next generation ways to change our food systems for the better, we can not only reduce climate anxiety, but also ensure the next generation is equipped with the knowledge and skills to create a more just and sustainable future.</p>
<h2>Taking action locally</h2>
<p>So how do we support these important issues in our schools? If you are a concerned parent, you could join the parent advisory committee at your child’s school or write to your school district to find out if there are any positive local initiatives and to express concern.</p>
<p>You could also write to your provincial or territorial legislative representative to advocate for the inclusion of these issues in the curriculum. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-pandemic-recovery-urgently-needs-a-national-school-meal-program-174226">Canada's pandemic recovery urgently needs a national school meal program</a>
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</em>
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<p>Outside of school, parents or caregivers could find ways to engage children in discussions around food systems that go beyond nutrition. For school projects where a child has a choice about the topic, or as a home project, encourage your child to research different organizations in your area that are involved in sustainable food systems work. Together, visit a local farm or starting a small indoor or outdoor garden.</p>
<h2>How a meal arrives on a plate</h2>
<p>Another activity to start thinking about the global impact of food systems is to explore how a meal comes to be on your plate. You could ask questions like:</p>
<ul>
<li>What are the ingredients? </li>
<li>Where in the world did all those ingredients originate? </li>
<li>Who was involved in growing the ingredients, in transporting them and in creating the food being consumed? </li>
<li>Were all those people treated fairly? </li>
<li>Was the environment harmed in the production of the food? </li>
</ul>
<p>Analyzing even a simple meal can lead to complex thoughts and discussions around food systems and reveal stark social and environmental issues. </p>
<p>By looking beyond nutrition, food can become a powerful tool to empower young people to take climate action which, in turn, can lead to reduced climate anxiety and increased feelings of hope for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203635/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Edwards receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). </span></em></p>Both at home and in schools, food can become a powerful tool to empower young people to take climate action, which can lead to reduced climate anxiety and increased feelings of hope for the future.Gabrielle Edwards, PhD Candidate in Curriculum Studies, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2023642023-04-12T13:41:03Z2023-04-12T13:41:03ZSouth Africans have starkly unequal access to a healthy diet - the solution requires tackling deep-seated historical injustice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518726/original/file-20230331-26-f4s645.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">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa has a food crisis. The <a href="https://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/what-food-system">food system</a> - made up of all of the activities and actors involved in the production, processing, transportation, selling, consumption and disposal of food - produces starkly unequal access to nutritious foods.</p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/15528014.2023.2175483?needAccess=true&role=button#page=5">many households in the country cannot afford</a> a healthy diet, <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr337-dhs-final-reports.cfm">27% of children under five are stunted</a>, and the <a href="https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-fr337-dhs-final-reports.cfm">prevalence of diet-related diseases is rising</a> rapidly. </p>
<p>The food system contributes to <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0071en">pollution and climate change</a> through the use of agro-chemicals, fossil fuels for transport, processing and refrigeration, as well as unsustainable packaging. On top of this, over one-third of the <a href="https://www.csir.co.za/food-supply-south-africa-wasted-shows-new-csir-study">food is wasted</a>. These harms <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=03-00-14">disproportionately affect</a> poor people and women. Black-headed households are seven times more likely than white-headed households to have <a href="https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=03-00-14">inadequate access to food</a>.</p>
<p>This inequitable distribution of the benefits and harms of the food system is called <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262518666/food-justice/">food injustice</a>. It is also a violation of the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-2-bill-rights">constitutional right to food</a>.</p>
<p>To date, attempts to address the food crisis have had limited success. Measures such as emergency food parcels, soup kitchens and food garden projects do help to meet immediate needs, but they <a href="https://jacana.co.za/product/an-empty-plate-why-we-are-losing-the-battle-for-our-food-system-why-it-matters-and-how-we-can-win-it-back/">do not address the underlying causes</a> of food injustice. The same is true of social grants, which are <a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/news/why-south-africas-social-grants-arent-eradicating-malnutrition/">insufficient</a> to tackle food insecurity.</p>
<p>I argue in my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15528014.2023.2175483">ongoing research</a> that these structural challenges are rooted in colonialism and capitalism. I use the term <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09502380601162548?casa_token=TJ1LY3kEDFIAAAAA%3A2VIBhIVSTJU5oG9_eYCOrhuy05gmGVS3y7Qi54NBparBm4Jinqf10Wq26pwYw0fDtw9OQm1QvWTE2g">“coloniality”</a> to refer to the persistence of patterns of capitalist, racial and patriarchal power that continue to inform who controls the food system, and who has access to good food.</p>
<p>My research seeks to expand our knowledge of those colonial origins. Historical texts and archival materials, despite their Eurocentric bias, give clues about precolonial, indigenous food systems and how these were violently disrupted by colonialism. By speaking to elders who still know about traditional foodways, we can learn more about indigenous ingredients as well as traditional ways of gathering, producing, preparing and eating food. Most importantly, elders can help us reconnect with the worldview and values that underpinned indigenous food systems.</p>
<h2>Colonialism, violence and dispossession</h2>
<p>Food has been central to the colonial project in South Africa since the 1500s, when <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=mkkKAQAAIAAJ&dq=Before%20van%20Riebeeck%3A%20Callers%20at%20South%20Africa&source=gbs_book_other_versions">European ships</a> carrying spices from Asia to Europe stopped at the Cape to replenish food and water. Once <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/jan-van-riebeeck">Jan van Riebeeck</a> established the first European settlement on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape in 1652 and <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/The_Old_Company_s_Garden_at_the_Cape_and/Di8MygEACAAJ?hl=en">started a garden</a> to provision the ships, the process of colonial conquest, forcible removal of indigenous people from their land and exploitation of their labour began.</p>
<p>Both the Dutch and the British seized vast swathes of land, often <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/The_Record_Or_A_Series_of_Official_Paper/vpRRAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0">granting it to European farmers</a> and then charging them with defending it against the erstwhile owners.</p>
<p>Seizure of land from the indigenous Khoi and San people was justified on the basis that they failed to “properly use” the land <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=mkkKAQAAIAAJ&dq=Before%20van%20Riebeeck%3A%20Callers%20at%20South%20Africa&source=gbs_book_other_versions">by cultivating it</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519089/original/file-20230403-1329-a3rhe.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A display of seeds saved by small-scale farmers in Limpopo, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brittany Kesselman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Colonialism brought with it large-scale, labour-intensive <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533958308458332?journalCode=rsdy20">agriculture for domestic markets and export</a> to Europe and its other colonies. Colonists coerced locals into working on European farms. In the Eastern Cape, the British waged <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Struggle_for_the_Eastern_Cape_1800_1.html?id=KImhZwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">outright war</a> against the Xhosa people, destroying their crops in a scorched earth policy designed to convert them into landless labourers. </p>
<p>Later, authorities imposed <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02590123.1986.11964243?casa_token=TsTmT_jtCnAAAAAA:a1y4xY-9bqT4lXndTTllxRubQ7_uJ5UNl0GJ0Zm_itqRhqYAuZTb1-LsL6mFpmBqbX4_kXn1zAhcvg">the hut or poll tax</a> to force self-sufficient African farmers into the wage economy. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533958308458332?journalCode=rsdy20">Forced labour</a> in the form of enslaved Africans and Asians, indentured labourers or captured indigenous people, <a href="https://www.google.co.za/books/edition/Travels_in_the_Interior_of_South_Africa/7l42MwAACAAJ?hl=en">including children</a>, became common.</p>
<p>The spread of white-owned farms <a href="https://www.academia.edu/14430020/THE_COMPANY_S_GARDEN_AND_THE_EX_CHANGE_OF_NATURE_AND_KNOWLEDGE_AT_CAPE_OF_GOOD_HOPE_1652_1700_">transformed the landscape</a>, replacing indigenous plants to cultivate wheat, barley, maize, fruits, wine grapes, sugar and other commodities. Indigenous people lost access to areas where they had previously gathered wild foods, hunted, farmed and herded cattle. They also lost access to water.</p>
<p>There was a strong cultural component to colonialism’s disruption of traditional foodways. Europeans expressed contempt for indigenous foods and eating habits. The missionaries perpetuated this in their churches and schools, imposing European crops, farming styles and ways of eating as part of their <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/za/academic/subjects/religion/church-history/missionary-labours-and-scenes-southern-africa?format=PB&isbn=9781108007948">“civilizing”</a> work. This disdain for indigenous foods has carried on into the present, with traditional foods seen as backwards or <a href="https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/4302">poverty foods</a>.</p>
<h2>Decolonising food systems</h2>
<p>More than 25 years into democracy, South Africa’s food system continues to reflect the highly unequal patterns of power and exploitation from the colonial era, in terms of both domestic inequalities and the country’s place in the global food system. </p>
<p>The skewed <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/land-matters-south-africa%E2%80%99s-failed-land-reforms-and-road-ahead/9781776095964">distribution of agricultural land</a> reflects colonial and apartheid patterns of white ownership. Much of the best produce, including <a href="https://www.namc.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NAMC-DAFF-TradeProbe-69-May-Issue.pdf">most of the fruit</a>, is exported to Europe, while most South Africans <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7254-7">cannot afford</a> to meet their nutritional requirements. The food system is highly <a href="https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/handle/10566/4597">concentrated</a>, with a few large national and international corporations dominating food processing and retail. </p>
<p>The call to decolonise food systems is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21683565.2018.1468380">growing globally</a>. Indigenous peoples around the world want to shift the fundamental worldview that informs what foods are eaten, and how they are obtained and distributed. </p>
<p>This requires moving from a capitalist, profit-driven food system in which food is simply a commodity, to one <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/pgdt/17/1-2/article-p173_173.xml">based on values</a> such as collectivity, reciprocity, kinship with the natural world, spirituality, and respect for the land. </p>
<p>In indigenous food systems, people often worked collectively – for example, in collective work parties known as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44126995">ilima</a> in isiZulu and isiXhosa or <a href="https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/14451">letsema</a> in Setswana. They held rituals such as the first fruits ceremony to express their gratitude for the harvest. When collecting wild greens or fruits, they understood the importance of taking only what was needed and leaving enough behind for other people, animals, and for the survival of the plants.</p>
<p>When they hunted, they used every part of the animal and were shocked to see European colonists waste so much of it. People had ways of preserving and storing foods to ensure they would have enough during leaner times. </p>
<p>These kinds of values, and the practices based on them, would serve as a good basis from which to imagine and create a more just and sustainable food system, with all of the transformative changes that will entail.</p>
<p><em><strong>(*)</strong>: Different groups in different parts of what is now South Africa had very different diets, for cultural as well as ecological reasons. The foodways of the San or Khoi in the Western Cape, for instance, were very different from those of the Batswana to the north. It is not my intention to suggest that all indigenous food systems were the same, but rather to suggest that they shared certain similarities, and that they were violently disrupted by colonialism</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202364/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research received funding from the South African National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>The inequitable distribution of the benefits and harms of the food system is a violation of the constitutional right to food.Brittany Kesselman, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989032023-02-08T08:48:18Z2023-02-08T08:48:18ZPulses are packed with goodness: Five cool things you should know about them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508577/original/file-20230207-19-vtdp97.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">pbd Studio/shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each year on February 10, the United Nations commemorates what probably sounds to many like a strange occasion: <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-pulses-day">World Pulses Day</a>. </p>
<p>But, as a researcher focused on <a href="https://www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/people/nadia-radzman">forgotten and underutilised legumes</a>, I think the initiative is an important step towards food security. Getting people to eat more pulses can ultimately help achieve <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/">UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger</a>.</p>
<p>First, for clarification, “legumes” and “pulses” have different meanings. “Legumes” are all plants belong to the family <em>Leguminosae</em> or <em>Fabaceae</em>, while “pulses” are the dried seeds of legume plants. Pulses include beans, lentils and chickpeas.</p>
<p>One reason that legume plants offer such promise in ending hunger is that they don’t need good soil or nitrogen fertilisers. Plants need nitrogen to build important molecules such as protein and DNA. Most legumes can thrive in poor soil by fixing nitrogen gas from the air for their own use. This happens through symbiotic interaction with friendly bacteria known as rhizobia. The rhizobia are housed inside structures called nodules on the plant’s roots.</p>
<p>Thanks to their nitrogen-fixing ability, pulses are nutritional powerhouses: high in protein and fibre, and low in fat. </p>
<p>But that’s not the only interesting thing about legumes and pulses. In honour of World Pulses Day 2023, I would like to highlight five pulses that have unique properties and stories.</p>
<h2>1. The African yam bean: high protein beans and underground tubers</h2>
<p>The African yam bean (<em>Sphenostylis stenocarpa</em>) offers two servings of food: beans and underground tubers. The tubers have higher protein content than any non-legume tuber crops like potato and cassava, and the beans are also high in protein. Their nutritional value was proved <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4613-0433-3_18">during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)</a> when the beans were cooked with amaranthus, telfaria or cassava leaves to feed the malnourished in war-affected areas.</p>
<p>This crop is native to Africa and was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02866625">once grown across the African continent</a>. Researchers have proposed that it may have been <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02866626">domesticated multiple times in west and central Africa</a>. Today, it is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402032301X">mostly grown as security or subsistence crop</a>, rather than commercially. But its high protein content and drought tolerance are attracting increasing interest.</p>
<h2>2. Common bean: diversity and environmental versatility</h2>
<p>The common bean (<em>Phaseolus vulgaris</em>) comes in many varieties around the world. Examples are black beans, red kidney beans and pinto beans – they look different but they are the same species. What’s special about them is that they can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1024199013926">pair with a larger number of rhizobial species</a> than <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00945/full">other legumes</a> can. This may have helped the common bean to thrive outside its native land and diversify in various habitats around the world. It’s able to fix nitrogen in different environments, making it a resilient legume species.</p>
<h2>3. Pea: a role in early understanding of genetics</h2>
<p>The pea (<em>Pisum sativum</em>) is among the oldest domesticated crops in the world. It contributed to the understanding of genetics, thanks to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gregor-Mendel">Gregor Mendel’s</a> famous <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/gregor-mendel-and-the-principles-of-inheritance-593/">experiment</a> with pea plants. Mendel observed the way that different physical properties of the pea plants were inherited: pod shape, seed shape, seed colour, unripe pod colour, flower colour, stem length, and flower placement. He crossed two pea plants that had different properties and observed the seven traits in the subsequent generations for two years. From this experiment, he established <a href="http://www.dnaftb.org/1/bio.html">Mendel’s Rules of Inheritance</a> – still applicable in modern day genetic study. </p>
<p>The rich genetic diversity of the pea is also <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/2/2/74">a valuable resource for important crop traits</a> that can withstand various weather conditions due to climate change.</p>
<h2>4. Chickpea: built for drought</h2>
<p>Many pulses are drought tolerant and use less water for production than animal-sourced proteins, especially beef. Chickpea (<em>Cicer arietinum</em>) is known to be <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2019.01759/full">highly drought tolerant</a>. Most of this crop is grown under rainfed conditions in arid and semi-arid areas. This special ability to grow where water is scarce is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-006-9197-y">more prominent in wild species of chickpea</a>. Wild chickpeas can also tolerate temperatures up to 40°C – another valuable genetic resource for better drought tolerance in modern chickpeas. </p>
<p>Still, chickpea yield is highly compromised when there is lack of water. Therefore, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0401-3">scientists are looking for beneficial traits</a> that can reduce the yield loss in chickpeas during drought. This may contribute to a more secure food source in the midst of climate change.</p>
<h2>5. Lupins: special cluster roots to seek nutrients</h2>
<p>White lupins (<em>Lupinus albus</em>), yellow lupins (<em>Lupinus luteus</em>) and pearl lupins (<em>Lupinus mutabilis</em>) can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:PLSO.0000016544.18563.86">form special roots</a> to get more nutrients without the need for additional fertilisers. Plants need not only nitrogen but phosphorus. Usually it’s given to plants in fertiliser to increase crop yield. <a href="https://extension.umn.edu/phosphorus-and-potassium/understanding-phosphorus-fertilizers#process-619211">Phosphate fertiliser is made from phosphate rock</a> –- a non-renewable resource which is rapidly depleting through agricultural use. The white, yellow, and pearl lupins have unique root modifications called cluster roots that can liberate phosphorus from soil particles when the nutrient is low. These roots <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-004-2725-7">look like bottlebrush</a> and are formed only when the level of phosphorus in the soil is low. These cluster roots <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/110/2/329/2769292">exude negatively charged compound called carboxylate</a> that can liberate phosphorus from the soil and make it available for the plant to use. So lupins do not have to rely on phosphate fertilisers and can even help neighbouring plants by increasing the phosphorus level in the soil.</p>
<h2>Food security</h2>
<p>Pulses deserve our attention not just on February 10 but every day. The five pulses I’ve presented here can serve as sustainable protein sources and make food systems more diverse. They can greatly contribute to better food security in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198903/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Radzman is a research associate at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University that receives funding from the Gatsby Foundation. She is the co-chair of Cambridge University Food Security Society and a steering committee member of the Cambridge Global Food Security interdisciplinary research centre.</span></em></p>Pulses are important for many reasons. They are packed with nutrition, resilient and crucial for achieving food security in Africa.Nadia Radzman, Research Associate in Plant Biology, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961012023-01-29T14:22:06Z2023-01-29T14:22:06ZHow science and innovation can strengthen global food systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506496/original/file-20230125-24-s7cnmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C191%2C6699%2C4265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Innovations in food systems, like food processing technologies, have enhanced the sensory quality, safety and shelf life of food products.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Scott Warman/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Food systems, from production to consumption, are complex in nature and require co-ordinated efforts at different levels. <a href="https://www.unicef.org/stories/food-systems">Food systems</a> are the public policy decisions, the national and global supply chains and the public or private individuals and groups that influence what we eat.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, current <a href="https://www.wfp.org/food-systems">global food systems are not sustainable</a>. <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2022-un-report--global-hunger-numbers-rose-to-as-many-as-828-million-in-2021">One in nine people</a> are affected by hunger globally. This situation was <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2021-un-report-pandemic-year-marked-by-spike-in-world-hunger">worsened by the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>Global food systems currently do not prevent malnutrition. In fact, they can worsen nutrition and health outcomes with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8">high rates of obesity</a> and related health issues caused by unhealthy diets. Food today also lacks <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment-and-conservation/2022/05/fruits-and-vegetables-are-less-nutritious-than-they-used-to-be">sufficient nutrients</a>.</p>
<p>Food systems affect the environment negatively, contributing about <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086822">one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions from 1990–2015</a>. They are <a href="https://www.wfp.org/food-systems">susceptible to disruptions</a> like the pandemic, the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115852">Russia-Ukraine war</a> or any natural disasters. But science and innovation can offer a way out.</p>
<h2>First steps toward scientific innovations</h2>
