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A new understanding and evaluation of food sustainability in six different food systems in Kenya and Bolivia.

ABSTRACT: Food systems must become more sustainable and equitable, a transformation which requires the transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge. We present a framework of food sustainability that was co-created by academic and non-academic actors and comprises five dimensions: food security, right to food, environmental performance, poverty and inequality, and social-ecological resilience. For each dimension, an interdisciplinary research team-together with actors from different food systems-defined key indicators and empirically applied them to six case studies in Kenya and Bolivia. Food sustainability scores were analysed for the food systems as a whole, for the five dimensions, and for food system activities. We then identified the indicators with the greatest influence on sustainability scores. While all food systems displayed strengths and weaknesses, local and agroecological food systems scored comparatively highly across all dimensions. Agro-industrial food systems scored lowest in environmental performance and food security, while their resilience scores were medium to high. The lowest-scoring dimensions were right to food, poverty and inequality, with particularly low scores obtained for the indicators women's access to land and credit, agrobiodiversity, local food traditions, social protection, and remedies for violations of the right to food. This qualifies them as key levers for policy interventions towards food sustainability.

SUBMITTER: Jacobi J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7645737 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A new understanding and evaluation of food sustainability in six different food systems in Kenya and Bolivia.

Jacobi Johanna J Mukhovi Stellah S Llanque Aymara A Giger Markus M Bessa Adriana A Golay Christophe C Ifejika Speranza Chinwe C Mwangi Veronica V Augstburger Horacio H Buergi-Bonanomi Elisabeth E Haller Tobias T Kiteme Boniface P BP Delgado Burgoa José M F JMF Tribaldos Theresa T Rist Stephan S

Scientific reports 20201105 1

Food systems must become more sustainable and equitable, a transformation which requires the transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge. We present a framework of food sustainability that was co-created by academic and non-academic actors and comprises five dimensions: food security, right to food, environmental performance, poverty and inequality, and social-ecological resilience. For each dimension, an interdisciplinary research team-together with actors from different food systems-defined k ...[more]

PMID: 33154544

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Project description:The future of the food system on the planet is increasingly facing uncertainties that are attributable to population growth and a surge in demand for nutritious food. Traditional agricultural practices are poised to place strain on production, as well as natural resources and ecosystem services provided, particularly under a changing climate. Given their remarkable attributes, including a low environmental footprint, high food conversion ratio, rapid growth and nutritional values, edible insects can play a vital role in the global food system. Nonetheless, substantial knowledge gaps persist regarding their diversity, global distribution, and shared characteristics across regions, potentially impeding effective scaling and access to edible insects. Therefore, we compiled and analysed the fragmented database on edible insects and identified potential drivers that elucidate insect consumption, globally, focusing on promoting a sustainable food system. We collated data from various sources, including the literature for a list of edible insect species, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and iNaturalist for the geographical presence of edible insects, the Copernicus Land Service library for Global Land Cover, and FAOSTAT for population, income, and nutritional security parameters. Subsequently, we performed a series of analytics at the country, regional and continental levels. Our study identifies 2205 insect species, consumed across 128 countries globally. Among continents, Asia has the highest number of edible insects (932 species), followed by North America (mainly Mexico) and Africa. The countries with the highest consumption of insects are Mexico (450 species), Thailand (272 species), India (262 species), DRC (255 species), China (235 species), Brazil (140 species), Japan (123 species), and Cameroon (100 species). Our study also revealed some common and specific practices related to edible insect access and utilisation among countries and regions. Although insect consumption is often rooted in cultural practices, it exhibits correlations with land cover, the geographical presence of potentially edible insects, the size of a country's population, and income levels. The practice of eating insects is linked to the culture of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while increased consciousness and the need for food sustainability are driving most of the European countries to evaluate eating insects. Therefore, edible insects are becoming an increasingly significant part of the future of planetary food systems. Therefore, more proactive efforts are required to promote them for their effective contribution to achieving sustainable food production.

