scholarly journals Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions

2013 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Garnett
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Home Food ◽  
Food Security And Nutrition ◽  
Sustainability Problems ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Home Food Preparation

The global food system makes a significant contribution to climate changing greenhouse gas emissions with all stages in the supply chain, from agricultural production through processing, distribution, retailing, home food preparation and waste, playing a part. It also gives rise to other major environmental impacts, including biodiversity loss and water extraction and pollution. Policy makers are increasingly aware of the need to address these concerns, but at the same time they are faced with a growing burden of food security and nutrition-related problems, and tasked with ensuring that there is enough food to meet the needs of a growing global population. In short, more people need to be fed better, with less environmental impact. How might this be achieved? Broadly, three main ‘takes’ or perspectives, on the issues and their interactions, appear to be emerging. Depending on one's view point, the problem can be conceptualised as a production challenge, in which case there is a need to change how food is produced by improving the unit efficiency of food production; a consumption challenge, which requires changes to the dietary drivers that determine food production; or a socio-economic challenge, which requires changes in how the food system is governed. This paper considers these perspectives in turn, their implications for nutrition and climate change, and their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, an argument is made for a reorientation of policy thinking which uses the insights provided by all three perspectives, rather than, as is the situation today, privileging one over the other.

Food security in the 21st century and in the role of biotechnology

foresight ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 399-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Pinstrup‐Andersen ◽  
Marc J. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Adequate Diet ◽  
The World ◽  
Productivity Gains ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Global Food

Although global food production has consistently kept pace with population growth, the gap between food production and demand in certain parts of the world is likely to remain. More than 800 million people in developing countries lack access to a minimally adequate diet. Continued productivity gains are essential on the supply side, because global population will increase by 73 million people a year over the next two decades. In this article we assess the current global food situation, look at the prospects through to the year 2020, and outline the policies needed to achieve food security for all. Emphasis is on the role that agricultural biotechnology might play in reaching this goal.

scholarly journals Global Food Security Assessment during 1961–2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14005
Author(s):  
Jingpeng Guo ◽  
Kebiao Mao ◽  
Zijin Yuan ◽  
Zhihao Qin ◽  
Tongren Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
System Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Food Trade ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Global Food

Quantified components of the global food system are used to assess long-term global food security under a series of socio-economic, epidemic normalization and climate change scenarios. Here, we evaluate the global food security including the global farming system as well as the global food trade, reserve and loss systems from 1961 to 2019, and analyze their temporal and spatial characteristics by using the global food vulnerability (GFV) model. The spatio–temporal patterns of the vulnerability of the global food system were consistent with the GFSI. As food production and consumption vary greatly in different countries which have continued for a long time, food exports from many developed agricultural countries have compensated for food shortages in most countries (about 120 net grain-importing countries). As a result, many countries have relied heavily on food imports to maintain their domestic food supplies, ultimately causing the global food trade stability to have an increasing impact on the food security of most countries. The impact of global food trade on global food security increased from 9% to 17% during 1961–2019, which has increased the vulnerability of the global food system. The food damage in the United States, Russia, China, and India has varied significantly, and global cereal stocks have fluctuated even more since 2000. From 1961 to 2019, the food system security of some Nordic countries significantly improved, while the food system security of most African countries significantly deteriorated. Most countries with high food insecurity are located in Africa and South Asia. In order to cope with extreme events, these countries need to strengthen and improve their own food production and storage systems, which will help the World Food and Agriculture Organization to formulate relevant food policies and maintain sustainable development.

scholarly journals Overcoming undesirable resilience in the global food system

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom H. Oliver ◽  
Emily Boyd ◽  
Kelvin Balcombe ◽  
Tim G. Benton ◽  
James M. Bullock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Global Food

Non-technical summaryOur current global food system – from food production to consumption, including manufacture, packaging, transport, retail and associated businesses – is responsible for extensive negative social and environmental impacts which threaten the long-term well-being of society. This has led to increasing calls from science–policy organizations for major reform and transformation of the global food system. However, our knowledge regarding food system transformations is fragmented and this is hindering the development of co-ordinated solutions. Here, we collate recent research across several academic disciplines and sectors in order to better understand the mechanisms that ‘lock-in’ food systems in unsustainable states.

scholarly journals Resilience and reactivity of global food security

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (22) ◽  
pp. 6902-6907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Suweis ◽  
Joel A. Carr ◽  
Amos Maritan ◽  
Andrea Rinaldo ◽  
Paolo D’Odorico
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food System ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Country Specific

The escalating food demand by a growing and increasingly affluent global population is placing unprecedented pressure on the limited land and water resources of the planet, underpinning concerns over global food security and its sensitivity to shocks arising from environmental fluctuations, trade policies, and market volatility. Here, we use country-specific demographic records along with food production and trade data for the past 25 y to evaluate the stability and reactivity of the relationship between population dynamics and food availability. We develop a framework for the assessment of the resilience and the reactivity of the coupled population–food system and suggest that over the past two decades both its sensitivity to external perturbations and susceptibility to instability have increased.

scholarly journals The DELTA Model: Understanding the Ability of the Global Food System to Deliver Nutrition

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 689-689
Author(s):  
Nick Smith ◽  
Andrew Fletcher ◽  
Lakshmi Dave ◽  
Jeremy Hill ◽  
Warren McNabb
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Nutritional Adequacy ◽  
Global Food System ◽  
Global Nutrition ◽  
Global Food ◽  
Delta Model

