![]() ![]() We need to rethink how we eat and rethink the way we produce food in the process. Simply put: global food systems are not sustainable. Without action, the world risks failing to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. Agriculture in its current form is simultaneously a driver of global environmental change and a victim of shifting environmental conditions. Such global environmental change increases the risk of irreversible and catastrophic shifts in the Earth system marked by rising human mortality, morbidity, conflict, and food insecurity. Has led to a majority (~60%) of the world fish stocks to be fully fished or overfished (33%) – only 7% are underfished.Causes eutrophication (nutrient overload) and dead zones in lakes and coastal areas.Is the largest factor threatening species with extinction.Contributes approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the livestock sector alone represents almost half (14.5%) of these emissions.Examples of global environmental change include climate change, deforestation, desertification, and damage to coastal reefs and marine ecosystems. In terms of anthropogenic activities, agriculture is the largest cause of global environmental change. The term “anthropogenic” is an adjective that denotes “originating in human activity.” In other words, humanity’s influence is at its greatest point in the history of our planet. The “Anthropocene” is a term used to describe the current geological epoch, a time period defined by humanity being the dominating driver of change in atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric and other earth systems. Thinking about a successful food future must focus on the earth system as a whole, rather than local levels. When considering sustainable food development, the goal is to ensure a future when this expanded population has both enough food available to eat and access to high quality, nutritious foods. At the same time, the world’s population is rapidly expanding, and it is estimated there will be close to 10 billion people on our planet by 2050. Today, more than three billion people are malnourished and many of our planet’s 7 billion inhabitants eat diets low in quality. Why is a sustainable food supply important? We cannot have a secure food supply unless that food supply is sustainable. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy while optimizing natural and human resources. Īs we refer to it here, sustainability means the enactment of practices that fulfill the needs of society while protecting the physical basis of our long-term survival, our environment. Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts that contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. This interconnectedness can be observed in the FAO’s definition of sustainable diets: Indeed, sustainability encompasses the environment, economics, health, nutrition, and other related dimensions. Yet for a species that depends on the beneficence of nature, or on what the scientists call ‘environmental services,’ we are doing a poor job of protecting the physical basis of our very survival!” Sachs, an expert on sustainable development and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, wrote: “Like all living species, humanity depends on nature for food and water, materials for survival, and safety from dire environmental threats, such as epidemics and natural catastrophes. The most frequently quoted definition was put forth by the U.N.’s Brundtland Commission on sustainable development in 1987: “Sustainable development the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” However, the concept is much more than a trending buzzword. ![]() “Sustainability” can be hard to define as it can mean different things based on the context in which it’s discussed. ![]() ![]() What is sustainability, and what does it have to do with food? Achieving a healthy and sustainable food future is an urgent matter that depends on global collaborative efforts. Sustainability is a multifaceted issue, in which the food production system and our diets play a crucial role. ![]()
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