Project description:To sustainably contribute to food security of a growing and richer world population, livestock production systems are challenged to increase production levels while reducing environmental impact, being economically viable, and socially responsible. Knowledge about the sustainability performance of current livestock production systems may help to formulate strategies for future systems. Our study provides a systematic overview of differences between conventional and organic livestock production systems on a broad range of sustainability aspects and animal species available in peer-reviewed literature. Systems were compared on economy, productivity, environmental impact, animal welfare and public health. The review was limited to dairy cattle, beef cattle, pigs, broilers and laying hens, and to Europe, North America and New Zealand. Results per indicators are presented as in the articles without performing additional calculations. Out of 4171 initial search hits, 179 articles were analysed. Studies varied widely in indicators, research design, sample size and location and context. Quite some studies used small samples. No study analysed all aspects of sustainability simultaneously. Conventional systems had lower labour requirements per unit product, lower income risk per animal, higher production per animal per time unit, higher reproduction numbers, lower feed conversion ratio, lower land use, generally lower acidification and eutrophication potential per unit product, equal or better udder health for cows and equal or lower microbiological contamination. Organic systems had higher income per animal or full time employee, lower impact on biodiversity, lower eutrophication and acidification potential per unit land, equal or lower likelihood of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and higher beneficial fatty acid levels in cow milk. For most sustainability aspects, sometimes conventional and sometimes organic systems performed better, except for productivity, which was consistently higher in conventional systems. For many aspects and animal species, more data are needed to conclude on a difference between organic and conventional livestock production systems.

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Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic arrived at a time of faltering global poverty reduction and increasing levels of diet-related diseases, both of which have a strong link to poor outcomes for those with COVID-19. Governments responded to the pandemic by placing unprecedented restrictions on internal and external movements, which have resulted in an economic contraction. In response to the economic shock, G20 governments have committed to providing US$14 trillion stimuli to support economic recovery. We aimed to assess the impact of different COVID-19 recovery paths on human health, environmental sustainability, and food sustainability.MethodsWe used LandSyMM, a global gridded land use change model, to analyse the impact of recovery paths from COVID-19. The paths were illustrated by four scenarios that represent different pandemic severities (including a single or recurrent pandemic) and alternate modes of recovery, including a transition of food demand towards healthier diets that result in changes to the food system: (1) solidarity and celery, (2) nothing new, (3) fries and fragmentation, and (4) best laid plans. For each scenario, we modelled the economic shocks of the pandemic and the impact of policy measures to promote healthier diets in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the supply of and demand for food, environmental outcomes, and human health outcomes. The four scenarios use established future population growth and economic development projections derived from the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 2. We quantified the outcomes from more societally cooperative pandemic responses that result in reduced trade barriers and improved technological development against less cooperative responses.FindingsRepeated pandemic shocks (the fries and fragmentation and best laid plans scenarios) reduce the ability of the lowest income countries to ensure food security. A post-pandemic recovery that includes dietary transition towards the consumption of less meat and more fruits and vegetables (the solidarity and celery scenario) could prevent 2583 premature deaths per million in 2060, whereas recovery paths that are focused on economic recovery (the fries and fragmentation scenario) could trigger an additional 778 deaths per million in 2060. The transition of dietary preferences towards healthier diets (the solidarity and celery scenario) also reduces nitrogen fertiliser use by 40 million tonnes and irrigation water by 400 km3 compared with no dietary change in 2060 (the nothing new scenario). Finally, the scenario with dietary transition increases the affordability of the average diet.InterpretationThe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is most visible in low-income countries, where a reduction in growth projections makes a greater difference to the affordability of a basic diet. A change in dietary preferences is most impactful in reducing mortality and the burden of disease when income levels are high. At lower income, a transition towards lower meat consumption reduces undernourishment and diet-related mortality.FundingThe Global Food Security's Resilience of the UK Food System Programme project, with support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, and the Scottish Government.

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A new understanding and evaluation of food sustainability in six different food systems in Kenya and Bolivia.

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A new understanding and evaluation of food sustainability in six different food systems in Kenya and Bolivia.

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