<p>UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened <a href="https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit">the Food Systems Summit in 2021</a> with the goal of encouraging stakeholders to collaborate in making tangible, positive changes to global food systems.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1230856010908172294"}"></div></p>
<p>With five action tracks, the summit focused on efforts towards achieving the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> related to food systems, especially <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2">Goal 2 (Zero Hunger)</a>.</p>
<p>Before the Summit, an <a href="https://sc-fss2021.org/">independent Scientific Group</a> was set up to provide input from the global scientific community. Information generated was used to recommend <a href="https://sc-fss2021.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ScGroup_Reader_UNFSS2021.pdf">seven innovation priorities</a> for transforming food systems. Three are directly related to food science and technology.</p>
<h2>Innovations in food science and technology</h2>
<p>Innovations in food science and technology are well-positioned to address many food systems challenges. <a href="https://iufost.org/sites/default/files/IUFoST%20SIB%20-%20Food%20Processing-%20Opportunities%20and%20Challenges.pdf">Food processing</a> has enabled nutrient preservation and the enhancement of sensory quality, safety and shelf life of food products. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00667">Food fortification</a> — the process of adding micronutrients to food — helps meet specific nutritional needs to mitigate malnutrition.</p>
<p><strong>1) Best out of waste:</strong> </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/global-food-waste-solutions/">world wastes millions of tonnes of food</a> every year. Reducing food waste and encouraging people to consume diets with lower carbon footprint would therefore be ideal. But since that seems too idealistic, processing technologies (like <a href="https://innovationorigins.com/en/3d-printer-aims-to-cut-down-on-food-waste-in-restaurants-by-reusing-leftovers/">3D printing</a>) can be used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1378-7_18">convert this waste into new food products,</a> promoting efficient use of resources.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A wheat farm with a tractor in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506493/original/file-20230125-22-w8vgzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Diversification can help reduce the overuse of the five big staple foods, including wheat, and widen the type of nutrients consumed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Scott Butner/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2) Food diversification:</strong></p>
<p>Ongoing food diversification efforts include untapped resources (like <a href="https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k1h0tqi7qq">millets</a> and baobabs) that have high amounts of nutrients. These neglected, underutilized, minor or orphan crops should be consumed more. Using sustainable alternatives like marine-based foods and <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i3253e/i3253e.pdf">edible insects</a> is also gaining popularity in some cultures.</p>
<p>Diversification can help reduce the overuse of the five big staples (maize, rice, wheat, potatoes and cassava) and <a href="https://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/diversifying-food-and-diets/">widen the type of nutrients consumed</a>. It can also encourage local food production, building resilience.</p>
<p><strong>3) Sustainable food processing:</strong></p>
<p>Food processing such as <a href="https://fermentationassociation.org/evidence-of-fermented-health-benefits/#:%7E:text=">fermentation has proven to unlock the health benefits</a> of food. There is strong scientific evidence that the active components of functional foods — foods that offer health benefits beyond their nutritional value — can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0593-9">prevent diseases</a> like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.</p>
<p>This preventative approach to health is largely underutilized.</p>
<h2>Effective implementation equals success</h2>
<p>The main task now is to efficiently implement these recommendations, especially in regions most affected by food insecurity.</p>
<p>Food systems policy initiatives mostly occur at the national and <a href="https://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/en">global levels</a>, and community-level engagements can help increase the chances of sustaining their impact locally. Local engagement can also help gather and implement traditional knowledge and cultural beliefs that influence innovation.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3xHjp_qevbc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Food system solutions need to be locally driven and culturally informed.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This calls for inclusive approaches in gathering scientific data, including through <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/seeds-for-needs-citizen-science-and-crowdsourcing/">citizen science</a>. Data sharing in scientific journals should also expand to include unconventional methods and results, especially those of regional importance, that can expedite the solutions.</p>
<p>Interventions also need to be consumer-focused. Emerging innovations should be driven by public participation and input, instead of industry and funding priorities. Food is an emotive topic and involving the public in discussions on food systems can help reduce misinformation and encourage acceptance of innovations.</p>
<p>At the same time, the political will to drive innovation-focussed food systems locally and globally is also crucial. Industry should be required to prioritize innovations that sustainably produce food with direct public benefit. </p>
<p>Increased financial investment is also needed. The UN Food Systems Summit Scientific Group proposed that governments around the world should spend at least <a href="https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/publication/science-transformation-food-systems-opportunities-un-food-systems-summit_en#:%7E:text=The%20Brief%20proposes%2C%20as%20a%20key%20food%20systems,in%20reaching%20quickly%20the%20equivalent%20of%20this%20target.">one per cent of their agricultural GDP on food systems science and innovation</a>. This support should also be extended for the creation of small businesses and niche markets for unconventional food products, especially in rural communities and low- and middle-income countries.</p>
<p>Lastly, the complexity of food systems today requires the collaboration across different scientific disciplines and sectors when it comes to developing and implementing solutions. Academic and research institutions should therefore update their policies to adequately reward such collaborative approaches that stand a better chance of providing solutions than the status quo.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chibuike Udenigwe receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p>Innovations in food science and technology are well-positioned to address many existing food systems challenges.Chibuike Udenigwe, Professor and University Research Chair in Food Properties and Nutrient Bioavailability, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1901842022-11-17T17:51:17Z2022-11-17T17:51:17ZPakistan floods: ancient grains like millet could be key to rebuilding food systems<p>The UN estimates that the floods which besieged Pakistan in the summer of 2022 have affected <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126001">33 million people</a>, with over 2 million homes destroyed and over 8 million people <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/study-pakistan-flood-damages-economic-losses-exceed-30-billion-/6810207.html">displaced</a> in a region which already struggles with high rates of malnutrition.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02813-6">report</a> showed that the flooding followed severe heat. Parched land cannot easily <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/drought-causing-floods">absorb water</a> from swollen rivers and the soil will need time to recover, delaying the sowing of next season’s crops. Receding flood waters are also more likely to leave pastures contaminated by harmful microbes <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/chapter/chapter-5/">such as salmonella</a>.</p>
<p>When floods last devastated Pakistan in 2010, an <a href="https://www.ifpri.org/publication/rehabilitating-agriculture-and-promoting-food-security-following-2010-pakistan-floods">analysis</a> by the International Food Policy Research Institute argued that, as a country with just under 40% of the population <a href="https://www.fao.org/pakistan/our-office/pakistan-at-a-glance/en/">employed in agriculture</a>, Pakistan needed to invest in the recovery of its farming sector as a priority.</p>
<p>The recent inundation of fields has destroyed standing crops of commercial rice and cotton and those which are consumed in the country, like tomatoes and onions. It has also shrunk the area of land available to grow more food. Resulting cuts to food production will force Pakistan to import produce from abroad. As Pakistan tries to rebuild its agriculture, the world should pay attention: other countries must also learn how to create food systems which can withstand a turbulent future.</p>
<p>Pakistan’s farms are irrigated by the Indus, one of the longest rivers in the world. Glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountain ranges sustain her five major tributaries, but they have shrunk since the 1970s. The latest IPCC <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/">report</a> showed that snow cover in these mountains is melting more rapidly than in previous decades, raising the volume of water in rivers and making flooding more likely.</p>
<p>Food production globally relies on river waters fed by the predictable melting of glacial ice in summer months. Supplies of wheat, rice and maize that make up just <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/world-development-indicators/series/AG.PRD.CREL.MT">over 70%</a> of the cereal consumed worldwide will not remain secure if glaciers continue to destabilise. Retreating glaciers and increasing droughts followed by more frequent floods will <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-2/">slash food production</a> in the European Alps, Scandinavia and the Tibetan Plateau. The past decade has already seen extreme weather in Italy preventing the cultivation of the prized <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/extreme-drought-threatens-italy-rice-crops-and-its-beloved-risotto">risotto variety of rice</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A glacier bordered by steep valley walls." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490592/original/file-20221019-11-qmnkmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pakistan’s Passu glacier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/passu-glacier-situated-south-side-village-1617669451">Roy Poloi/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Climate-proofing agriculture</h2>
<p>The cultivation of large-grain cereals like wheat and rice has become the norm in South Asia since the 1960s. Wheat is the primary crop grown in the flooded provinces of <a href="http://www.amis.pk/agristatistics/Data/HTML%20Final/Wheat/Production.html">Punjab and Sindh</a>, for example. Agricultural scientists suggest that <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115902">millets</a> would be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311916614508">more suitable</a>. These “pseudograins” come from broad-leafed plants with small seeds that were very popular in earlier centuries and can be turned into flour to make dough. Along with amaranth and fonio (two more crops with small, hardy seeds), millets are increasing in popularity <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/20/ancient-crops-climate-crisis-amaranth-fonio-cowpeas-taro-kernza">globally</a>. A recent <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/ancient-grains-market-2022-2030-pin-point-analysis-and-future-growth-strategies-2022-09-20">market analysis</a> indicated that the production of these ancient grains could grow, as increasing global demand is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 26% between 2022 and 2030.</p>
<p>Cultivating a wider choice of crops would let farmers compensate for falling yields as intensifying heatwaves make wheat cultivation <a href="https://www.apn-gcr.org/bulletin/article/future-changes-in-growing-degree-days-of-wheat-crop-in-pakistan-as-simulated-in-cordex-south-asia-experiments/">increasingly difficult</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A plant with many small yellow bulbs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/490591/original/file-20221019-15-y5rfvy.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Millet is a versatile, gluten-free grain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/plant-panicum-miliaceum-commonly-known-proso-1913766916">Krolya25/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These alternative grains are typically favoured by farmers with less than two acres of land in <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1092492">Asia and Africa</a>. Their cultivation could reduce poverty in these rural communities by allowing farmers to sell their produce in <a href="https://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll2/id/135889">global markets</a>.</p>
<p>Flood-ravaged regions of Pakistan must return to food production and escape hunger as soon as possible. Given the quickening cycles of drought and flooding triggered by global heating, growing hardier alternative crops makes sense. And as water becomes less reliable, crop production could be stabilised by modifying water mangagement systems, including a switch to drip irrigation which <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/news/a-climate-smart-remodeling-of-south-asias-rice-wheat-cropping-is-urgent/">saves water</a> by laying pipes which trickle moisture on or below the soil.</p>
<p>A greater selection of crops could also offer a <a href="https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/strengthening-food-systems-in-pakistan">more diverse diet</a> for local people. In the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, only 10% of vegetables grown are processed locally, giving this food a short shelf life and preventing farmers from selling their produce in Pakistan. Investment in transport and storage to reduce spoilage could enable a thriving vegetable trade <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/113510">between provinces</a>.</p>
<p>Resilient food systems in other parts of the world could emulate these proposed changes in Pakistan by diversifying crops to include older, hardier varieties, adopting water conservation methods and helping communities grow both cereals and vegetables which can be eaten locally, for better nutrition and more secure livelihoods.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shailaja Fennell receives funding from UKRI</span></em></p>Extreme weather will continue to disrupt global food systems.Shailaja Fennell, Professor in Regional Transformation and Economic Security, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1890462022-08-29T05:16:29Z2022-08-29T05:16:29ZNot like udder milk: ‘synthetic’ dairy milk made without cows may be coming to a supermarket near you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481469/original/file-20220829-65743-2q6nxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C0%2C3964%2C2994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The global dairy industry is changing. Among the disruptions is competition from food alternatives not produced using animals – including potential challenges posed by synthetic milk.</p>
<p>Synthetic milk does not require cows or other animals. It can have the same biochemical make up as animal milk, but is grown using an emerging biotechnology technique know as “<a href="https://ecos.csiro.au/whats-brewing-precision-fermentation/">precision fermentation</a>” that produces biomass cultured from cells.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fao.org/3/CA2929EN/ca2929en.pdf">More than 80%</a> of the world’s population regularly consume dairy products. There have been increasing calls to move beyond animal-based food systems to more sustainable forms of food production.</p>
<p>Synthetic milks offer dairy milk without concerns such as <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-change/carbon-farming-reducing-methane-emissions-cattle-using-feed-additives">methane emissions</a> or <a href="https://www.rspca.org.au/take-action/dairy-cattle-and-bobby-calves">animal welfare</a>. But it must overcome many challenges and pitfalls to become a fair, sustainable and viable alternative to animal-based milk.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="dairy cows on green grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481472/original/file-20220829-65819-723k9s.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Synthetic milks offer dairy milk produced without animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not a sci-fi fantasy</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-022-10338-x">recent research</a> examined megatrends in the global dairy sector. Plant-based milks and, potentially, synthetic milks, emerged as a key disruption.</p>
<p>Unlike synthetic meat – which can struggle to match the complexity and texture of animal meat – synthetic milk is <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/the-start-up-that-makes-milk-without-using-any-cows-20210725-p58cq6">touted</a> as having the same taste, look and feel as normal dairy milk. </p>
<p>Synthetic milk is not a sci-fi fantasy; it already exists. In the US, for example, the <a href="https://perfectday.com/animal-free-milk-protein/">Perfect Day</a> company supplies animal-free protein made from microflora, which is then <a href="https://perfectday.com/made-with-perfect-day/">used to make</a> ice cream, protein powder and milk.</p>
<p>In Australia, start-up company Eden Brew has been developing synthetic milk at Werribee in Victoria. The company is <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/the-start-up-that-makes-milk-without-using-any-cows-20210725-p58cq6">targeting</a> consumers increasingly concerned about climate change and, in particular, the contribution of methane from dairy cows.</p>
<p>CSIRO reportedly developed the technology behind the Eden Brew product. The process starts with yeast and uses “precision fermentation” to produce the same proteins found in cow milk. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/research/production/food/eden-brew">CSIRO says</a> these proteins give milk many of its key properties and contribute to its creamy texture and frothing ability. Minerals, sugars, fats and flavours are added to the protein base to create the final product.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/which-milk-is-best-for-the-environment-we-compared-dairy-nut-soy-hemp-and-grain-milks-147660">Which 'milk' is best for the environment? We compared dairy, nut, soy, hemp and grain milks</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="packets of whey protein and chocolate brownie mix" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481473/original/file-20220829-40207-chcr43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">US food-tech company Perfect Day makes ice cream and other ‘dairy’ products without using animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Perfect Day</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Towards a new food system?</h2>
<p>Also in Australia, the All G Foods company this month <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/synthetic-milk-start-up-all-g-foods-banks-25m-from-uk-s-argonomics-20220804-p5b79m">raised A$25 million</a> to accelerate production of its synthetic milk. Within seven years, the company wants its synthetic milk to be cheaper than cow milk. </p>
<p>If the synthetic milk industry can achieve this cost aim across the board, the potential to disrupt the dairy industry is high. It could steer humanity further away from traditional animal agriculture towards radically different food systems.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="a bottle of 'zero cow' milk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=712&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481475/original/file-20220829-48396-j0oya3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All G foods wants its synthetic milk to be cheaper than cow-based milk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">All G Foods</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.rethinkx.com/food-and-agriculture">2019 report</a> into the future of dairy found that by 2030, the US precision fermentation industry will create at least 700,000 jobs.</p>
<p>And if synthetic milk can replace dairy as an ingredient in the industrial food processing sector, this could present significant challenges for companies that produce milk powder for the ingredient market.</p>
<p>Some traditional dairy companies are jumping on the bandwagon. For example, Australian dairy co-operative Norco is backing the Eden Brew project, and New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra last week <a href="https://www.fonterra.com/nz/en/our-stories/media/fonterra-ramps-up-opportunities-in-complementary-nutrition-partnership.html">annouced</a> a joint venture to develop and commercialise “fermentation-derived proteins with dairy-like properties”.</p>
<h2>Synthetic milk: the whey forward?</h2>
<p>The synthetic milk industry must grow exponentially before it becomes a sizeable threat to animal-based dairy milk. This <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/synthetic-milk-start-up-all-g-foods-banks-25m-from-uk-s-argonomics-20220804-p5b79m">will require</a> a lot of capital and investment in research and development, as well as new manufacturing infrastructure such as fermentation tanks and bioreactors. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/world-dairy-projections-milk-butter-and-cheese_0ca74b06-en">Production</a> of conventional animal-milk in the Global South now outstrips that of the Global North, largely due to rapid growth across Asia. Certainly, the traditional dairy industry is not going away any time soon. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-milk-the-whole-milk-and-nothing-but-the-milk-the-story-behind-our-dairy-woes-124290">The milk, the whole milk and nothing but the milk: the story behind our dairy woes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman looks at milk in supermarket in Vietnam" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481480/original/file-20220829-43735-15g7ie.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Demand for animal milk in Asia has grown rapidly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RICHARD VOGEL/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And synthetic milk is not a panacea. While the technology has huge potential for environmental and animal welfare gains, it comes with challenges and potential downsides.</p>
<p>For example, alternative proteins do not necessarily challenge the corporatisation or homogenisation of conventional industrial agriculture. This means big synthetic milk producers might push out low-tech or small-scale dairy – and alternative dairy – systems.</p>
<p>What’s more, synthetic milk could further displace many people from the global dairy sector. If traditional dairy co-ops in Australia and New Zealand are moving into synthetic milk, for example, where does this leave dairy farmers?</p>
<p>As synthetic milk gains ground in coming years, we must guard against replicating existing inequities in the current food system. </p>
<p>And the traditional dairy sector must recognise it’s on the cusp of pivotal change. In the face of multiple threats, it should maximise the social benefits of both animal-based dairy and minimise its contribution to climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189046/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Milena Bojovic 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>Synthetic milk offers dairy milk without the concerns such as methane emissions or animal welfare. But is it the whey forward?Milena Bojovic, PhD Candidate, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864382022-07-27T14:56:22Z2022-07-27T14:56:22ZFood security ‘experts’ don’t have all the answers: community knowledge is key<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474682/original/file-20220718-71797-y2eczw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Julian May examining food supplies in the home of Brenda Siko, who runs an unregistered early childhood development centre in Worcester's Mandela Square informal settlement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashraf Hendricks</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa is in the grips of a food system paradox. It’s a country known for its agricultural production and has a sophisticated policy framework. Yet, millions of its residents <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb7496en/cb7496en.pdf">are malnourished</a>. Nearly <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb7496en/cb7496en.pdf">one in four children are stunted</a> as a result of their mother’s poor nutrition during pregnancy and their own malnutrition in early life. </p>
