Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions

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 envir...

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Main Author: Garnett, Tara
Format: Conference Paper
Language:Inglés
Published: Cambridge University Press 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52047
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author Garnett, Tara
author_browse Garnett, Tara
author_facet Garnett, Tara
author_sort Garnett, Tara
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description 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.
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spelling CGSpace520472024-05-01T08:18:13Z Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions Garnett, Tara climate agriculture food production food security food consumption 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. 2013-02 2014-12-16T06:37:28Z 2014-12-16T06:37:28Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52047 en Open Access Cambridge University Press Garnett T. 2013. Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 72:29–39.
spellingShingle climate
agriculture
food production
food security
food consumption
Garnett, Tara
Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title_full Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title_fullStr Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title_full_unstemmed Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title_short Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions
title_sort food sustainability problems perspectives and solutions
topic climate
agriculture
food production
food security
food consumption
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/52047
work_keys_str_mv AT garnetttara foodsustainabilityproblemsperspectivesandsolutions