Daily News Editorial

Food for thought

15 October 2016

Did you know that there are nearly 800 million people around the world who do not have enough to eat? That means one in nine people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

At the same time, the global population is growing steadily and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Agricultural production must rise by about 60% by 2050 in order to feed a larger population. Will there be enough food to feed all these mouths, given that agricultural land will not increase in extent? This is a major challenge faced by a world that is also undergoing vast changes due to climate change, which in turn has a direct bearing on agriculture.

In fact, one of the biggest issues related to climate change is food security. The world’s poorest - many of whom are farmers and fisher folk - are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and an increasing frequency in weather-related disasters. We have seen these adverse effects here in Sri Lanka.

To meet such a heavy demand, agriculture and food systems will need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable. This is the only way that we will be able to face the food security challenge.

This will be at the heart of World Food Day 2016 celebrations tomorrow (October 16) under the theme “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.” The day marks the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) on October 16, 1945, in Quebec, Canada. This year, the day takes on added significance as it will be observed, just before the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP 22, from November 7-18 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less in the same area of land and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses before the retail stage through a number of initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks. Incredibly, more than one third of the food produced in the world (around 1.3 billion tons) is wasted annually in the post-harvest period – food that can feed at least some of the 800 million people who do not have enough to eat. Moreover, by 2050, catches of main fish species are expected to decline by up to 40% which will aggravate the hunger problem.

At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, 193 countries including Sri Lanka pledged to end hunger in the next 15 years. However, this goal cannot be met without addressing climate change.

There are a few steps we can take to tackle climate change without waiting for governments to act. The livestock industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and besides, eating meat is one of the least efficient ways of getting protein and other nutrients. And the immense suffering undergone by animals even before their slaughter makes it a morally wrong choice as well.

Indeed, one of the actions FAO suggests in tackling climate change is eating at least one plant-based meal a week. Conscious consumers follow the Three Rs of eating: “reducing” or “replacing” consumption of animal products and “refining” diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards if meat consumption cannot be avoided. Research on artificial meat is already at an advanced stage – there is hope in the future for meatless meat which can satisfy even the most avid meat lovers out there.

There is another way in which we can help – by sourcing our food locally except in cases where no local products are available. Today, we eat foods that have been produced on the other side of the world even when local alternatives are available. Just imagine the environmental effect of transporting food halfway around the world. On the other hand, if everyone buys food locally, it will help the local farmers and traders too. All those who have a plot of land, must try to grow at least one food item. It will not only help world food production even in a very small way, but also the wallet.

Governments and research institutions must experiment on crop varieties that are more resilient to drastic changes in climate. Thinking outside the box is also vital when it comes to agricultural production. Concepts such as vertical farming (farming on high-rise buildings) and hydroponics, a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water, without soil are already well established. Researchers have also achieved success with 3-D printed food which will probably be commonplace a decade from now. Ending hunger by 2030 is s huge challenge but it is not insurmountable if the entire world gets together.