Abstract Objectives While the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the current global food system attracts increasing research, its ability to nourish the global population must be prioritised. Our objective was to produce a computational model illustrating the nutritional adequacy of the current global food system and allow investigation of proposed global food system scenarios. Methods Data from several public databases was collected to describe food production, processing and waste in the global food system. Data was also sourced for global demographics and human nutritional requirements for 29 nutrients. These data were used to construct the DELTA Model. The model takes global food production scenarios as its input and calculates the nutrients available for human consumption, after consideration of animal feed uses, waste and non-food use. This amount of available nutrients was then compared to demographically weighted target daily intakes, allowing the nutritional adequacy of the food system to be quantified. The DELTA Model also includes nutrient bioavailability adjustments for protein and essential amino acids to ensure accurate conclusions are drawn for these nutrients, demonstrated to be pressure points in global nutrition previously. The model is freely available online. Results Modelling the 2018 global food system showed that neither energy nor protein are limiting under conditions of equal food distribution, even with a population increase of 1 billion. Halving food waste between farm and consumer allows for sufficient energy and protein availability to nourish the forecast 2050 population of 9.7 billion using current production volumes. However, numerous micronutrient insufficiencies emerge in these future scenarios. Considering the bioavailability of protein and amino acids reduced the availability of these nutrients by between 2% and 17% compared to simply considering the content of foods, emphasizing the importance of this consideration. Conclusions It is essential that nutritional adequacy is at the forefront of the sustainable food system debate. The DELTA Model allows both experts and non-experts to better understand food system dynamics in global nutrition, aiding the discussion of what changes to the food system may be appropriate. Funding Sources Funding from the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence.

scholarly journals Working the fields: The organization of labour in community supported agriculture

Organization ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-313
Author(s):  
David J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Community Supported Agriculture ◽  
Alternative Food Networks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Consumer Experiences ◽  
Marxian Analysis ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Global Food

Community supported agriculture schemes are a prominent example of localized alternatives to the global food system. They are presented as alternative nodes of food production, where the consumer experiences a much closer relationship to the produce they are consuming and to the labour involved in producing it. They lift the commodity veil by inviting the consumer into the world of production – of labour. However, there has been little analysis of labour undertaken in the setting of community supported agriculture, particularly the labour of community supported agriculture consumers, or members. Marxian analysis of the food system at the macro level has underpinned powerful critiques of its shortcomings and highlighted inequalities of land and labour, but has rarely been employed to understand the possibilities of alternative food networks at a more micro level. In this article, I draw on Marx’s concept of alienation to explore the experience and organization of labour within a community supported agriculture scheme in the United Kingdom. In doing so, I present a case study of how labour in a community supported agriculture scheme counteracts experiences of alienation created by capitalism and consider how this might inform (re)organization of labour in the food system, more generally.

scholarly journals Modeling the Contribution of Milk to Global Nutrition

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick W. Smith ◽  
Andrew J. Fletcher ◽  
Jeremy P. Hill ◽  
Warren C. McNabb
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Food System ◽  
High Quality Protein ◽  
Indispensable Amino Acids ◽  
High Valuation ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Global Nutrition ◽  
Global Food

Nutrient-rich foods play a major role in countering the challenges of nourishing an increasing global population. Milk is a source of high-quality protein and bioavailable amino acids, several vitamins, and minerals such as calcium. We used the DELTA Model, which calculates the delivery of nutrition from global food production scenarios, to examine the role of milk in global nutrition. Of the 29 nutrients considered by the model, milk contributes to the global availability of 28. Milk is the main contributing food item for calcium (49% of global nutrient availability), Vitamin B2 (24%), lysine (18%), and dietary fat (15%), and contributes more than 10% of global nutrient availability for a further five indispensable amino acids, protein, vitamins A, B5, and B12, phosphorous, and potassium. Despite these high contributions to individual nutrients, milk is responsible for only 7% of food energy availability, indicating a valuable contribution to global nutrition without necessitating high concomitant energy intakes. Among the 98 food items considered by the model, milk ranks in the top five contributors to 23 of the 29 nutrients modeled. This quantification of the importance of milk to global nutrition in the current global food system demonstrates the need for the high valuation of this food when considering future changes to the system.

scholarly journals Australian rangelands science – a strategic national asset

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Andrew Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Producing, processing and distributing food is the biggest thing that humans do on the planet. In aggregate terms, agriculture has been very successful in ensuring that global food production has more than kept pace with global population growth over recent decades. However, in recent years concerns have intensified about the quality, equity, sustainability and resilience of the food system. Only around one-third of all people on Earth are eating a healthy diet. The food system is the biggest user and polluter of land and water, the biggest driver of habitat and biodiversity loss, and on track to be the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The recent emergence of a novel coronavirus and the resultant COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the systemic risks to human health from current food production and distribution systems. How to produce more, healthier and safer food, much more efficiently and sustainably, in more difficult climates, and how to share it more equitably, is an existential challenge for humanity. Australian science, and rangeland science in particular, is well-placed to play a leadership role across the Indo-Pacific in this endeavour. The Australian innovation system in agriculture and natural resource management has long had to contend with highly variable climates and extreme weather events, to produce competitive products for global markets with minimal subsidies. The know-how, and associated policies and institutions developed in doing so, are a strategic national asset and an important element of Australian soft power in our region.

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