<p>It is a complex crisis. And responding to it is being made even harder as climate change increasingly hits food production. <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/10066">Evidence suggests</a> that wildfires, irregular rainfall, heat and droughts will increasingly endanger agricultural production. This will threaten jobs in the agricultural sector. It will also affect the quantity, quality and price of food.</p>
<p>Too often, potential responses or solutions don’t take people’s own daily experiences into account. Researchers fall into the trap of habitual thinking. They make assumptions. But they do not listen to or learn from communities on the front lines of the crisis.</p>
<p>That’s why, in a rural South African town, we <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003021339-12/facilitated-dialogues-scott-drimie-colleen-magner-laura-pereira-lakshmi-charli-joseph-michele-lee-moore-per-olsson-jes%C3%BAs-mario-siqueiros-garcia-olive-zgambo?context=ubx&refId=34081abc-c2f0-46fd-bf85-d25c3a8c0d5e">adopted</a> a “learning journey” approach. This is an <a href="https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10177-230302">innovative research process</a> whereby a broad and inclusive range of participants literally undertake a journey to explore a complex system and gain firsthand experience of problems. </p>
<p>During several “<a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/news/breede-river-municipality-hosts-unique-food-security-learning-journey/">learning journeys</a>”, both we and the research participants gained new perspectives on the complexity of processes related to food. Rather than looking at the issue generally, we were able to home in on place-based challenges – and potential solutions. This breaks with traditional modes of thinking that focus on “one size fits all” solutions. </p>
<p>Participants were empowered to take stock of existing local potential. They identified local assets such as crèches and informal traders that might be used to tackle elements of the food system crisis. The research also reminded us, powerfully, that people don’t live in economic sectors. They live in places.</p>
<h2>Immersing into Worcester</h2>
<p>Worcester is about 110 kilometres from Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape province and has a population of nearly 128,000. </p>
<p>It is typical of many rural towns in South Africa with a stark reality: a <a href="https://www.groundup.org.za/media/uploads/documents/gg-worcester-report-26.4.21.pdf#page=8">quarter of its children under five are malnourished</a>. Many adults subsist on nutritionally poor diets, resulting in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34466875/">poor health outcomes</a> like obesity.</p>
<p>Our research group has conducted three learning journeys in Worcester since late 2021. Participants include community members, local and provincial government officials, academics, activists, food advocacy groups and early childhood development practitioners. Together we have visited sites where residents procure both monthly staples and fresh fruit and vegetables and where early childhood development facilities are concentrated. It’s in these places that many Worcester residents purchase food and young children receive both care and food.</p>
<p>Immersing into these places, hosted by people affected by the food system, revealed how different systems overlap to shape dietary health.</p>
<p>The “learning journeys” offered valuable insights. For instance, it emerged that crime is a problem for food retailers as much as for consumers. Without adequate safety, people are vulnerable to crime. Another issue is that a great deal of the fresh produce sold by retailers in Worcester is sourced in Cape Town, rather than locally. This transportation of food, particularly fresh vegetables – when the same produce is grown locally – raises costs and is bad for the environment. </p>
<p>Street traders and spaza shops – small, informal food retailers that are often home-based – did much better in this regard. They offered reasonably priced and diverse fruit and vegetables sourced from local farms. </p>
<p>It also became clear that early childhood development centres play a potentially crucial role in providing nutrition to young children. But school principals complained that it was difficult to officially register their institutions. This prevented them from getting government subsidies to help feed children and from accessing land which they wished to use for food gardens. </p>
<p>After each “learning journey”, participants gathered for “learning labs”. There, people shared their experiences and insights. This is a way for everyone to share their knowledge – and to recognise that “experts” don’t have all the answers. A ward councillor reflected that when programmes don’t address food explicitly, they too often have a negative effect and perpetuate the ills in the food system.</p>
<h2>Consolidating learning, committing to action</h2>
<p>In the final session, representatives from the provincial and local governments and from civil society organisations identified new opportunities for collaboration and implementation.</p>
<p>First, the lessons of this research will be complemented with detailed urban food system mapping data using household surveys. This will be paired with spatial modelling approaches, enabling town planners to predict the likely effect of external shocks to the food system, such as those caused by climate change. They can then take local, targeted mitigating actions. </p>
<p>Work will also be conducted to help local government use food systems management to try to offset the negative impacts of climate change. The Breede Valley Municipality, of which Worcester is part, will be a critical partner throughout this process. </p>
<p>If a climate-resilient food system is to emerge in Worcester, or in similar towns throughout South Africa, it is clear that it will only do so through local cooperation, knowledge co-production, collective action, and the creation of a shared vision of what a socially just and sustainable food system looks like. We believe that our work in Worcester is an important early step in this process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Drimie is affiliated with the Southern Africa Food Lab. In a partnership involving the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape, the Southern Africa Food Lab at Stellenbosch University, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership, and with the full cooperation of the local Breede Valley Municipality (BVM), ‘learning journeys’ have taken place in the Western Cape town of Worcester. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Eichinger works for the Institute for Environmental Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Some of this work was part of A Long term EU- Africa research and innovation Partnership on food and nutrition security and sustainable Agriculture (LEAP-Agri) and ERA-NET cofund FOSC, research and innovation programmes funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No 727715 and grant agreement No 862555.</span></em></p>A ‘learning journey’ research process exposed a broad group of participants to local realities of the food system and childcare in a small town.Scott Drimie, Adjunct Professor, Stellenbosch UniversityMichelle Eichinger, Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843652022-06-07T12:32:24Z2022-06-07T12:32:24ZChanges are coming to school meals nationwide – an expert in food policy explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466869/original/file-20220602-183-w294c0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C33%2C4477%2C2978&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Eating well makes it easier to concentrate on learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tyden-brownlee-picks-up-a-free-school-lunch-at-olympic-news-photo/1207638083">Karen Ducey/Stringer via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>For the two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. public schools have been able to provide free meals for all students, including to-go meals in the summer. But on June 30, 2022, <a href="https://theconversation.com/schools-will-stop-serving-free-lunch-to-all-students-a-pandemic-solution-left-out-of-a-new-federal-spending-package-179058">the federal waivers that expanded the school lunch program will expire</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>In May 2022, SciLine interviewed <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fPDErC8AAAAJ&hl=en">Marlene Schwartz</a>, a professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut and the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, about how these changes will affect children and families and how food pantries can help.</em></p>
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<p><em>The Conversation has collaborated with SciLine to bring you highlights from the discussion, which have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<h2>What is the role of school food in children’s overall diet and health?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: School food plays an important role, particularly since <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/healthy-hunger-free-kids-act">the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was passed in 2010</a>, improved the National School Lunch Program. About <a href="https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/primer-school_breakfast_program_national_lunch_program/">30 million children a day</a> participate in the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp">National School Lunch Program</a>. </p>
<p>The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act required the USDA to update not just the rules about what was served for the reimbursable lunch, but also the rules for things like snacks and beverages that are sold in vending machines or other places in the school.</p>
<p>Research has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2019.10.022">the meals served now are better</a>, that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.9517">the meals children are eating are better</a>, and, in fact, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00133">some data suggests</a> that the trajectory of childhood obesity that has been such a concern has been attenuated because of the success of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.</p>
<h2>During the pandemic, the federal government provided waivers to school food programs so they can change their services. What changes have the waivers permitted?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz:</strong> The largest change was allowing for all of the children to receive meals at no cost. That dramatically increased the number of children who had access to school meals.</p>
<p>Another large change that came from the waivers was for the summer meal program. Typically, that program is much smaller, and meals are served at particular sites in a community and children need to be brought there by a parent, and they need to eat the meal on-site. </p>
<p>During COVID-19, the USDA allowed that program to provide meals to-go. Breakfasts, lunches were packaged up and were distributed to the parents of the children, and this increased participation because it allowed parents to access these foods in a way that worked with their own schedules, particularly if they are working parents.</p>
<h2>Assuming the waivers will expire as scheduled on June 30, how are schools going to cope?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: It’s hard to know how schools are going to cope, but dropping the waivers will make their jobs much harder.</p>
<p>We are adding the administrative burden of having to go back to collecting information from families to see who qualifies for the meals, and then, in the actual serving of the meals, having to know who’s eligible for reduced or free meals and collecting money from those who pay. Those are things that, over the last couple of years, food service directors have not had to manage, giving them more time to really focus instead on the meals.</p>
<p>It’s also important to recognize that we are still facing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1077371645/schools-scramble-to-feed-kids-as-supply-chain-issues-persist">supply chain issues</a>. Food service directors often order the food months in advance. When that food doesn’t show up, they really need to scramble to find substitutes. Those problems have increased the burden on them to run the program.</p>
<h2>What are the effects of making school meals free for all students?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: The findings are pretty clear that when students have universal free meals, <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">participation in school meals programs goes up</a>, so more children eat them. And research shows that the meals that are provided through the school meal program are of higher nutritional quality than the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.5262">meals that children bring from home or get from other places</a>.</p>
<p>Some studies have found that when you provide universal free meals, you have <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">improvements in academic performance,</a> particularly for students who are at higher risk.</p>
<p>There is also evidence in <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911">some studies</a> that universal free school meals help improve family food insecurity rates. When a family knows that their child can get breakfast and lunch every day at school, it really allows them to save their food budget to purchase other foods for the house. And that helps them be more food-secure.</p>
<h2>What is the role of food banks and pantries in shaping the diet and health of vulnerable children and families?</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A long line of cars wraps around a parking lot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466870/original/file-20220602-15259-yyascj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are over 200 food banks across the country that distribute food to thousands of food pantries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/residents-line-up-in-their-cars-at-a-food-distribution-site-news-photo/1229725297">Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: Within the charitable food system, there’s been a real shift in thinking that has been a change from giving away as many pounds of food as possible to really looking at the nutritional quality of those pounds. That’s thanks in part to <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/">Feeding America</a>, which is a national network of food banks, and <a href="https://www.ahealthieramerica.org/">Partnership for a Healthier America</a>, which is part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. Both of them are working with food banks around the country to really help them track the nutritional quality of their food and set goals for themselves in terms of maximizing the most nutritious foods they are able to distribute.</p>
<h2>What do you wish people knew about the current state of school foods?</h2>
<p><strong>Marlene Schwartz</strong>: One thing that I would really like people to acknowledge is the improvements that have occurred in the school meal program after the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. One of the challenges that I’ve noticed in my research is that sometimes the menu that you get from your school says things like chicken nuggets, pizza, tacos, hamburger, and a parent might think that doesn’t sound healthy. </p>
<p>What they don’t know is that those chicken nuggets are baked, not fried, and probably are whole grain breadcrumbs. The pizza probably has a whole grain crust, lower-fat cheese and vegetables on it. There’s this tension between wanting to create school menus that will be appealing to children and also communicate the nutrition information to parents. And that’s not the easiest thing to do.</p>
<p><em>SciLine is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlene B. Schwartz has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Agriculture, Connecticut State Department of Education, Partnership for a Healthier America, Feeding America, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Horizon Foundation. </span></em></p>An expert on food policy explains how the end of COVID-19 waivers will impact children’s access to food, as well as the importance of food banks and pantries.Marlene B. Schwartz, Director, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1835062022-06-06T19:23:42Z2022-06-06T19:23:42ZLong-standing systems for sustainable farming could feed people and the planet — if industry is willing to step back<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465818/original/file-20220527-25-519qnt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5559%2C2792&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Burren, in western Ireland, is home to a traditional regenerative system of cattle management known as winterage. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Philip Loring)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Global food systems are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.683100">at a breaking point</a>. Not only are they responsible for roughly <a href="https://drawdown.org/sectors/food-agriculture-land-use">a quarter</a> of global greenhouse gas emissions, they are also the top contributors to <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/CA0146EN/">water pollution</a> and <a href="https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/food-systems-and-natural-resources">biodiversity collapse</a>. </p>
<p>On top of that, many aspects of our food systems are extremely vulnerable to disruptions from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-019-0010-4">climate change</a> and other shocks, as we saw in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01532-y">the first months of the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Agroecology — an approach to farming long practised by <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/healing-grounds">Indigenous</a> and <a href="https://bookstore.acresusa.com/products/in-the-shadow-of-green-man">peasant communities</a> around the world — could transform our food systems for the better. And agribusinesses in the Global North are actively looking to agroecology to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/08/19/regenerative-agriculture-the-next-trend-in-food-retailing/?sh=170ce8b42153">rebrand and build new markets</a> under the banners of <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-technologies-that-will-help-make-the-food-system-carbon-neutral-182846">carbon farming and regenerative agriculture</a>. </p>
<p>But, a relentless focus on single outcomes, such as <a href="https://digitally.cognizant.com/moving-beyond-carbon-tunnel-vision-with-a-sustainability-data-strategy-codex7121">carbon</a>, coupled with industry’s instinct to define and standardize, threatens the transformative potential of agroecology.</p>
<h2>Win-win food systems</h2>
<p>In addition to their immense ecological costs, our food systems are also <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-global-food-systems-are-rife-with-injustice-heres-how-we-can-change-this-163596">tremendously unjust</a>. As many as <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment#moderate-food-insecurity">one in four people</a> experience moderate or severe food insecurity. The global expansion of industrial agriculture <a href="https://foodispower.org/our-food-choices/colonization-food-and-the-practice-of-eating/">continues to be</a> a vehicle for the violent spread of colonialism. </p>
<p>Agroecology offers the promise of a <a href="https://www.findingournichebook.com/">win-win</a>, where people nourish themselves while <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-researchers-plant-seeds-of-hope-for-health-and-climate-106217">restoring ecosystems and addressing the harms and legacies of colonialism</a>. </p>
<p>It is also at the centre of the <a href="https://foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/what-food-sovereignty">food sovereignty movement</a>, a global constellation of peasant- and Indgenous-led organizations fighting for the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food, produced in a way that is ecologically sound and socially acceptable. Food sovereignty is arguably the single <a href="https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/food-sovereignty">largest social movement</a> in the world. </p>
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<img alt="A woman in a striped shirt hoists a bundle of corn ears with a rope." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467225/original/file-20220606-16-67k9mu.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">A member of the Rural Women’s Farmers Association of Ghana hangs corn to preserve the seeds for sowing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Global Justice Now/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>La Via Campesina, the movement’s largest organization, represents over <a href="https://www.tni.org/en/transnational-institute">200 million farmers</a> in 70 countries. And the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, which operates <a href="https://afsafrica.org/our-members/">in 50 countries</a>, is the largest civil society movement on the continent. </p>
<p>Agroecology aligns with the food sovereignty movement because it is <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-61315-0_2">inherently emancipatory and democratic</a>. Where industrial food production emphasizes scalability and proprietary technology, consolidating and controlling power and wealth, agroecological practices require wealth and power to be held locally. Producers must have the freedom, flexibility and resources to <a href="https://ensia.com/voices/food-production-regenerative-agriculture-scale/">build healthy and just relationships</a> in communities and among the people and the land. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-many-people-not-enough-food-isnt-the-cause-of-hunger-and-food-insecurity-179168">'Too many people, not enough food' isn't the cause of hunger and food insecurity</a>
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<p>For example, crop development through genetic modification <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10265-3">is closed off to many</a> by intellectual property laws, patents and the high technological competencies and equipment involved. On-farm domestication and breeding are, by contrast, democratic technologies because they necessarily open and entirely reliant on local knowledge and sharing. </p>
<h2>Colonizing agroecology</h2>
<p>Corporate plans to invest in regenerative agriculture appear to be mere appropriations of agroecological practices, <a href="https://thecounter.org/regenerative-agriculture-racial-equity-climate-change-carbon-farming-environmental-issues/">hollowed out of their potential</a> for supporting broad societal transformation.</p>
<p>Agroecological systems are networks of relationships, not collections of practices. They cannot be easily rendered into a set of definitions, standards or technological principles. </p>
<p>For example, Indigenous agroforestry, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102257">a system of forest relations called <em>chagra</em></a>, played an essential role in establishing the rich biodiversity of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/its-now-clear-that-ancient-humans-helped-enrich-the-amazon/518439">much of the Amazon</a>. For the practitioners, <em>chagra</em> cannot be distinguished from the forest itself. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-we-raise-livestock-sustainably-a-win-win-solution-for-climate-change-deforestation-and-biodiversity-loss-176416">Can we raise livestock sustainably? A win-win solution for climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss</a>
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<p>Reginaldo Haslet-Marroquin, CEO of the <a href="https://www.regenagalliance.org/">Regenerative Agriculture Alliance</a>, describes the push to define regenerative agriculture as an act of colonization. “It is fundamental for achieving a regenerative outcome to <em>not</em> define it,” <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/episode/49547148">he told me in a recent interview</a>. “To <em>not</em> reduce it to our myopic understanding of things … to the limitations of our colonizing minds. … Rather, we seek to understand what is, and what isn’t regenerative.”</p>
<p>To put it another way, regenerative is not a technological claim but an ethical one related to how we link knowledge and wisdom <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10282-2">to organize ourselves and our practices</a> in relation to one another and to the land. </p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="59" data-image="" data-title="Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin - Excerpt from the Second Transition Podcast, Episode 13." data-size="979192" data-source="(Philip Loring)" data-source-url="https://www.spreaker.com/episode/49547148" data-license="CC BY-NC-SA" data-license-url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">
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Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin - Excerpt from the Second Transition Podcast, Episode 13.
