Fragile Food Systems and the Future

SDG of the month: A focus on food systems

Fragile Food Systems and the Future

Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, pescatarian, omnivore or carnivore, the topic of food can be polarising and the debate fierce. Food after all is a divisive topic. The world’s food system is fragile, unequal and in desperate need of a revamp. On the 23rd of September the Food Systems Summit met to address some of the issues surrounding food systems and to set in motion a sustainable pathway to end world hunger by 2030.

But, is the global food system really broken? Yes, there are an estimated 811 million people, a tenth of the planet's population, that were undernourished in 2020. At the same time there are around 2 billion overweight adults - 650 million of whom are critially so.

Coupled with these figures, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that 1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost or wasted globally each year, in other words one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. There is enough food produced to feed the world’s population, yet 811 million go hungry every day. The Covid 19 pandemic has exacerbated the already desperate situation.

Issues surrounding food systems

It is a thirsty industry using about 70% of the world's freshwater supply, leading to the desertification of soil. Chemical heavy agriculture causes pollution of soils, rivers, seas.

Greenhouse emissions are emitted from a range of processes within agriculture: including the deforestation to provide land to grow crops and graze animals, the transportation of goods in ships, planes and trucks, and even from the digestive tracts of livestock in the form of methane belching. It is an estimated 19 -32% of green house gas emissions.

Climate Change

As our climate changes there will be an increase in intense extreme weather events like hurricanes, fires, droughts and floods. Crops and plants are sensitive to the climate, too much or too little rainfall, a spell of hot or cold weather can have devastating effect on yields. Just look at the recent floods in Germany and China, the record temperatures and fires across the USA and the frost in Brazil.

 What is the summit about?

The upcoming U.N. summit on food systems aims to address the issues surrounding climate change, biodiversity loss, and to set a clear path to end world hunger by 2030. It will also address how to fund and implement policies and measures at national and local levels.

Innovation

Innovations in technology could create larger crop yields whilst mitigating the effects of climate change on food production. Remote farmers are at the mercy of the increasingly regular extreme weather events. There are advanced weather forecasting solutions. Companies like Ignitia send SMS messages to farmers giving them critical time to prepare.

There have been great developments in Vertical farming in the last decade and it’s one of the fastest-growing sectors within agriculture. Aeroponic technology and farm management software increase crop yields whilst reducing the environmental impact of farming. Companies like @Aerofarms, @Bowery and @LetUsGrow are some of the companies at the forefront of the sector.

Beyond Meat and Impossible are some of the big hitters in the plant meat ecosystem, they serve as a gateway to a plant-based diet. Lab grown meat is also on the rise and though very expensive and hard to obtain at the time of writing, there is no doubt that it will start to appear in restaurant menus, shops and supermarkets in the next five years.

What else?

On an individual level, we can all contribute to alleviating the situation by making more considered decisions aroind our food-buying and eating habits. Purchasing seasonal, locally produced food, trying to by from independent retailers and buying only what you need. Food is a very personal choice and we wouldn't dream of advising you on what to feed yourself or your family, but reducung your meat and dairy consumption are simple ways to mitigate your individual food 'footprint'.

Finally, lobby for change. Food systems are complex and face many different challenges in the ever changing world. businesses, governments, farmers, food manufacturers and scientists must all work together and rise to the challenge if we want to shift to greener, healthier and fairer food systems.