With more than 2 billion people, almost one third of the world’s population, without regular access to a healthy diet1, one in ten undernourished and one in four overweight2 there is no doubt our global food system is broken.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)1 recognises a triple challenge of:
- Giving food security to a growing global population
- Maintaining the livelihoods of famers and other workers within the food chain
- Sustaining the environment
A September 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit will be setting the stage for the creation of a sustainable global food system, bringing an opportunity to end hunger by 2030. Not an easy task given the controversial nature of the topic. Debate is expected to be robust, not least because of the many disciplines that food touches2, such as agriculture, health, climate change, governmental policies and economics.
More to follow soon…
References
- OECD. Making Better Policies for Food Systems, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2021. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1787/ddfba4de-en.
- von BRAUN, J., AFSANA, K., FRESCO, L., HASSAN, M., ed. Food systems: seven priorities to end hunger and protect the planet. Nature 597, August 2021, 28-30. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02331-x