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.spreaker.com/episode/49547148">(Philip Loring)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a><span class="download"><span>956 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/2514/00-audiograms-regi-teaser-2.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
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<h2>An ethical space</h2>
<p>Standards and definitions can help expose <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/07/what-is-greenwashing/">greenwashing</a>, but they can also have unintended consequences. My research on Alaska fisheries, for example, offered <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23360333">lessons</a> about how focusing only on the environmental dimensions of sustainability can perpetuate or even worsen social inequities. </p>
<p>The Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) certification, which is the largest framework for fishery sustainability, has also been critiqued along similar lines. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.10.003">MSC has improved ecological practices</a> in fisheries and created new ways for businesses to profit from fisheries, but it has also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2011.00345.x">marginalized some communities</a> and created <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104526">barriers to entry</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12683">boundaries to innovation</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An aerial view of an island coastline with a rocky wall creating an intertidal pool area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467222/original/file-20220606-18-y5rcah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A large clam garden terrace in the Gulf Islands, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Mary Morris, Simon Fraser University/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Agroecological systems are <a href="https://theconversation.com/regenerative-agriculture-can-make-farmers-stewards-of-the-land-again-110570">as diverse</a> as the people practising them and the places where they are practised. <a href="https://clamgarden.com/">Indigenous clam gardens</a> in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are a world away from the system of ranching known as <a href="https://www.burrenwinterage.com/">cattle winterage</a> in the Burren of Ireland. But they share an ethical landscape defined by a commitment to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2012.06.008">social and ecological justice</a>. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that regenerative agriculture and other agroecological practices can help address climate change, including by <a href="https://capi-icpa.ca/explore/resources/translating-science-to-policy-approaches-to-increase-soil-carbon-sequestration-in-canadas-croplands/">sequestering carbon in the soil</a>. But, at a time when innovation and diffusion of new ideas are urgently needed, fostering an ethical agroecological space where people can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.05.016">experiment</a> and <a href="https://ccafs.cgiar.org/resources/publications/social-learning-practice-review-lessons-impacts-and-tools-climate">share</a> is a more promising theory of change than creating mechanisms to enforce uniformity and exclusion. </p>
<p>Agribusiness has an opportunity to be part of a global transition to more ecologically sound and socially just food systems. That will require the sector to set aside narrow understandings of the problem and abandon the imperative to colonize the spaces of innovation long-held by Indigenous Peoples and other racialized people around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip A Loring receives funding from the Arrell Food Institute, from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada</span></em></p>Industry seeks to capitalize on regenerative agriculture, but standards that focus only on carbon or other select environmental metrics will undermine its transformative potentialPhilip A Loring, Associate Professor and Arrell Chair in Food, Policy, and Society, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1828462022-05-18T19:46:16Z2022-05-18T19:46:16Z5 technologies that will help make the food system carbon neutral<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463993/original/file-20220518-13-m3o8vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=63%2C45%2C3765%2C2109&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The key to unlocking the benefits of new agricultural technologies is to develop food systems where the waste products from one step become valuable inputs in another.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Globally, about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2012.11708">one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions</a> come from agriculture and food systems. The carbon footprint of food systems includes all the emissions from its growing, processing, transportation and waste. </p>
<p>Agriculture is also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/ng-interactive/2022/apr/14/climate-crisis-food-systems-not-ready-biodiversity">vulnerable to the effects of climate change</a> and, as the conflict in <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/war-ukraine-amplifying-already-prevailing-food-crisis-west-africa-and-sahel-region">Ukraine</a> demonstrates, food systems can be exposed to geopolitics. </p>
<p>Several technologies are already available that can help decarbonize the complex systems that link producers and consumers. These technologies can also make our food systems much more resilient to global threats. Here are five that we think show tremendous potential.</p>
<h2>1. Carbon farms and regenerative agriculture</h2>
<p>Today, most of the greenhouse gas emissions linked with our food come from producing the food, and are emitted when the soils are plowed. This is important as <a href="https://theconversation.com/farming-without-disturbing-soil-could-cut-agricultures-climate-impact-by-30-new-research-157153">undisturbed soils store carbon</a>. </p>
<p>But with some relatively small changes to management, soils can once again become carbon sinks. For instance, planting legumes and <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/forage-crops">forage crops</a> every few years, rather than just growing commodities like wheat or corn, or seeding a cover crop in the fall, when fields would otherwise be bare, allow organic matter to build up and help the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.577723">soil to absorb carbon</a>. Not only does this help slow climate change, it also protects soils from erosion. </p>
<p>The idea that farmers can simply use more crop types may not seem technologically sophisticated, but it does work. And a new generation of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2019.10.022">smart farming tools</a>, which includes farming equipment that uses big data and artificial intelligence, will soon help farmers adopt these practices that produce food and trap carbon. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-is-poised-to-get-a-lot-more-expensive-but-it-doesnt-have-to-162206">Food is poised to get a lot more expensive, but it doesn't have to</a>
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<p>These smart farming tools are part of a broader digital agricultural revolution, also known of as precision farming, that will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100516-053654">allow farmers to reduce their environmental impact</a> and track how much greenhouse gas their fields are capturing, creating a carbon ledger that documents their efforts. </p>
<h2>2. Smart fertilizers</h2>
<p>Traditionally, it takes a lot of <a href="https://www.fertilizer.org/images/Library_Downloads/2014_ifa_ff_ammonia_emissions_july.pdf">fossil fuels to turn nitrogen from the air into fertilizer</a>. Additionally, it is <a href="https://p2irc.usask.ca/articles/2021/challenges-and-potential-solutions-to-improve-fertilizer-use---may-2021-final.pdf">challenging for farmers to put exactly the right amount of fertilizer in the right place</a>, at the right time, for crops to use it efficiently. </p>
<p>Fertilizers are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1081/CSS-100104098">often overapplied</a>, and not used by crops, ending up as pollution, either as as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-019-0133-9">greenhouse gases</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es00009a001">water contaminants</a>. But a new generation of fertilizers aims to fix these problems. </p>
<p>Smart bio-fertilizers, use <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/biofertilizer">micro-organisms that are bred or engineered to live in harmony with crops</a> and capture nutrients from the environment, providing them to the crops without waste. </p>
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<img alt="A tractor drives down rows of crops spraying fertilizer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463998/original/file-20220518-11-allm8m.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">Smart bio-fertilizers that use micro-organisms to capture the nutrients from the environment can avoid the waste and pollution problems associated with conventional fertilizers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>3. Precision fermentation</h2>
<p>Humans have used micro-organisms to turn sugars and starches into fermented products such as beer, wine and bread since the dawn of history. But before long, precision fermentation will be used to produce a great many more products. </p>
<p>For decades this technology has been used to create most of the world’s insulin and the enzyme rennet used in cheese making. The United States recently allowed <a href="https://cen.acs.org/food/food-ingredients/start-ups-make-us-love/98/i38">animal-free fermented dairy protein</a> — made by inserting milk-producing genes into microbes — to be used in <a href="https://braverobot.co/">ice cream</a>, which is now available for sale. It is only a matter of time before products from <a href="https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2020/02/03/Disrupting-dairy-with-precision-fermentation-By-2035-industrial-cattle-farming-will-be-obsolete">precision fermentation become common place in supermarkets everywhere</a>.</p>
<p>In the future, if fermentation micro-organisms are fed waste products (such as leftover “spent grains” from brewing or waste starch from plant-based proteins), farmers could create low-impact, high-value products out of organic material that would otherwise be wasted and decompose into greenhouse gasses. </p>
<h2>4. Vertical farming</h2>
<p>While nothing beats fresh fruit and vegetables, picked ripe and eaten immediately, the sad reality is that most of the fresh produce eaten in Canada, northern United States and northern Europe comes from industrial farms in the southwestern United States or the southern hemisphere. The <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26334145">carbon footprint of this long-distance cold chain</a> is large, and the quality of the produce is not always the best. </p>
<p>A new generation of vertical farms aims to change this by using energy-efficient LED lights to produce year-round crops close to home. These <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/08/14/vertical-farming-future">controlled-environment agricultural facilities</a> use less water and labour than conventional farms, and produce large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables on small plots of land. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Vertical tubes with green lettuce leaves sprouting from them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464000/original/file-20220518-17-y8gcai.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rows of romaine lettuce grow at a vertical farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Brandon Wade/AP Images for Eden Green)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, these facilities are springing up all over <a href="https://www.goodleaffarms.com">North America</a> and Europe, but especially in Singapore and <a href="https://npoplantfactory.org/en/">Japan</a>. While there is still considerable debate as to whether the current generation of vertical farms are <a href="https://www.agritecture.com/blog/2022/5/9/a-holistic-look-at-vertical-farmings-carbon-footprint-and-land-use">better in terms of energy use</a>, they are increasingly poised to use renewable energy to ensure a carbon-neutral fresh produce supply year-round, even in <a href="https://www.globalaginvesting.com/elevate-farms-secures-10m-bring-vertical-farming-remote-northern-canada/">Canada’s North</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Biogas</h2>
<p>The manure from livestock facilities is challenging to manage as it can become a source of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. However, if livestock manure is placed in an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.075">anaerobic digester</a>, it’s possible to capture the naturally occurring methane as a <a href="http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/biogas/">green natural gas</a>. </p>
<p>Properly planned, biogas digesters can also turn municipal organic waste into renewable energy, thus giving agriculture the opportunity to contribute to a sustainable energy portfolio. This is already happening on farms in Ontario, where a new generation of biogas digesters are helping <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/ontario-farmers-seeing-revenue-opportunity-in-biogas-digesters/">boost farm incomes and displace fossil fuels</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-food-waste-can-generate-clean-energy-176352">Here's how food waste can generate clean energy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Driving systems change</h2>
<p>These technologies become far more exciting when they’re linked. For example, biogas collectors attached to livestock farms could be used to create the energy required to run fermentation facilities that produce animal-free dairy products. </p>
<p>Similarly, if plant-based proteins, such as those that come from leguminous crops like peas, are produced on farms using regenerative agricultural techniques and processed locally, the leftover starches can be used for precision fermentation. While we are not aware of this process being done at scale, it potential sustainability benefit is huge.</p>
<p>The key to unlocking these benefits is to develop agri-food businesses that are <a href="https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/food-cities-the-circular-economy">circular food systems</a>, so that the waste products from one step become valuable inputs in another. A critical addition to circular food systems will be carbon tracking from field to table, where the benefits are rewarded. </p>
<p>Technologies to achieve a carbon-neutral, <a href="https://guelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/SmartCities_Booklet.pdf">circular food economy</a> are rapidly approaching maturity. It will likely only be a few years before the five <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.11.013">technologies described above become mainstream</a>. </p>
<p>Today, the world faces one of the biggest challenges of the century: how to nutritiously feed the world’s growing population, address climate change and not destroy the ecosystems on which we all depend for life. But we are on the brink of having the tools to feed the future and protect the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rene Van Acker receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Agri-Food Alliance. He is affiliated with The Deans Council, Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Medicine. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evan Fraser consults with a range of vertical farming companies and initiatives including the Weston Family Foundation's Home Grown Innovation Challenge and Cubic Farms. He receives funding from a range of governmental and philanthropic sources including the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Arrell Family Foundation. He is affiliated with the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council, Protein Industries Canada, Genome Quebec, and the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lenore Newman receives funding from SSHRC and Future Skills Centre Canada. She is chair of the Science Advisory Board for Cubic Farms.</span></em></p>The world is facing one of the century’s biggest challenges: How to nutritiously feed the growing population, address climate change and not destroy the ecosystems on which we all depend for life.Rene Van Acker, Professor and Dean of The Ontario Agricultural College, University of GuelphEvan Fraser, Director of the Arrell Food Institute and Professor in the Dept. of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of GuelphLenore Newman, Canada Research Chair, Food Security and the Environment, University of The Fraser ValleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822082022-05-09T21:13:23Z2022-05-09T21:13:23ZSocial prescriptions: Why some health-care practitioners are prescribing food to their patients<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462063/original/file-20220509-11-i115lu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C145%2C4897%2C2880&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food prescriptions provide patients with vouchers that can be spent on fruits and vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jonathon Barraball)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Angela is a 54-year-old mother of two living with Type 2 diabetes in a small apartment in Guelph, Ont. Despite steady access to health care and a physician who encourages regular exercise and healthy eating, Angela’s complications have worsened in recent years. These complications cause mobility challenges, sometimes rendering her unable to leave the house. </p>
<p>Angela blames her poor diet. Due to her limited income, she frequently misses meals, goes some days without food and can often only afford nutrient-poor (but more affordable) foods. </p>
<p>Angela is classified as severely food insecure, which means she is <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/">one of more than 4.4 million people in Canada</a> who are unable to acquire a diet of sufficient quality or quantity. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/childhood-hunger-is-a-canadian-public-health-crisis/article4106595/">Food insecurity is a public health crisis in Canada</a> that has <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200200002-eng">worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>During one of Angela’s recent visits to the <a href="https://guelphchc.ca/our-mission/">Guelph Community Health Centre</a>, a nurse practitioner surprised her with a new <a href="https://theseedguelph.ca/fresh-food-prescription-spotlight/">“prescription” for fresh fruits and vegetables</a>. The prescription <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00657-6">included weekly $40 vouchers that could be spent on fruits and vegetables at a local farmer’s market</a>. Speaking after 12 weeks of enrolment, Angela expressed gratitude for the initiative. </p>
<p>“The program’s fantastic,” Angela said, “I’m eating a diet with a lot more fruits and vegetables and proteins, which is so good for me when I’m trying to get my diabetes under control.”</p>
<h2>Social prescribing</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman writing on a clipboard at a table with a stethoscope and a big selection of fruits and vegetables on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=590%2C5%2C3023%2C2026&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461381/original/file-20220504-27-lqnln2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social prescriptions are issued by health-care practitioners to provide patients with non-pharmaceutical interventions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jonathon Barraball)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Food prescriptions are part of a broader concept of <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/social-prescribing/">social prescribing</a>. Pioneered in the United Kingdom and growing in popularity in the United States and Canada, social prescriptions are issued by health-care practitioners to provide patients with non-pharmaceutical interventions, including dance classes, walking groups, volunteer work, art lessons and, of course, fresh fruits and vegetables. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F08901171211056584">rise of food prescriptions has been particularly pronounced in the U.S.</a>, largely driven by <a href="https://www.wholesomewave.org/">not-for-profits</a> and the 2018 <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45525.pdf">Federal Farm Bill</a>, which provided US$25 million to support produce prescription programs across the country.</p>
<p>In Canada, food prescriptions have been slower to gain traction, with independent <a href="http://guelphchc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Social-Prescribing.pdf">community health centres</a>, <a href="https://foodshare.net/program/foodrx/">regional not-for-profits</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050006">researchers</a> implementing produce prescriptions in partnership with allied health professionals in a more localized and unco-ordinated manner. </p>
<p>Our interdisciplinary health research team has collaborated with the Guelph Community Health Centre since 2019 to implement and evaluate multiple phases of a food prescription program. Food security is important to disease prevention and management, so it makes sense that health-care practitioners should be able to prescribe healthy foods and reduce barriers to healthier diets.</p>
<p>As exemplified by Angela’s experiences, preliminary results are promising. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00657-6">Participants report improved food security and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables</a>. Meanwhile, during interviews, patients perceived the program to reduce financial stress and improve health outcomes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Vegetables displayed for sale" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461825/original/file-20220506-18-htzlcr.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">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food is medicine approaches strive to better incorporate food and nutrition interventions in health care settings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Sean Nufer)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And yet, food prescriptions should not be immune to scrutiny. One question is whether such initiatives <a href="https://theconversation.com/prescribing-social-activities-to-lonely-people-prompts-ethical-questions-for-gps-105439">respect and honour people “as people.”</a> </p>
<p>Do food prescriptions trivialize the suffering of food insecurity and ignore its underlying determinants, which are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6344-2">rooted in poverty, mental health, substance use, race and racism and systemic oppression</a>? </p>
<p>Do they leverage the power differential between practitioners and patients to coerce patients into making different food choices, thereby eroding patients’ sense of control over their own health decisions? </p>
<p>Do they promote the false dichotomy of “good” and “bad” foods and reinforce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2019.1653577">the stigmatization of fat bodies in the health-care system</a>? </p>
<h2>Why not cash?</h2>
<p>If the health-care system can provide vouchers for food, why not just prescribe cash? <a href="https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-022-00610-2">Cash transfers can empower recipients by providing choice and shifting the balance of power in favour of recipients</a>. By contrast, providing food vouchers for restricted items might be considered paternalistic, limiting choice and assuming the best interests of recipients on their behalf. </p>
<p><a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/23922/The0revival0of0or0an0old0quandary00.pdf;sequence=1">The cash versus food debate has played out repeatedly in social and economic policy spheres</a>, especially in academia and the conference rooms of the World Bank and the <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i5424e/i5424e.pdf">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> of the United Nations. The growing popularity of food prescriptions should trigger a revival of this debate, but re-centred on the focal question: How can health-care systems best address food insecurity? </p>
<h2>The medicalization of food</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two combines in a field of wheat, one of them surrounded by a dusty cloud" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461822/original/file-20220506-10983-37b10a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A drought devastated the wheat crop in eastern Washington in August 2021. The food supply is dependent on the health of the planet and our society.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.livescience.com/62515-hippocrates.html">Hippocrates supposedly said</a>, “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.” Now, almost 2,400 years later, the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2482">food is medicine framework</a>” promotes the idea that health-care systems should offer food interventions alongside pharmaceuticals. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0184">framework has gained popularity</a> as an easily digestible model that plays into basic truisms about the links between food and health. </p>
<p>However, the medicalization of food should be cautioned. Food is more than its nutrient value. It is cultural identity. It is history. It is belonging. Food is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12499">connection to the land</a> and <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/vanishing-nutrients/">dependent on the health of our planet</a> and our <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/impact-ukraine-russia-conflict-global-food-security-and-related-matters-under-mandate">society</a>. To argue that food is a commodity to be sterilized and medicalized would undermine the true significance of food. </p>
<h2>Improving access to healthy foods</h2>
<p>Despite these questions and critiques, we are not arguing against food prescriptions. Indeed, our team facilitates food prescription programs that have been immensely beneficial for patients. Within these programs, our motivations are simple: to improve access to healthy foods for those who need it. This includes individuals like Angela who face difficult choices every day about whether they can afford a healthier diet. </p>
<p>We must, however, interrogate food prescriptions to determine if they are in fact the best way to leverage health systems to promote the nutritional health of low-income and other marginalized communities. And if we do provide food prescriptions, we need to recognize and be responsive to the fact that each patient — like Angela — has a different and complex relationship with food based on their own health, histories, culture, worldview, traumas and triumphs. </p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Abby Richter, a registered dietitian and a Master of Applied Nutrition. She is the program lead for The Fresh Food Prescription program, an initiative of The Guelph Community Health Centre</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182208/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Little receives funding from Michael Smith Health Research BC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Danone Institute of North America. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eleah Stringer receives funding from Michael Smith Health Research BC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Warren Dodd receives research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the New Frontiers in Research Fund.</span></em></p>Food security is crucial to disease prevention and management, so prescribing healthy foods and reducing barriers to better diets makes sense. But food prescriptions should not be immune to scrutiny.Matthew Little, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of VictoriaEleah Stringer, Research assistant, School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of VictoriaWarren Dodd, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health Sciences, University of WaterlooLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1801152022-03-29T00:50:07Z2022-03-29T00:50:07ZUltra-processed foods are trashing our health – and the planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454858/original/file-20220328-25-fiibx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C28%2C4680%2C3101&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our world is facing a huge challenge: we need to create enough high-quality, diverse and nutritious food to feed a growing population – and do so within the boundaries of our planet. This means significantly reducing the environmental impact of the global food system. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.kew.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/Kew%20State%20of%20the%20Worlds%20Plants%20and%20Fungi.pdf">more than 7,000 edible plant species</a> which could be consumed for food. But today, 90% of global energy intake comes <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i1500e/i1500e00.htm">from 15 crop species</a>, with more than half of the world’s population relying on just three cereal crops: rice, wheat and maize. </p>
<p>The rise of ultra-processed foods is likely playing a major role in this ongoing change, as our latest research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008269">notes</a>. Thus, reducing our consumption and production of these foods offers a unique opportunity to improve both our health and the environmental sustainability of the food system.</p>
<h2>Impacts of the food system</h2>
<p>Agriculture is a major driver of environmental change. It is responsible for one-third of all <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349903586_Food_systems_are_responsible_for_a_third_of_global_anthropogenic_GHG_emissions">greenhouse gas emissions</a> and about 70% of <a href="https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/files_new/synthesis/Summary_SynthesisBook.pdf">freshwater use</a>. It also <a href="https://www.wfp.org/publications/2019-state-food-security-and-nutrition-world-sofi-safeguarding-against-economic#:%7E:text=15%20July%202019-,2019%20%2D%20The%20State%20of%20Food%20Security%20and%20Nutrition%20in%20the,against%20economic%20slowdowns%20and%20downturns&text=SOFI%202019%20confirms%20a%20rise,from%20811%20the%20previous%20year.">uses 38% of global land</a> and is the largest driver of <a href="https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/02/food-system-impacts-biodiversity-loss">biodiversity loss</a>.</p>
<p>While research has highlighted how western diets containing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27809233/">excessive calories</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326496818_Meat_consumption_health_and_the_environment">livestock products</a> tend to have large environmental impacts, there are also environmental concerns linked to <a href="https://theconversation.com/trimming-the-excess-how-cutting-down-on-junk-food-could-help-save-the-environment-65338">ultra-processed foods</a>.</p>
<p>The impacts of these foods on human health are well described, but the effects on the environment have been given less consideration. This is surprising, considering ultra-processed foods are a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343478299_Ultra-processed_foods_and_the_nutrition_transition_Global_regional_and_national_trends_food_systems_transformations_and_political_economy_drivers">dominant component of the food supply</a> in high-income countries (and sales are rapidly rising through low and middle-income countries too).</p>
<p>Our latest research, led by colleagues in Brazil, proposes that increasingly globalised diets high in ultra-processed foods come at the expense of the cultivation, manufacture and consumption of “traditional” foods.</p>
<h2>How to spot ultra-processed foods</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-ultra-processed-foods-and-why-theyre-really-bad-for-our-health-140537">Ultra-processed foods</a> are a group of foods <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30744710/">defined as</a> “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes”.</p>
<p>They typically contain cosmetic additives and little or no whole foods. You can think of them as foods you would struggle to create in your own kitchen. Examples include confectionery, soft drinks, chips, pre-prepared meals and restaurant fast-food products.</p>
<p>In contrast with this are “traditional” foods – such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, preserved legumes, dairy and meat products – which are minimally processed, or made using traditional processing methods.</p>
<p>While traditional processing, methods such as fermentation, canning and bottling are key to ensuring <a href="https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/hlpe/hlpe_documents/Critical-Emerging-Issues-2016/CEI-2016-K15_Augustin-et-al-Food-security-2016.pdf">food safety and global food security</a>. Ultra-processed foods, however, are processed beyond what is necessary for food safety. </p>
<p>Australians have particularly high rates of ultra-processed food consumption. These foods account for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41387-020-00141-0#:%7E:text=Australians%20whose%20diets%20were%20based,22%25%20of%20energy%20intake">39% of total energy intake among Australian adults</a>. This is more than <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34444936/">Belgium, Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico and Spain</a> – but less than <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267221001039">the United States</a>, where they account for 57.9% of adults’ dietary energy.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335470649_Ultra-processed_foods_and_recommended_intake_levels_of_nutrients_linked_to_non-communicable_diseases_in_Australia_Evidence_from_a_nationally_representative_cross-sectional_study">an analysis of the 2011-12 Australian Health Survey</a> (the most recent national data available on this), the ultra-processed foods that contributed the most dietary energy for Australians aged two and above included ready-made meals, fast food, pastries, buns and cakes, breakfast cereals, fruit drinks, iced tea and confectionery. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-ultra-processed-foods-and-why-theyre-really-bad-for-our-health-140537">The rise of ultra-processed foods and why they're really bad for our health</a>
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<h2>What are the environmental impacts?</h2>
<p>Ultra-processed foods also rely on a small number of crop species, which places burden on the environments in which these ingredients are grown. </p>
<p>Maize, wheat, soy and oil seed crops (such as palm oil) are good examples. These crops are chosen by food manufacturers because they are cheap to produce and high yielding, meaning they can be produced in large volumes.</p>
<p>Also, animal-derived ingredients in ultra-processed foods are sourced from animals which rely on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351848204_Analysis_of_the_impact_of_the_meat_supply_chain_on_the_Brazilian_agri-food_system">these same crops as feed</a>. </p>
<p>The rise of convenient and cheap ultra-processed foods has replaced a wide variety of minimally-processed wholefoods including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, meat and dairy. This has reduced both the quality of our diet and food supply diversity. </p>
<p>In Australia, the most frequently used ingredients in the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352004612_Deconstructing_the_Supermarket_Systematic_Ingredient_Disaggregation_and_the_Association_between_Ingredient_Usage_and_Product_Health_Indicators_for_24229_Australian_Foods_and_Beverages">2019 packaged food and drink supply</a> were sugar (40.7%), wheat flour (15.6%), vegetable oil (12.8%) and milk (11.0%). </p>
<p>Some ingredients used in ultra-processed foods such as cocoa, sugar and some vegetable oils are also <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/4/1407">strongly associated with biodiversity loss</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-takes-21-litres-of-water-to-produce-a-small-chocolate-bar-how-water-wise-is-your-diet-123180">It takes 21 litres of water to produce a small chocolate bar. How water-wise is your diet?</a>
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<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>The environmental impact of ultra-processed foods is avoidable. Not only are these foods harmful, they are also unnecessary for human nutrition. Diets high in ultra-processed foods are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342582969_Ultra-Processed_Foods_and_Health_Outcomes_A_Narrative_Review">linked with poor health outcomes</a>, including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer and depression, among others. </p>
<p>To counter this, food production resources across the world could be re-routed into producing healthier, less <a href="https://theconversation.com/trimming-the-excess-how-cutting-down-on-junk-food-could-help-save-the-environment-65338">processed foods</a>. For example, globally, significant quantities of cereals such as wheat, maize and rice are milled into refined flours to produce refined breads, cakes, donuts and other bakery products. </p>
<p>These could be rerouted into producing more nutritious foods such as wholemeal bread or pasta. This would contribute to improving global food security and also provide more buffer against <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-and-extreme-weather-may-lead-to-food-shortages-and-escalating-prices-172646">natural disasters</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-war-in-ukraine-will-affect-food-prices-178693">conflicts in major breadbasket areas</a>. </p>
<p>Other environmental resources could be saved by avoiding the use of certain ingredients altogether. For instance, demand for palm oil (a common ingredient in ultra-processed foods, and associated with deforestation in Southeast Asia) could be significantly reduced through consumers shifting their preferences towards healthier foods. </p>
<p>Reducing your consumption of ultra-processed foods is one way by which you can reduce your environmental footprint, while also improving your health.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-each-get-7-square-metres-of-cropland-per-day-too-much-booze-and-pizza-makes-us-exceed-it-141361">We each get 7 square metres of cropland per day. Too much booze and pizza makes us exceed it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Anastasiou has worked on research funded by a variety of Australian government agencies, industry bodies and private companies. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Lawrence receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the World Health Organization. He is a Board member at Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the organisations with which he is associated.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michalis Hadjikakou receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip Baker receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the World Health Organization.</span></em></p>Ultra-processed foods that contributed the most dietary energy for Aussies included ready-made meals, fast food, pastries, buns, cakes, breakfast cereals, fruit drinks, iced tea and confectionery.Kim Anastasiou, Research Dietitian (CSIRO), PhD Candidate (Deakin University), Deakin UniversityMark Lawrence, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin UniversityMichalis Hadjikakou, Lecturer in Environmental Sustainability, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin UniversityPhillip Baker, Research Fellow, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1768572022-02-10T14:59:03Z2022-02-10T14:59:03ZHow forgotten beans could help fight malnutrition in Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445685/original/file-20220210-13-1gxf7ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3259%2C2448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Legumes are an excellent source of protein.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freshly_harvested_legumes_in_Bi%C3%A9_province.jpg">Luiana Antonio/Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>February 10 marks <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-pulses-day">World Pulses Day</a>. A day dedicated to celebrating beans and lentils doesn’t seem worth getting excited about – but it should be. Because there are hundreds of forgotten and sidelined bean species that could change the game when it comes to improving global food security and cutting world <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-tasty-forest-foods-can-help-solve-the-global-hunger-crisis-41276">hunger</a>.</p>
<p>World Pulses Day was established by the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/ga/">UN General Assembly</a> in 2019 to raise awareness of the nutritional importance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/benefits-of-pulses-good-for-you-and-the-planet-111161">pulses</a>: a group of edible grain legumes that are part of the bean family (scientifically <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/fabaceae">known as</a> <em>Leguminosae</em> or <em>Fabaceae</em>). Examples include chickpeas, kidney beans and pigeon peas. </p>
<p>Most legume plants, including pulses, have evolved the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.00313/full">ability</a> to create their own nitrogen fertilisers from the air through specialised nodules on their roots. That means these plants can survive in low nitrogen soil without needing external fertilisers, making them highly resilient and able to grow from the Arctic Circle to deserts. What’s more, this increased nitrogen gives legumes their high protein content, since nitrogen provides the <a href="https://www.foodunfolded.com/article/the-building-blocks-of-protein-amino-acids">building blocks</a> for protein. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-humble-legume-could-be-the-answer-to-europes-fertiliser-addiction-159067">Why the humble legume could be the answer to Europe's fertiliser addiction</a>
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<p>The world’s human population gets more than half its calories from just <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/once-neglected-these-traditional-crops-are-our-new-rising-stars">three crops</a>: rice, wheat and maize. But these carbohydrate-rich crops require huge amounts of fertilisers and water to grow. The humble bean asks for much less.</p>
<p>There’s another problem with relying on a small number of energy-dense crops for food. When they’re not supplemented with more nutrient-rich food, undernourishment and malnutrition can result – affecting <a href="https://theconversation.com/child-malnutrition-lessons-from-the-victorian-age-142093">children</a> the most.</p>
<p>There’s an urgent need to solve children’s <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/central-african-republic-child-malnutrition-rates-soar-violence-rages">malnutrition</a> in areas of Africa such as the Central African Republic and Cameroon, where cassava, another energy-dense plant, is the staple food crop. Cassava contributes to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.617783/full">about 40%</a> of the food consumed in tropical regions of Africa. However, cassava is very limited in nutrients, particularly protein, vitamin A, iron and zinc.</p>
<p>A lack of crop diversity also leaves us more susceptible to the worst effects of the climate crisis. The world’s <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103712">first famine</a> caused by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-58303792">climate change</a> has already begun in Madagascar, where rice and cassava are the two most important food sources for the population. A <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/CB4476EN/online/CB4476EN.html">UN report</a> calls for major changes in our food system to address poor food security: in particular, increasing crop diversity to guard against these increasing dangers from famine, drought and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-contributed-to-madagascars-food-crisis-167370">disease</a>.</p>
<p>And as world hunger rises – due in part to the <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb4474en/online/cb4474en.html">pandemic</a> – we urgently need to help nutritious, resilient food plants grow in the areas they’re needed most.</p>
<h2>Which beans are best?</h2>
<p>It’s clear that our current food system is unsustainable, particularly since global populations are projected to hit nearly <a href="https://www.un.org/en/desa/world-population-projected-reach-98-billion-2050-and-112-billion-2100">10 billion</a> by 2050. To change it, we need to plant and consume more pulses: starting by rediscovering our shared wealth of forgotten legumes.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.kew.org/science/state-of-the-worlds-plants-and-fungi">report from Kew</a> has identified at least 7,039 edible plant species, with the legume family most heavily featured: many of which have been neglected due to our global reliance on the three staple crops. </p>
<p>Not all legumes are created equal. Soybean, despite being a legume, is not a sustainable crop due to its <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652620303012?via%3Dihub#bib35">high water usage</a>. It’s also been a driver of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53438680">deforestation</a>, most notably in the Amazon. Instead of this, we can start reintroducing forgotten legumes like lablab and bambara groundnut back into our food systems. Most of these beans have connections to local <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-african-food-basket-should-be-full-of-beans-and-other-pulses-60207">traditional knowledge</a> and can help improve regional food security, in turn alleviating world hunger. </p>
<p>For example, crops like the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402032301X">African yam bean</a> grow high-protein edible beans and tubers (specialised, swollen stems) on one plant. This bean also replenishes soil with nutrients and is highly adaptable to varying climates. </p>
<p>Due to its tubers – that act as water reservoirs – this crop can withstand drought, so is used as a “<a href="https://www.cerealsgrains.org/publications/cfw/2019/September-October/Pages/CFW-64-5-0054.aspx">security crop</a>” in rural areas of Nigeria to buffer any unexpected loss of other crops. The high protein content in both its beans and tubers has also been proven to have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4613-0433-3_18">combated malnutrition</a> during the Nigerian civil war in the 1960s. Now categorised as a forgotten crop, this bean has high potential to be reintroduced as an alternative, sustainable protein source.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-boosting-legume-production-will-lift-the-gloom-for-african-farmers-63007">Why boosting legume production will lift the gloom for African farmers</a>
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<p>And we musn’t overlook <a href="https://theconversation.com/antarctic-bacteria-live-on-air-and-make-their-own-water-using-hydrogen-as-fuel-171808">bacteria</a>: a vital tool for reviving forgotten the role of legumes in resilient food systems. <a href="https://biology.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/nodulation-legumes">Nodulation</a> in legumes – allowing them to fix nitrogen and increase their protein content – can only occur in the presence of special soil bacteria, called <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.619676/full">rhizobia</a>. As forgotten legume crops are largely understudied, most of these legumes’ rhizobial partners are currently unknown. </p>
<p>Identifying and recording the associated rhizobia of these crops, especially those from their native soils, is important for maximising efficient nitrogen fixation and soil health. The <a href="https://chembioagro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40538-016-0085-1">legume biology field</a> needs to widen its research scope from model legume plants (like <em>Medicago truncatula</em> and <em>Lotus japonicus</em>) and commercial legume crops to also include unique forgotten legumes with different physiologies.</p>
<p>In order to take advantage of the superpowers of legumes, we should grow more of them alongside the right kinds of bacteria. That way, we’ll be much better placed to deal with any sudden shocks to our food systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadia Radzman receives funding from Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund for her project on the African yam bean. She is a research associate at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) studying legume development. She is also the co-chair of Cambridge University Food Security Society (CUFSS) and an active member of the Cambridge Global Food Security Society.</span></em></p>Reviving long-lost legume species could help improve global food security and decrease world hunger.Nadia Radzman, Research Associate in Plant Biology, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1747272022-01-13T14:46:31Z2022-01-13T14:46:31ZFast food doesn’t improve food security in urban Ghana: it’s too costly<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440609/original/file-20220113-25-gp1b39.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fast food in Ghana is expensive</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons/Flickr/Marco Verch</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Close to 690 million people, or about 9% of the world population, are hungry. That’s according to the <a href="https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000117812/download/?_ga=2.63507055.1743807285.1641912061-118935216.1641753755">2020 State of Food and Nutrition Security in the World report</a> – and the numbers are trending upwards. </p>
<p>Urban areas are generally perceived as having less food insecurity than rural areas, because of the variety of foods available in supermarkets, traditional food markets, restaurants and fast-food outlets. But abundance of food in urban areas does not mean that everyone has equal economic access and can afford healthy foods. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/w3548e/w3548e00.htm#adopt05">1996 World Food Summit</a> defined food security as “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious foods that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” </p>
<p>In Ghana, urban <a href="https://www.unicef.org/ghana/media/531/file/The%20Ghana%20Poverty%20and%20Inequality%20Report.pdf">poverty</a> is lower than the national average – 10.6% against 24.2% – but many city dwellers cannot afford to eat enough. One <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032719329635">study</a> found that 36% of urban households suffered from hunger, and 29% and 5% skipped meals or had delayed meals respectively.</p>
<p>Currently, the culture of food in urban Ghana is changing towards the consumption of fast food, with implications for local food culture. But few <a href="https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/works/fast-food-in-the-greater-accra-region-of-ghana">studies</a> have analysed those implications. </p>
<p>I study food systems and emerging cultures of food consumption in Ghana. In a <a href="https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/works/from-the-kitchen-to-fast-food-restaurants">study</a> published last year, my colleagues and I sought to understand the social and demographic dynamics of fast food consumption in Ghana. </p>
<p>We found that consumption of fast food was shaped by many factors including gender, age, marital status, time constraints, ability to cook and income levels. Our study contributes to understanding the socio-cultural dynamics of fast food consumption in Ghana. </p>
<h2>Fast food in urban Ghana</h2>
<p>Our study was based on a review of existing studies on fast food in Ghana. We reviewed literature on the socio-cultural dynamics and characteristics of fast food consumers in Ghana. </p>
<p>Fast foods are becoming more widely <a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanaians-are-eating-more-fast-food-the-who-and-the-why-153810">available</a> in urban Ghana through dine-in, takeaway and delivery services. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://cssc.uscannenberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/v5art13.pdf#page=3">restaurant sector</a> in general represents the largest and fastest growing part of the Ghanaian domestic economy, increasing at a rate of 20% annually. While this growth rate is predicted to continue, the presence of food is not the only thing that matters when it comes to food security. Affordability and healthy diets are other considerations. </p>
<p>Our study found that income levels determined the rate at which Ghanaians patronised fast food outlets. We found that middle- and high-income earners were key consumers of fast food. These are Ghanaians who are employed or run a business and often have disposable incomes to spend on emerging lifestyles including consumption of fast food. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343224223_Analysis_of_Street_Food_Consumption_Across_Various_Income_Groups_in_the_Kumasi_Metropolis_of_Ghana">High income earners</a> were able to consume fast food at least once a week, including on special occasions and festive days, regardless of the cost. </p>
<p><a href="https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/works/fast-food-in-the-greater-accra-region-of-ghana">Low income earners</a> mostly consumed fast food on festive and special occasions only. The very poor were unable to consume fast food even on festive days unless they received it as a gift, primarily because fast food is expensive in Ghana. </p>
<p>For instance, a medium size pizza costs on average 50 Ghana cedis (US$8) in most fast food restaurants in Ghana. The country’s daily minimum wage is <a href="https://www.myjoyonline.com/national-daily-minimum-wage-for-2021-increased-by-6-now-%C2%A212-53/">12.53 Ghana cedis</a> (US$2.07). </p>
<p>The high cost is largely attributed to <a href="https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/478260">investment and overhead costs</a> such as taxes, electricity, newspapers, advertising, rent, air conditioners and security borne by the restaurants. Besides, fast food restaurants largely depend on imported raw materials such as rice, chicken, tomato paste, flour and other ingredients. </p>
<p>Based on findings from our study, it is important to note that, although fast food is physically available and accessible in urban areas, not all Ghanaians have equal economic access. Thus, proliferation of fast food in Ghana would not enable the poor to become food secure. Our study has implications for policies seeking to promote food security in urban Ghana.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>In the developed world, fast food is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180222-how-can-a-fast-food-chain-ever-make-money-from-a-1-burger">cheaper</a> than in the developing world. Fast food brands in developed countries often target people in low <a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-food-is-comforting-but-in-low-income-areas-it-crowds-out-fresher-options-136227">socio-economic brackets</a> by rolling out heavily <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20180222-how-can-a-fast-food-chain-ever-make-money-from-a-1-burger">discounted menus</a>. </p>
<p>The situation is different in Ghana. Fast food brands target high- and middle-income groups who have incomes to adopt so-called modern lifestyles, including consuming fast food regularly. Thus, in Ghana, people who are already food secure are those who can afford fast food. </p>
<p>Drawing on the cultural changes that fast food has brought to <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-poor-people-eat-more-junk-food-than-wealthier-americans-79154">developed countries</a>, I foresee that poor people in Ghana will be able to afford fast food in future. This will happen because prices will go down as fast food restaurants compete against each other. That will expand economic access to fast food in Ghana – but also increase the number of people exposed to the health risks of fast food.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Boafo 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>Fast food brands target high- and middle-income groups who have incomes to adopt so-called modern lifestyles, including consuming fast food regularly.James Boafo, Lecturer in Geography and Sustainable Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732542022-01-11T14:06:33Z2022-01-11T14:06:33ZWhat it will take for Africa’s agrifood systems to thrive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437493/original/file-20211214-19-1wdgs2w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African-owned food retailers are increasing their footprints across the continent.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">FG TRADE/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The year 2021 was one of critical conversations about global agrifood systems – the processes and methods through which farming produces food. Following on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic and a <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/06/02/long-run-impacts-of-covid-19-on-extreme-poverty/">rise in global poverty</a>, 2021 was a year for recovery and an urgent call to transform food systems if the world is to achieve the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> targets by 2030.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit">United Nations Food System Summit</a> in September was a call to action and a challenge to nations to build “transformed” food systems. It was followed by the development of the <a href="https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20210715/africa-mobilizes-common-position-upcoming-un-food-systems-summit-unfss">African Common Position</a>. This outlines how countries on the continent plan to heed that call and challenge. Then came <a href="https://unfccc.int/conference/glasgow-climate-change-conference-october-november-2021">COP26</a>: sustainable, resilient agrifood solutions are, after all, key to mitigating the effects of climate change. </p>
<p>If commitments are met, these high level dialogues have the potential to shape the trajectory of Africa’s agrifood system over this next decade. But how can global conversations be internalised into systems? How does the continent build sustainable, resilient food markets? What roles do private sector actors and public policy-makers play?</p>
<p>As specialists in food systems keen to tackle these big questions, we’ve drawn on key findings from the <a href="https://agra.org/resource-library/africa-agriculture-status-report/">African Agriculture Status Report</a> and identified three salient features about Africa’s agrifood system. These are that food demand is expected to increase; that African-based agribusinesses are investing; and, finally, that transforming the food industry will take time in light of persistent informality. </p>
<p>The commitments made on the global stage must now be followed through with policy and regulatory reform at national, regional and continental levels. Strategic investments are also needed, particularly to target choke points in the agrifood value chains. </p>
<p>We predict that the journey to transformation of the food industry will be long. It comes with many risks – and, for those who move first and well, high returns.</p>
<h2>Rising demand, rising investment</h2>
<p>Over the coming decade, sub-Saharan Africa’s <a href="https://agra.org/aasr-2021/">food demand is projected to rise</a>. This will make it one of world’s largest sources of additional demand, <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/oecd-fao-agricultural-outlook-19991142.htm">rising from 10% to 11%</a> of total global calorie consumption by 2030. The continent’s food market is projected to reach a value of a staggering one trillion dollars by 2030. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/726556/ado2021-update.pdf">Asia</a> is another important food market which will be driven by the growing population. Studies show a potential rise in population and food demand. The difference with Africa’s projected demand, however, is that Asia will likely demand high value products because of relative improvement in incomes.</p>
<p>In Africa, people’s incomes will not rise at the same rate. So while people will demand more and better food, they will not necessarily be able to afford a more diversified, protein-rich diet. This raises questions around the pace of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283708696_Africa_'_s_unfolding_diet_transformation_implications_for_agrifood_system_employment">dietary transformation</a> on the continent going forward. The “dietary transformation” trend is likely not very sustainable if gainful wage employment can’t be ensured.</p>
<p>Despite this concern, it’s clear that agribusiness in Africa presents <a href="https://agra.org/aasr-2021/">vast opportunities</a> for private sector firms. African-owned business are already investing: between 2015 and 2020, the top three leading retail outlets in South Africa expanded their African footprint by increasing the number of outlets across the continent. One, Pick n Pay, has increased the total number of stores by 55% in the past five years, from <a href="https://www.picknpayinvestor.co.za/financials/annual-reports/2015/index.php">1,242</a> to <a href="https://www.picknpayinvestor.co.za/downloads/annual-report/2020/pick-n-pay-iar.pdf">1,925</a>.</p>
<p>Examining leading retailers’ annual reports, we can see that despite the uncertainty and disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies were able to adapt by using <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350970852_Food_Supply_Chains_Business_Resilience_Innovation_and_Adaptation">digital platforms and new logistical models</a>; this allowed them to expand their sales despite the disruption. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-and-development-are-key-to-resilient-food-systems-in-africa-165251">Research and development are key to resilient food systems in Africa</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But this expansion of investment is not just occurring at the retail level. African-owned enterprises operating at all levels of the agrifood system are expanding their own footprint through increased investments in the sector. Many of the firms listed as the <a href="https://www.foodbusinessafrica.com/top100/">Food Business Africa Top 100</a> companies in 2020 are African-owned and have either entered into the food industry or expanded and diversified their operations over the past two decades.</p>
<h2>Informality</h2>
<p>However, despite this evidence of emerging and growing small and medium enterprises, the journey to transforming the food industry will be long, particularly in the face of persisting informality. Across all of the continent’s regions, except southern Africa, informal employment as a percentage of total employment in the agricultural and non-agricultural sector is above the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/informal-economy">global average of 64%</a> for emerging and developing markets economies. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://agra.org/aasr-2021/">80% of the continent’s population</a> relies on open-air, largely informal markets for their food. Poor sanitary conditions in many of these markets raise concerns around food safety for households that depend on them.</p>
<p>If African countries are to ensure resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, they must upgrade food value chains by shifting production and employment from informal micro-enterprises to formal firms offering wage employment with income security and health benefits for employees. This will also ensure improvements in food safety within the system. </p>
<p>One example of this is an investment by the Rockefeller Foundation, in collaboration with the East African Grain Council, in Kenya’s <a href="https://cceonlinenews.com/2021/08/13/nakuru-commences-construction-of-ksh-239m-smart-fish-market-2/">Naivasha Smart Fish Market project</a>. The aim is to provide an informal market with good quality infrastructure as a way of improving livelihoods and sanitary conditions.</p>
<h2>Government responsibilities</h2>
<p>There are three things that African governments can do to ensure the reality of the next decade lives up to the global commitments made in 2021. </p>
<p>First, governments must provide adequate public goods. That means hard infrastructure, like roads, public works and electricity, and soft infrastructure like capacity development, finance, data and information.</p>
<p>Second, they must effectively enforce national competition policy and anti-trust laws to level the playing field for all types of agri-food enterprises and minimise abuse of market power.</p>
<p>Finally, they must get out of the way. African governments should not over regulate the sector: this increases the costs of doing business especially for small, medium and micro-enterprises. Policies must also be predictable and based on solid technical research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), and also a member of the South African President's Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Mabaya and Lulama Ndibongo Traub 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>Commitments made on the global stage must now be followed through with policy and regulatory reform at national, regional and continental levels.Lulama Ndibongo Traub, Co-director; Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), Stellenbosch UniversityEdward Mabaya, Research Professor, Cornell UniversityWandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708852021-11-12T10:33:49Z2021-11-12T10:33:49ZSix areas where action must focus to rescue this planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431653/original/file-20211112-25-16gi94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sandstorm approaching Merzouga Settlement in Erg Chebbi Desert, Morocco.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pavliha/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For some time, the Earth’s natural resources have been depleted faster than they can be replaced. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has set a 2030 <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/">deadline</a> to reduce heat-trapping emissions by half to avoid climate change that is both irreversible and destructive. </p>
<p>With colleagues, we coauthored a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806">climate emergency warning paper</a> in 2019. It has now been co-signed by 14,594 scientists from 158 countries. We also produced <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/6/446/5828583?login=true">an extension</a> in 2020 and a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-climate-emergency-2020-in-review/">grim update</a> in 2021. Our warnings are supported by thousands of research studies, many referenced in the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> papers.</p>
<p>In our new <a href="https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/">paper</a>, we move beyond warnings and call for concrete actions. These must happen in six areas, at six levels – from household to community, city, state, nation and global – and on three timescales.</p>
<p>In the next three decades, the world must dramatically decrease greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to return to a more stable climate. To do this, we identify priority actions for energy, pollutants, nature, food, population and economy. </p>
<p>This takes place on three timescales – by 2026, 2030, and 2050. By 2050, carbon dioxide emissions must not exceed removals. After that, we must lower atmospheric concentrations by taking enough carbon out of the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Our paper, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00368504211056290">summarised here</a>, is intended to guide society, decision makers, planners, managers and financial investors with a framework for action. Yet humanity’s biggest challenges are not technical, but social, economic, political and behavioural. </p>
<h2>Energy: less, cleaner, more with less</h2>
<p>It is essential to reduce demand for energy by increasing energy productivity. That means getting more energy services – heating, cooling, lighting, transport, electricity and mechanical work – out of less primary energy. Fossil fuels are the largest sources of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane, and must be replaced. Our paper recommends the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Follow much more ambitious road-maps for energy transformation to halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.</p></li>
<li><p>Create economic incentives to provide <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617300518">energy services</a> with less primary energy.</p></li>
<li><p>Replace primary energy from coal, oil, natural gas and wood with solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and hydro energy, wherever ecologically appropriate.</p></li>
<li><p>Account for all emissions and black carbon (soot) from burning bioenergy.</p></li>
<li><p>Levy high carbon prices on air travel, inefficient vehicles, appliances, buildings and carbon intensive goods.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Pollutants: reduce and remove</h2>
<p>Methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, black carbon and other atmospheric pollutants add directly to global heating. Our warming world is melting permafrost, releasing heat-trapping methane. Policies must:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Rapidly reduce methane emissions from agriculture, industry, and oil and gas production.</p></li>
<li><p>Develop effective atmospheric methane removal practices. </p></li>
<li><p>Require large methane producers to pay for atmospheric removal. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce methane, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane hydrocarbons that produce heat-trapping pollutants. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons from refrigerants, solvents and other sources. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilisers, fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Natural climate solutions</h2>
<p>Biodiverse natural ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, grasslands, peatlands and oceans, are essential for our planet to function. This includes carbon management. They remove and store 56% of annual <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">carbon emissions</a>, preventing additional warming. </p>
<p>Society needs to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Protect carbon dense ecosystems to cover 30% of the Earth’s surface by 2030 and remove all emitted carbon dioxide by 2050.</p></li>
<li><p>Halt destruction of these essential systems. </p></li>
<li><p>Restore degraded ecosystems.</p></li>
<li><p>Greatly reduce land conversions by 2026 and halt them by 2030.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Food system reform</h2>
<p>Agricultural production is failing to sustain Earth’s nearly 8 billion people without unacceptable damage to climate, land and water. The global food system generates <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987">more than 25%</a> of greenhouse gas emissions and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/33/8252">consumes 70%</a> of freshwater. Expanding inefficient agriculture causes deforestation and nutrient runoff. It creates coastal low oxygen dead zones. To avoid widespread famines this century, leaders and farmers must:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Shift production to foods that use land and water more efficiently.</p></li>
<li><p>Use farming methods that regenerate the environment and store carbon in soils.</p></li>
<li><p>Support farmers in these transitions, especially small farmers.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Population stability</h2>
<p>Population growth undermines efforts to protect nature and people. Leaders and civil society should:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Embed population actions in economic, social and political agendas.</p></li>
<li><p>Invest more in family well-being through health, education and economic policies. </p></li>
<li><p>Support poorer families to advance economically and educationally.</p></li>
<li><p>Protect everyone’s right to life purposes other than parenting.</p></li>
<li><p>Increase aid for family planning.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Economic reform</h2>
<p>Economies must operate within <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1259855">planetary boundaries</a>. Leaders need to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Correct market failures through appropriate taxes, subsidies and regulations. </p></li>
<li><p>Create economic frameworks for profitable activities that protect and restore nature. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce reforms to sustain farm and forest lands, oceans, rivers and wetlands. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce land rights and urban planning models that encourage efficient land use. </p></li>
<li><p>Develop economic policies that halt loss of wild lands. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce policies to reduce climate altering emissions and restore socially efficient local production.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We must accelerate these transformations, while maintaining social, economic and political stability. Effective and timely actions are still possible on many, but not all fronts. Avoiding each tenth of a degree increase in global temperature improves the lives of billions of people, thousands of species and ecosystems.</p>
<p>Humanity can choose cooperation, wisdom, innovation, and ethics – or not. People can learn from past mistakes and create better societies. Leaders’ main challenge in the next decade may be to hold the rudder steady as society transforms on an almost impossible timescale. Our actions, or inaction, will determine whether we meet the challenges of the coming decades, and persist as civilised societies. </p>
<p><em>Our paper is open <a href="https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk">here</a> for signature by anyone with a degree in natural, political, social, health, educational, behavioural or other science.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phoebe Barnard receives funding from Automated Visual Inspections and has received grants from the South African National Research Foundation, University of Cape Town, the Royal Society, and Leverhulme Trust. She is a board member of Scientists Warning Europe, Merz Institute, and Transition Fidalgo, and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Society for Conservation Biology and American Society of Adaptation Professionals. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Moomaw receives funding from Rockefeller Brothers' Fund. He is affiliated with Woodwell Climate Research Center, The Climate Group, The Nature Conservancy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Young Voices for the Planet</span></em></p>Humanity’s biggest challenges are not technical, but social, economic, political and behavioural. Effective actions are still possible to stabilise the climate and the planet, but must be taken now.Phoebe Barnard, CEO and Exec Director, Stable Planet Alliance; Affiliate Full Professor, University of Washington; Research Associate, African Climate and Development Initiative and FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape TownWilliam Moomaw, Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1715542021-11-10T15:17:33Z2021-11-10T15:17:33ZMaking our food fairer: Don’t Call Me Resilient EP 12<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431117/original/file-20211109-19-hmxfiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C41%2C2447%2C1620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Almost 30 per cent of Black households and 50 per cent of Indigenous households experience food insecurity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bart Heird/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/98b5cd5f-0305-4650-9bdf-731605667fb7?dark=true"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-572" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/572/661898416fdc21fc4fdef6a5379efd7cac19d9d5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of the most exciting parts of my job is the way that folks are rolling up their sleeves and they’re getting onto the land and taking the responsibility to feed each other again. - Tabitha Robin Martens</p>
<p>The best food banks say that they are working to put themselves out of business. Food banks are not a long-term solution. At the same time, I say it’s complicated because in this moment, because of the vast and dire nature of food insecurity, we’re talking about people’s lives, people having the sustenance to get from day to day, and people are truly dependent on that system. - Melana Roberts</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A lot of people think of Canada as a wealthy nation. But for many people across the country, access to healthy affordable food is still a real struggle. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/">recent stats</a>, one out of every eight households in Canada are food insecure. For racialized Canadians, that number increases to two to three times the national average. For Black and Indigenous households, that number jumps even higher: <a href="https://foodshare.net/custom/uploads/2019/11/PROOF_factsheet_press_FINAL.6.pdf">Almost 30 per cent of Black households</a> and 50 per cent of Indigenous households experience food insecurity.</p>
<p>The pandemic has only made things worse. </p>
<p>Like shelter, food is a basic necessity of life. </p>
<p>It provides the calories and nutrients we need to survive. And food is also connected to our mental health, our culture and families and our sense of self. </p>
<p>But our food systems are failing to feed all of us. </p>
<p><a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-12-making-our-food-fairer">In this episode of <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a>, we’re picking apart what is broken and talking about ways to fix it with two women who have been battling this issue for years.</p>
<p>Tabitha Robin Martens is a mixed ancestry Swampy Cree researcher and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems. When she’s not writing and teaching about Indigenous Food Sovereignty, she spends her time on land, working with her people and learning traditional Cree food practices.</p>
<p>And Melana Roberts is a food policy expert and food justice advocate, and the Chair of Food Secure Canada. She led the charge to help create North America’s first municipal <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-council-approves-first-black-food-sovereignty-plan/">Black Food Sovereignty Plan at the City of Toronto</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/making-our-food-fairer-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-12-transcript-171583">Read the transcript for this episode here.</a></p>
<h2>Additional Reading</h2>
<p>Each week, we highlight articles or books that drill down into the topics we discuss in the episode.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2019.09B.007">Our Hands at Work: Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Western Canada</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-babies-going-hungry-in-a-food-rich-nation-like-canada-165789">Why are babies going hungry in a food-rich nation like Canada? </a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-a-garden-can-also-bloom-eco-resilient-cross-cultural-food-sovereign-communities-121543">Growing a garden can also bloom eco-resilient, cross-cultural, food-sovereign communities</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/at-a-new-york-city-garden-students-grow-their-community-roots-and-critical-consciousness-117459">At a New York City garden, students grow their community roots and critical consciousness
</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-researchers-plant-seeds-of-hope-for-health-and-climate-106217">Indigenous researchers plant seeds of hope for health and climate
</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-traditional-seeds-and-crops-are-bringing-food-independence-to-timor-leste-147976">How traditional seeds and crops are bringing food independence to Timor-Leste
</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/seedkeeping-can-connect-people-with-their-roots-and-preserve-crops-for-future-generations-157036">Seedkeeping can connect people with their roots and preserve crops for future generations
</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/racism-impacts-your-health-84112">Racism impacts your health</a></p>
<h2>Listen and follow</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&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="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/ca/podcasts">Click here to listen to Don’t Call Me Resilient</a></span>
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<p>This is our last <a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-our-podcast-dont-call-me-resilient-season-2-168640">Don’t Call Me Resilient</a> episode of Season 2. We hope you had a chance to listen to all 12 of the episodes. If you are coming to us for the first time, you can listen and follow along <a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-our-podcast-dont-call-me-resilient-season-2-168640">right here</a> where you will find past episodes as well as links to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a>, featuring stories from our global network. Other easy ways to find us are to subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9qZFg0Ql9DOA">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a> or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. </p>
<p>I’d love to hear from you, including any ideas for future episodes. Drop me an email or send me a note somewhere on social media. Join The Conversation on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationCA">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheConversationCanada">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">Instagram</a> and use #DontCallMeResilient.</p>
<p><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient is a production of The Conversation Canada. This podcast was produced with a grant for Journalism Innovation from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The series is produced and hosted by Vinita Srivastava. Our producer is Susana Ferreira. Our associate producer is Ibrahim Daair. Reza Dahya is our sound producer. Our consulting producer is Jennifer Moroz. Lisa Varano is our audience development editor and Scott White is the CEO of The Conversation Canada. Zaki Ibrahim wrote and performed the music we use on the pod. The track is called Something in the Water.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171554/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Our food systems are failing to feed all of us.
In this episode of Don’t Call Me Resilient, we pick apart what is broken and ways to fix it with two women who battle food injustice.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1715832021-11-10T15:16:35Z2021-11-10T15:16:35ZMaking our food fairer: Don’t Call Me Resilient EP 12 transcript<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431175/original/file-20211109-17-6o5dcc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C95%2C3874%2C2562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Community gardens can be an important source of food, but many were shut down during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Markus Spiske /Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/98b5cd5f-0305-4650-9bdf-731605667fb7?dark=true"></iframe>
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<p><em>NOTE: Transcripts may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.</em></p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> From <em>The Conversation</em>, this is <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em>, I’m Vinita Srivastava.</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha Robin Martens:</strong> Our food system has been deliberately decimated and food has been used as a means to control us for so long. And really, food was the means of the colonization of Canada.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> A lot of us think of Canada as a wealthy nation, but for many people across the country, access to healthy, affordable food is a real struggle. According to recent stats, one out of every eight households in Canada are food insecure. For racialized Canadians, that number increases to two to three times the national average. And for Black and Indigenous households, that number jumps even higher. Almost 30 per cent of Black households and 50 per cent of Indigenous households experience food insecurity. The pandemic has only made things worse. Like shelter, food is a basic necessity of life. It provides the calories and nutrients we need to survive, and food is also connected to our mental health, our culture and families and our sense of self. But our food systems are failing to feed all of us. Today, we’re going to pick apart what’s broken and talk about ways to fix it with two women who have been battling this issue for years. Tabitha Robin Martens is a mixed ancestry Swampy Cree researcher and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems. When she’s not writing and teaching about Indigenous food sovereignty, she spends her time on land, working with her people and learning traditional Cree food practices. And Melana Roberts is a food policy expert and food justice advocate and the Chair of Food Secure Canada. She recently led the charge to help create North America’s first municipal Black food sovereignty plan at the city of Toronto.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> Welcome Melana.</p>
<p><strong>Melana Roberts:</strong> Thanks. Glad to be here.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> And welcome, Tabitha.</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Hi, so happy to be here. Thank you.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> Melana, I want to start with you because I know that you just had this big victory at city hall in Toronto. As a consultant, you helped lead the way to get Canada’s first Black food sovereignty plan in place. So congratulations on making that happen, and I want to talk about the details of the plan, but I want to address first, why is such a plan necessary? What was broken? And I’m hoping that you can paint a picture of what things have been like.</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> Yeah, thanks for the question and the interest. Before getting into it, I feel like it’s really important to just ground where I’m coming from. And so I am based living and working in the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, as well as many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis people who have really been the stewards of much of my initial understanding around sovereignty and work on this land in this place. And I think I’m also a product and a proud ancestor of many Afro-descended people who came to Canada, including a long line of strong matriarchs who really grounded my understanding and the importance of freedom in multiple contexts and understanding liberation and of the various systems of oppression that have kind of led me to feel deeply connected to this work. So in terms of thinking about why this plan is so important and how we got here, I think in the context of Black communities, particularly in Toronto, but in Canada broadly, I think we need to look at the food insecurity situation. So the pandemic really was, you know I hate to say it, but a window of opportunity because it really shone a stark light for the average Canadian, the average person who wasn’t necessarily engaged in food work. I mean, Tabitha might agree, that a lot of this stuff was no shock to folks who do this in their day in, day out. But we’ve had the highest food insecurity rates in Canada that we’ve ever seen ever. And when we look at Black communities, these rates are a lot higher. Similarly to Indigenous communities than the average Canadian Black family saw 3.5 times the rate of food insecurity, even before the pandemic, when compared to white families, and that includes things like 36.6 per cent of children living in food insecure households that are Black. We saw high food insecurity rates that have been linked to chronic diseases, so diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, linked to depression. In poor health and education outcomes broadly for children and youth, and increasingly those things have also been shown to have more severe cases of COVID-19.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> You know, I hear you saying you have this list, right? I think people, I mean that some people think, well, food insecurity means we are hungry or people are hungry. And what you’re saying is the implications are just so far reaching.</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> Absolutely. I mean, even just take it back from, you know, when you think about people in the first memories that have, you know, growing up, it’s often or the deep connections they have to their grandparents, their family, it’s often linked to food, right? Food is so much more than just nutritional content. It is linked to our well-being. I mean, the other day, a Black activist, Wendie Poitras, who is based in Nova Scotia, said to me, “Food is the first fight,” and I just thought it was such a powerful way to understand why, when we start to tackle those challenges, we start to tackle so much more than food insecurity. You start to tackle how people are connecting to the land, to culture, to history, to community. And so that’s part of why Food Security Initiative and particularly a Black food sovereignty plan, was such a critical step and a win not only for myself, but for many of the Black activists and organizations who have been calling for this type of shift — long before I had the privilege of working with many of them to pull together a plan.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> And Tabitha, what are some of the things that you’ve been seeing and hearing? Like, what does that look like?</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Thinking about what Melana said, like food is the first fight, like many people don’t realize that colonization and the desire to colonize the lands of Canada, were done so in order that early colonizers would be the indigenous peoples of this land. That was the desire, and in order to do that, they had to remove Indigenous bodies from the land. Like we had to be killed. And one of the mechanisms for doing that was starvation. And you can trace starvation over 300 years and most acutely over 150 years. And the history of that, the patterns of that starvation have never left and are still very present in Indigenous communities. And so really, food insecurity for Indigenous people is based on this colonial infrastructure. And a challenge that I have with food security is that it doesn’t address the power inherent in food. And for Indigenous people, that power has been used to control us, to manipulate us, to get rid of us. And so my work really focuses on a food sovereignty lens because food security fails to consider the power dimensions of food. And for communities of colour, that power dimension is one of the most important parts of our lives, whether we’re aware of all of the systemic ways that implicate this desire to keep us essentially unwell or under control or under-resourced.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> So to make sure I understand, the food sovereignty lens takes into account power and systems of power and access to land.</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Yes, absolutely. And a big challenge for food security interventions is that they don’t challenge those systems of power. And so essentially, food security interventions continue to be Band-Aid solutions because we’re not addressing all the underlying issues, we’re not addressing that infrastructure.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> You know, the two pandemics that we’re talking about — the pandemic and the racial reckoning that we experienced last summer and how that has exposed and also exacerbated many of the inequities in our society. I’m wondering, how have you seen it affect access to nutritious food in your communities? And I mean, Tabitha, could you talk a little bit about that?</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> So there are myriad challenges, and I won’t be able to quite do it justice. This is so complex, right? We’re really looking almost at a spiderweb and if you tug at each strand, it’s it reverberates and is interconnected throughout. But I can talk about a few challenges. So one of those challenges for Indigenous communities, specifically reserve-based Indigenous communities, occurred around lockdowns. So what that has, of course, looked like is that when communities are in lockdown, special circumstances have to take place in terms of how food is transferred to remote First Nations communities, for example. So that poses a challenge. The third intersecting crises, or I think climate change is more of an epidemic, that has been layered on to this time. So for an Indigenous food system, we’re not really talking about just the physical components of food, right? We’re not just talking about the carrots or the moose. We’re talking about the systems and practices and processes that are embedded within our culture that give us direction in terms of how we eat and why we eat and how we celebrate food. And so we’re seeing fissures and breakdowns in family structures, in abilities to share food, in access to food. And then, of course, the underlying piece is this shaky ground, this instability that comes from poverty. So there are so many parts and pieces here that affect the ways that Indigenous peoples eat, and those, of course, were heightened during the pandemic.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> Melana, how about the communities that you work with? How did things get worse during COVID?</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> Yeah, I think that’s a really important question, and I really appreciate you hearing this idea of networks and the importance of that. So in the context of Black residents, Black communities in the city of Toronto and across Canada, even the statistics showed that some of that, particularly in the first kind of wave of the pandemic, a lot of the job losses that were seen were of Black women. They saw some of the highest job losses. And often, you know, statistics have shown that women are really the number of single households that are particularly impacted by food insecurity and more vulnerable to that who saw their income just completely fall away. And that’s a critical piece in determining whether someone has the agency, the ability to buy food. And so we saw this huge demand of folks who weren’t able to access food often lived in areas that Karen Washington terms food apartheid. So areas that are not food deserts, which are a natural phenomenon, the idea of connecting it to deserts with this idea of policy and decisions that have made it an area where there’s not a lot of grocery stores in that area.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> And so, the idea of a food apartheid is like, this is a purposeful division.</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> Yeah, purposeful division and planning decisions that negatively often impact low income communities, racialized communities in urban centres with less access to infrastructure and resources that would make food access easier. And so when you compound those challenges, we saw that there was a huge demand of the Black population to access food. And I think we have a number of organizations in the city of Toronto who provide culturally appropriate food specifically focussed on the Black community. And they were overwhelmed. The African Food Basket is an example of one of those strong longtime leaders here and just overwhelmed with the demand and couldn’t keep up. So we saw a number of grassroots organizations pop up, and when we saw funds being deployed to support these communities with resources to be able to deliver fresh produce and culturally appropriate food in those neighbourhoods, often those small, grassroots, community-based initiatives that were providing the support and addressing that need weren’t able to even access grants because they weren’t a charity or they weren’t at the designation of a non-profit. And so we saw the overworking, the burnout of those workers within the system, who themselves are often being vulnerable to being food secure, have increased susceptibility of contracting COVID because they’re out there in the frontline supporting community and not being able to meet that high demand of residents who were really struggling in this moment. So the importance of networks and relying on the community gardens, they were often closed during the pandemic, not even being able to have those additional backup resources that connect people, give them the power to be able to address shortfall in these moments.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> What were some of the ways that people came together to figure things out at this time? Like you said, some community gardens were shut down. Are they back up and running, for example? Or are you seeing things that are working?</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> So I think a number of different interventions. I think in this moment, we really did see people rally together. And one of the things that really struck me is the number of grassroots organizations that provide other types of services, so supporting women against gender-based violence. So, for example, with FoodShare Toronto, who was able to act as kind of an anchor, being able to distribute funds and food to these organizations to deliver them in different areas targeting populations who saw serious food insecurity during the pandemic. And so I think that that was some of the innovation leveraging those networks to be able to provide those supports. I think we also saw a lot of advocacy. So a lot of people recognizing the importance of farmers markets as key areas to be able to access fresh food and the closure of them creating a lot of challenges, not only for once again residents, but also for those farmers and particularly for Black farmers. It’s hard enough to be successful in farming and to be able to have those inputs as a racialized person, let alone Black farmers who are underrepresented within the agricultural space. And so not being able to sell their food and with the very niche market of providing cultural foods, the pandemic can be really challenging. So different approaches to help people transition, to be selling food online as a touchpoint to be able to connect with more folks was also an innovation we saw. And through some advocacy, we also saw farmers markets open up mid-pandemic, being recognized as a key space for people.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> Tabitha, how about you? Did you see similar kinds of innovations or community work on the ground?</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Yes. One of the most exciting parts of my job is the way that folks are rolling up their sleeves and they’re getting onto the land and taking the responsibility to feed each other again. So various initiatives, like community freezer programs. In some communities, hunters were asked to go out onto the land and stock freezers within the community or stock elders’ freezers. There was a strong mobilization of Indigenous peoples that were really working to make sure that the elders were protected because the loss of the elders, and many died through the pandemic, but that’s a significant loss to an Indigenous food system because the elders really have the roadmaps for what our food systems can look like again. And so other initiatives, like medicine picking, where communities were sending people out into the bush or individuals were taking their own initiative to go out into the bush and pick lots of Labrador tea, for example, which is an important medicine during the pandemic. It’s often used for colds and flus, and we’re sending those to communities that were in lockdown, for example. So all of those initiatives in which we start to take care of each other again. I mean, that’s the work that makes my heart swell, and that’s the work that I think will fundamentally change our food system so that we can go back to a system where we feed each other again, where we both feed ourselves, but feed each other. But there are a lot of political pieces to what happened in the pandemic as well. I was part of a group that when the government announced the $100 million for food banks … Indigenous, there were activists and knowledge holders and elders and doctors. We got together to say, can some of that money be directly funded towards Indigenous communities? So like direct funding, rather than the funding come through other avenues that eventually trickle their way to our communities. Can we direct fund communities? So if a community says we want to create a freezer program where we’re stocking up freezers full of wild meats and wild fish, can we fund those directly? But unfortunately, the government felt that we were not in the position to be able to effectively distribute those funds and that we didn’t have a track record. And so the money ended up going to breakfast clubs and to food banks. And the challenge with that, of course, is that we continue systems in which outside parties are feeding Indigenous people, and that’s what got us in this mess in the first place. Our food system has been deliberately decimated and food has been used as a means to control us for so long. And really, food was the means of the colonization of Canada. And we see that further exemplified through residential schools in which children were punished for speaking their language, in which children were also experiencing malnutrition and starvation. So these patterns sort of occur over and over again, and what we wanted to see in the pandemic was Indigenous peoples responding to ourselves, you know, being able to come together in a community capacity to meet each other’s needs and so to support and work with each other. But we weren’t successful with that. And so there’s a lot of challenging pieces to this, but ultimately what we’re after is our ancestral and traditional food systems that allowed us to take care of one another. The elders say feasting is one of the highest ceremonies in our culture, and part of feasting is the gift of food. And one of the best ways that we can take care of each other is to feed each other at such a foundational principle. Certainly in my own Cree culture, but I know from working with other Indigenous communities that it’s similar, that we really wanted to get back to that. But we’ve always been innovative, I will say, and resistors and have found ways to kind of step outside of those systems and go back to how we can feed each other again. But there’s a lot there’s still a lot of colonial infrastructure that’s in place that prevents us from doing that.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> You both mentioned food banks, and I think when people think about, you know, solutions to hunger, we think food banks as somewhere near the top of the list and you mentioned the Canadian government putting a lot of money towards that. What is the role of food banks? Melana?</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> Yeah, the best food banks say that they are working to put themselves out of business. This is not, food banks are not a long-term solution. And so at the same time, I say it’s complicated because in this moment, because of the vast and dire nature of food insecurity, we’re talking about people’s lives, people having the sustenance to get from day to day, and people are truly dependent on that system. And so I think they are meeting an immediate need. But I think what we really need to think about is how do we start to put the solutions in place through bringing and providing the adequate resources and spaces, whether it be for Indigenous nations, whether it be for Black communities, other racialized communities, other communities that are experiencing challenges, bringing an understanding of how a sovereignty lens can support them to be able to address these needs themselves and start to address those barriers. So, yeah, I’d that I’d love to hear how Tabitha would explain that. But yeah, it’s a complicated issue with food banks. </p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> It’s very complicated, and I don’t want to deny the value of food banks and keeping people fed and alive. But at what cost? You know, we know that food banks as a charity model are considered dumping grounds for less desirable food, and we also know that many of those less desirable foods are linked to the high prevalence of diseases such as diabetes. And so it’s also about like the right food that we’re eating. And for Indigenous people, it’s really about this reclamation of our ancestral food system that includes hunting and fishing and trapping. Food banks, of course, can’t meet those needs. And for most First Nations communities, food banks are not an option because they’re too remote and they are not food banks located on each and every reserve. So that leaves out on-reserve populations entirely. And this notion of dependence that Melana talked about, I mean, that’s part of the architecture of colonialism was this desire to make Indigenous peoples in particular dependent on food. That was the means for the colonization of Canada, and it’s how many Indigenous chiefs signed treaties so that they could alleviate the hunger in their communities. So in many ways, we’re perpetuating the same ideas of the past. We think we’ve come a lot farther away from those, but they just look different now. But it’s certainly more insidious. So I understand and I respect the role that food banks play because we want people to live. But I also want us to get to a point where we stop treating food security with Band-Aid solutions because we aren’t moving the dial at all in that approach.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> So let’s spend a little time then, because we want to talk about what needs to be done. You want to move the dial and we want to move forward. So we talked a little bit about what food justice looks like, but what does it look like? I know both of you are working, Tabitha, your focus is more the western part of the country. Are you seeing changes happening, local government or provincial policy in their approaches towards food sovereignty for Indigenous people?</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> This is so interesting. Last year, someone asked me this question if I could talk about the changes. I’ve been doing this work for 11 years and they said, “I’m wondering if you could talk about some of the positive changes that you’ve seen as regards to government supporting this,” and I couldn’t think of a single thing. The most positive change that I am seeing is Indigenous communities taking this work on themselves and saying, we know this system is broken. We know we’re not going to be fed in the ways that we need to, and so we need to circumnavigate the system and do it ourselves. I think that one of the biggest challenges for our market-based food system in Canada is that we have done a really successful job of separating food from the land. And that is problematic because if we don’t at a household level, at a societal level understand that food comes from the land, then the government can get away with resource extraction at the levels that they are. And we don’t we haven’t yet made those those causal links to say, hang on. And I think many Indigenous communities in Western Canada are doing that with resistance against pipelines or with resistance against hydro development. You can’t alter and poison our lands. How will we live? I really wish that all of Canada would activate around this notion that food comes from the land for all of us and that the rate at which we are seeing climate change and that the rate at which resource extraction is taking place and the ways that we have valued capitalism over almost everything else is so deeply problematic and shortsighted that we are leaving our future generations with quite a mess.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> So in some ways, what I’m hearing you say is that local and provincial governments need to get out of the way. You know, the circumnavigating that you’re seeing that’s happening, that governments need to make room for that and maybe fund it so that people don’t experience the kind of vulnerability and burnout you mentioned?</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Yeah, I mean, that’s a whole other piece to this that has not even necessarily been factored in. And that is problematic, especially with food security interventions, is that we expect people, you know, through the introduction of community gardens on reserves or other food programming, we expect all of that work to be done for free on top of everyone’s day-to-day job. We just don’t value food work in the way that we should, and that’s something that COVID has certainly shined a light on is the fact that we just don’t value our food workers, even our grocery store workers, in the ways that we should be.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> Melana, as we mentioned in the beginning, you’ve actually had real success in doing some groundbreaking policy work in helping to pass the first Black food sovereignty plan for the city of Toronto, the first of its kind, I think in North America.</p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> And this plan is really trying to do a lot more than just address food insecurity, but to really draw on the structural levers and the role that I think the city of Toronto has been able to play in championing Black food leadership, which is really you have to see this plan as a community-led plan that’s facilitated by the city. Starting off with this idea of ensuring that Black-led, Black-serving organizations that are really at the forefront of this work are adequately resourced to be able to respond to this day to day food insecurity, crises and challenges to be able to do this work in a way that doesn’t lead to burnout. In addition to that, also ensuring, you know, in an urban context that the city is providing access to green and growing space in neighbourhoods with high Black populations. So, you know, before the pandemic and before the plan, it was very clear that in neighbourhoods with the highest Black populations, we saw the lowest access to green space and the city tree canopy cover. And you know, there’s been lots of links to that with mental health challenges and challenges during the pandemic as well. So ensuring that there is growing space that people can access and thrive in regards to urban agriculture as a key kind of tool to support food and security interventions. Thinking about our health system. So when we’re thinking about health, often times it’s just adequate nutritional intake of foods. We’re really understanding the importance of culturally appropriate food and of the long legacies of trauma and intergenerational racism and poverty that actually impact our health just as much as having the right foods to eat and the role of anti-Black racism in perpetuating poor health outcomes. And how we can bring those lenses into food programs, health programs to be able to to serve Black residents more adequately and increase access to infrastructure. So we have community kitchens across the city, different programs and initiatives just for businesses and Black businesses are often have challenges and access. Black youth in those neighbourhoods have challenges to access the spaces, so opening them up. And we’ve been able to partner even with museum sites that have land working with local Indigenous groups who’ve been addressing food security challenges among those populations to be able to increase their access to museum spaces with kitchen space and growing space to develop traditional gardens, responding with medicinal plants and other interventions supporting those communities. And in addition to that, of course, having increased food spaces so Black food hubs, food markets and other cultural spaces that improve access to food directly in those communities. So those are some of the types of pillars and interventions that have laid the roadmap to create a more sustainable Black food ecosystem in the city of Toronto that has really been identified directly by Black communities and built to develop and deliver a plan.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> I understand Tabitha, as you said, it’s a spider web and there’s so much that we could cover. Guys, thank you. You couldn’t see me and I also try and keep myself quiet because what you’re saying is so amazing, but I was nodding a lot. Thank you so much for such a rich conversation.</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> Thanks for asking important questions about it. </p>
<p><strong>Melana:</strong> I want to thank you. I think, you know the space to have this conversation. Being able to learn and be in conversation with Tabitha is a real honour and always something that I learn from.</p>
<p><strong>Tabitha:</strong> And I feel the same way Melana and I really love seeing the ways that we are pushing back against this notions that have divided marginalized groups historically in which we’ve been told that we can’t come together because we’re in competition with one another and that we should be so happy with the scraps that we receive. So I’d love to see the ways that you’re pushing back against that and that we’re working with each other.</p>
<p><strong>Vinita:</strong> That’s it for this episode of <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em>, and that’s actually it for our season. Thank you so much for listening. I learnt so much today from Melana and Tabitha about how to talk about food sovereignty. And I’d love to hear what you’re thinking after that conversation. I’m on Twitter @writevinita. And don’t forget to tag our producers @conversationca. You can use the hashtag #DontCallMeResilient. And if you’d like to read more about food sovereignty, you can go to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca">www.theconversation.com</a>. We have all kinds of info in our show notes with links to stories and further research. And if you haven’t already listened, there are 11 other episodes in our feed. Please go and have a look around. There are so many amazing voices on this pod. Finally, if you like what you heard today, please tell a friend about us. And believe it or not, those positive reviews motivate us to keep going. So please leave us a review on whatever podcast app you’re using. </p>
<p><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> is a production of <em>The Conversation Canada</em>. It was made possible by a grant for journalism innovation from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The series is produced and hosted by me, Vinita Srivastava. Our producer is Susana Ferreira. Our associate producer is Ibrahim Daair. Reza Dahya is our incredibly patient sound producer and our fabulous consulting producer is Jennifer Moroz. Lisa Varano leads audience development for <em>The Conversation Canada</em> and Scott White is our CEO. And if you’re wondering who wrote and performed the music we use on the pod, that’s the amazing Zaki Ibrahim. The track is called “Something in the Water.” Thanks for listening, everyone, and hope you join us again. Until then, I’m Vinita. And please, don’t call me resilient.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the problem of food insecurity for many people, especially racialized and Indigenous households.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708112021-10-29T07:27:28Z2021-10-29T07:27:28ZThe EU’s Green Deal: opportunities, threats and risks for South African agriculture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429126/original/file-20211028-23-126pqru.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">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The European Union – among a host of other countries – is seeking to implement urgent policy measures to combat the effects of climate change. In its 2030 climate target plan, the EU aims to <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en">reduce greenhouse gas emissions</a> by 55% from 1990 levels. </p>
<p>To that end, the EU has crafted the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/food/system/files/2020-05/f2f_action-plan_2020_strategy-info_en.pdf">“Farm to Fork strategy”</a>. Launched in 2020, it is a new approach that ensures that agriculture, fisheries, and the entire food system effectively contributes to achieving the target. The strategy is at the core of a broader initiative, the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/agriculture-and-green-deal_en">European Green Deal</a>. It’s aim is to reduce the environmental and carbon footprint in the way food is produced and consumed.</p>
<p>The strategy lists 27 actions. These cover food production, processing, retailing, and waste. They aren’t expected to be implemented until 2022, to give regulators and food system actors time to transition into the new policy regime.</p>
<p>It has four broad pillars:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Consumer demand. This focuses on nutritional labelling and creating a sustainable labelling framework that covers nutrition, climate, environment and social aspects of food products. The labelling requirements are intended to empower consumers to make conscious decisions about health and sustainability.</p></li>
<li><p>Food production. This sets out the fundamentals for sustainable production by setting targets that reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides and the revision of legislation covering feed additives and animal welfare.</p></li>
<li><p>Industry behaviour. This seeks concrete commitments from agribusiness and other food-system actors concerning health and sustainability. The EU will develop a code of conduct on the development of business and marketing practices and require agribusiness to integrate sustainability into their corporate strategies.</p></li>
<li><p>Trade policy. This seeks commitment from third countries on the use of pesticides and animal welfare and the fight against microbial resistance. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The EU is seeking to compel other countries, including South Africa, to adhere to new regulations if they want to continue to access its lucrative market. This raises questions about the capacity and potential for South Africa to adapt, as well as the risks and opportunities that the regulations present to future access to the EU market.</p>
<h2>The challenges?</h2>
<p>South African producers – as well as those in the rest of <a href="https://www.sacu.int/">Southern African Customs Union </a> and Mozambique – may face several challenges. These include:</p>
<p><strong>Regulatory and policy uncertainty:</strong> It might take some time for regulators and food-system actors to align their policy, regulations, and business decisions to the emerging requirements of the food system. Policy cycles and political processes can impose a lag-time of anywhere between 3 and 5 years. This is likely to lead to a transition phase of regulatory and policy uncertainty.</p>
<p><strong>High costs of compliance:</strong> Over the years, South African agribusinesses have had to conform to stringent EU regulatory standards. There has also been an ever-increasing set of private standards. These range from traceability, to exposure to allergens, good farming practice and child labour, to name just a few. It also includes various kinds of certification. Resource-poor farming households can seldom afford such high costs of adopting new regulations and certification. Without financial support, most smallholder farmers will inevitably be excluded from participating in export markets.</p>
<p>But there are opportunities too.</p>
<h2>Potential growth points</h2>
<p>One area in which there may be room for South Africa to grow market share is in genetically modified (GM) foods. South Africa produces <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/eu-review-policy-on-genetically-engineered-crops-africa-by-wandile-sihlobo-2-2021-05">some GM crops</a>. But the EU currently has very tight restrictions on the GM imports. However, it is currently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-calls-rethink-gmo-rules-gene-edited-crops-2021-04-29/">reviewing </a> its GM regulations. It has released <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/food/system/files/2021-04/gmo_mod-bio_ngt_exec-sum_en.pdf">a study</a> confirming that new genomic techniques products have the potential to contribute to sustainable agri-food systems in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy. </p>
<p>A change in its policy could open up new export avenues for South Africa.</p>
<p>Another area of growth is in high value organically produced food. South Africa has existing commercially driven export value chains that already conform to emerging rules in this sector. However, these foods are still targeted at niche markets in the EU. But the Farm to Fork Strategy seeks to make them mainstream. This is can be an opportunity for South Africa if farmers can begin to produce higher volumes at a relatively competitive price.</p>
<p>Another opportunity arises from projections that <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/food-security-and-why-it-matters/">global food demand will increase by as much as 60% by 2050</a>. Few EU member states can allocate enough land to produce and match supply to meet this demand. The assumption, therefore, is that the EU will increasingly depend on food imports. </p>
<p>South Africa has at least <a href="https://wandilesihlobo.com/2018/02/28/these-provinces-have-unused-land-suitable-for-agriculture/">1.3 million hectares</a> of additional cropland that can be sustainably brought into production. </p>
<p>Against this backdrop, South Africa can continue to expand its production to meet an increasingly significant portion of the EU’s food needs. This is especially so if local food systems adapt and align to standards to meet any new regulatory standards.</p>
<p>But the country’s agricultural sector will also have to up its game when it comes to technological innovation. Technical change will have to involve the adoption of technologies that will reduce the carbon footprint of the agro-food system as well as increase yields in a sustainable way. </p>
<p>Part of that process will be to expand the adoption of high-yielding, drought- and pest-tolerant genetically engineered crops. These will enable farmers to use less land to produce more food. This will also allow for more land to be set aside for preservation and increase the potential for carbon sequestration.</p>
<h2>The risks</h2>
<p><strong>Increased inequality:</strong> There need to be deliberate and strategic interventions that support regulatory compliance. Without these there is a real chance that resource-poor farmers will be left out of the new “sustainable agro-food system” due to their lack of financial and technical capacity to conform to new standards. </p>
<p>This will only serve to deepen the inequality gap and widen the divergence between the informal and formal food systems. The first mover advantage for EU value-chain actors may potentially displace sub-Saharan African exporters in markets if adoption of regulations takes more time than initially envisaged.</p>
<p><strong>Off-shoring of “bad production” to South Africa:</strong> Food producers who cannot comply with the provisions of the Farm to Fork strategy could potentially relocate parts of their value chain to South Africa, targeting exports to the Middle East, and the Far East and Asia where food standards are far less stringent. Without any pressure to comply to environmental sustainability, the types of technologies that will be implemented in South Africa may hurt the continent in the long run.</p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>The four key factors that will drive the re-set of the food system through the Farm to Fork strategy will be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>technical change;</p></li>
<li><p>business model innovation;</p></li>
<li><p>growing food demand; and </p></li>
<li><p>policy and regulation. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The EU and the private sector may need to provide significant technical and financial support to facilitate South Africa’s transition and align its regulatory environment with the focus on health and sustainability. </p>
<p>In the long run, the expectation is that with the harmonisation of standards and practices will also come structural change of the food system in such a way that value chain profits are not disproportionately accumulated at the expense of farmers. This will require higher levels of transparency across all parts and aspects of the South African food system.</p>
<p><em>This an edited version of an article, <a href="https://www.econ3x3.org/node/463">The EU Green Deal: how will it impact South African agricultural exports?</a>, originally published by <a href="https://www.econ3x3.org/about-econ3x3-forum">Econ 3x3</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), and also a member of the South African President's Economic Advisory Council (PEAC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tinashe Kapuya received funding at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) and Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is currently managing grant funding from USAID’s Bureau for Food Security (BFS) as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
For his PhD studies he received a partial grant funding from the African Growth and Development Policy Modelling Consortium and a bursary from the Bax Nomvete Bursary Trust Fund (administered by the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa).
He is currently a Senior Program Officer at AGRA. He works with a number of firms, including the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy as a Research Associate, and the National Association of Allied and Component Manufacturers Association, as a trade advisor.</span></em></p>The EU’s trading partners, including South Africa, will have to adhere to new regulations tied to the blocs ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy.Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch UniversityTinashe Kapuya, Research Associate, Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1687812021-10-07T14:48:33Z2021-10-07T14:48:33ZCivil society groups can help fix South Africa’s food system if they’re given a seat at the table<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423339/original/file-20210927-27-147r0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food insecurity is a daily reality for millions of South Africans. Community organisations can help.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dino Lloyd/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a long list of existing global crises made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, including <a href="https://nicspaull.com/2020/09/30/the-lost-decade-my-fm-article-on-nids-cram-w2/">poverty</a> and inequality. Another is food insecurity.</p>
<p>In South Africa, <a href="https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/13.-Van-der-Berg-S.-Patel-L-and-Bridgeman-G.-2021-Food-insecurity-in-South-Africa-%E2%80%93-Evidence-from-NIDS-CRAM-Wave-5.pdf">researchers found that</a>, more than a year into the pandemic, food insecurity was still well above pre-pandemic levels. Simply put, this means more people than before do not have reliable access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food. The figure was already high before COVID-19: <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=12135">almost 20%</a> of South African households had inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. In some of Cape Town’s poorer neighbourhoods the figure was <a href="https://hungrycities.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/HCP12.pdf">as high as 54%</a>.</p>
<p>But the pandemic hasn’t just shed light on existing problems. It has also identified those who might help to tackle these problems in the longer term: civil society organisations. In South Africa, these groups did a heroic job during the initial COVID-19 crisis, providing <a href="http://www.cssr.uct.ac.za/cssr/pub/wp/455">millions of meals</a> for people in need. In the Western Cape province, for example, organisations provided <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MMCfzruoCFjcQdHSMsv88eH3nHPWsueg/view?usp=sharing">more than half</a> of the food aid distributed in the first few months of the lockdown, reaching <a href="https://wcedp.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Western-Cape-NGO-Government-Food-Relief-Forum-Report-October-2020.pdf">5.2 million people</a>. </p>
<p>Without these organisations there would have been a much larger humanitarian crisis. And their work is ongoing as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-faces-mass-hunger-if-efforts-to-offset-impact-of-covid-19-are-eased-143143">need for emergency food aid</a> continues. That’s because they didn’t just respond to the effects of the global pandemic: they also dealt with the fundamental inequalities of a food system <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03066150.2016.1259223">designed</a> to make profits for large corporate retailers and food processing companies rather than to provide safe and nutritious food for the majority of people. </p>
<p>And, as we argue in our <a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/publications/engaging-civil-society-organisations-in-food-security-governance-in-the-western-cape-reflections-from-emergency-food-relief-during-covid/">recently published study</a>, these organisations should be drawn more formally into food governance. </p>
<p>There are three main reasons for our argument. First, South African civil society organisations have shown <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-07-27-children-will-not-go-hungry-any-more/">they’re willing and able</a> to hold the government to account. Second, they’re ideally placed to contribute their fine-grained local knowledge. They intimately understand the specific needs of the most vulnerable in their communities. Third, given their role in communities, they can play a huge role in education and information sharing about the food system and nutrition as well as performing agricultural and nutritional training.</p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p><a href="https://foodsecurity.ac.za/publications/engaging-civil-society-organisations-in-food-security-governance-in-the-western-cape-reflections-from-emergency-food-relief-during-covid/">Our research</a> sought to understand the new civil society organisation landscape in relation to food security in response to the COVID-19 crisis. We examined the relationship between these organisations and government bodies. We also identified how organisations can be supported to engage in food governance after the COVID-19 crisis has passed.</p>
<p>The research showed that civil society organisations relied heavily on their existing networks and relationships with communities when looking to distribute food. These relationships helped them identify vulnerable people who might otherwise have slipped through the cracks and gone hungry.</p>
<p>Partnership was key. We found that larger organisations often helped to channel resources to smaller, more informal community-based organisations.</p>
<p>But this collaboration largely didn’t extend to civil society organisations’ relationships with government departments. In general, these organisations found working with the government difficult. This came down to a mismatch between the government’s culture of rigid compliance and box ticking and the realities organisations were seeing on the ground. There were a few bright spots: some organisations developed valuable relationships with individuals in the provincial government. </p>
<p>It is clear from our research that civil society organisations already play a vital, varied role in South African society and governance. But it’s important that they be seen as more than service delivery mechanisms. This will allow them to play a bigger role in shaping a better food system. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-should-learn-from-brazil-about-how-to-tackle-hidden-hunger-118613">South Africa should learn from Brazil about how to tackle 'hidden hunger'</a>
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<p>There’s international precedent for this approach. In the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, civil society organisations <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-should-learn-from-brazil-about-how-to-tackle-hidden-hunger-118613">worked closely</a> with government departments to design and implement programmes that lessened hunger.</p>
<p>In the same way, South African civil society organisations need to be given a seat at the decision-making table and empowered to help drive long-term change.</p>
<h2>Setting up systems for collaboration</h2>
<p>There are a few ways this can be achieved. South Africa’s 2017 National Food and Nutrition Security Plan stipulated that a Food and Nutrition Security Council must be created. This process must be accelerated and civil society representatives must be among the members. Similar councils could be set up at both provincial and local government level.</p>
<p>It is also critical that short-term solutions such as emergency feeding be linked with long-term change of the system. This can be achieved by helping stakeholders in the food system – like government officials – “see” and understand the system as a whole. <a href="https://www.agroecologynow.com/community-kitchens-cape-town/">Community kitchens</a> are a valuable way to do this. They bring people together not just to grow, cook and share food, but also to deliberate on how to solve food insecurity as well as recognise how it is <a href="https://www.globalhungerindex.org/issues-in-focus/2017.html">shaped by other forms of inequality</a>. </p>
<p>Civil society organisations must also be connected to the debates that help shape decisions and policies about food and policies that affect food.</p>
<p>Crucially, they should be allowed to operate in an enabling environment. They shouldn’t be controlled through heavy handed regulation or stifled by red tape. There are well-established <a href="https://www.gov.za/red-tape-reduction-unit-resolves-90-queries">government programmes</a> for reducing red tape or increasing the ease of doing business, aimed at the private sector. Similar initiatives would benefit civil society organisations.</p>
<p>There have been <a href="https://wcedp.co.za/western-cape-food-forum-evolves/">examples</a> of effective collaboration between civil society organisations and local and provincial government during the crisis to deliver food aid. This collaborative approach needs to be built on so that it becomes a lasting legacy of the crisis.</p>
<p>But building partnerships and enabling environments takes time and resources. COVID-19 has shown the government needs to invest in developing and strengthening relationships outside times of crisis that it can call upon in times of need.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Camilla Adelle receives funding from the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Haywood receives funding from the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>These organisations are ideally placed to contribute their fine-grained local knowledge. They intimately understand the specific needs of the most vulnerable in their communities.Camilla Adelle, Research Fellow, Department of Political Sciences, University of PretoriaAshley Haywood, PhD candidate in the School of Government, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.