How might producing food more cheaply support or undermine sustainable development and population health?
Health and food are inextricably linked. Many of the world’s population is now malnourished. 1.9 billion adults are obese or overweight. 462 million are underweight (WHO 2021). We either have not enough to eat or we are eating the wrong foods. Our global food systems are unsustainable and change is needed urgently. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change by the Lancet Commission notes;
“A holistic effort to reorient human systems to achieve better human and planetary health is our most important and urgent challenge.” (Sinburn 2019, p.1).
We can no longer continue to grow crops, produce processed food and transport it all over the world without considering the greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint and other sustainable issues that are contributing to climate change. The Sustainable Development Goals relate to food in at least three of their goals and state by 2030 the target is that “all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (UN 2015). The health crisis that ensues from malnutrition pans over every aspect of our lives. Non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the world’s biggest killers with poor diet among the top risk factors. There is no doubt that this is an issue we cannot ignore. What is the answer though? This paper will assess the proposal that if food was cheaper would it help or hinder global health and our quest for a more sustainable world.
Often underestimated is the vast impact what we eat has on our planet. Food systems account for 70% of our fresh water use and one quarter of our greenhouse emissions (Lindgren et al. 2018). Biodiversity loss is another casualty of our global food production (Polleu 2021). Demand for all year round produce, tastier and more convenient foods have meant international food systems are making more and more of an impact on our precious resources. As the Lancet Commission on Planetary Health notes “By unsustainably exploiting nature's resources, human civilisation has flourished but now risks substantial health effects from the degradation of nature's life support systems in the future.” (Whitmee et al. 2015).
The UK’s Green Food Project Report looked at how to produce more food, whilst also improving the environment (DEFRA 2012). They found healthier food didn’t was not necessarily more sustainable. Also, they noted that one third of food consumption happened outside the home where people are less likely to consider nutritional content or environmental impact. It seems that there is a consensus on what is healthy and indeed what might create less impact on the environment. However, the issue is how to ensure the onus is not all on the consumer but rather the policy makers have already created a market that leans towards affordable, healthy and sustainable options.
With the global population set to top 9.8 billion in 2050 we are looking for ways to increase food production and make it sustainable and affordable (UN 2021). Research shows that by ‘closing ‘yield gaps’ on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste’ we can double food production and also reduce the impact agriculture has on our planet (Foley 2011).
Diet Change
A review of the literature shows the main driver to eating a sustainable diet, that is also healthy, is changes in consumers dietary choices (Bennis & Ferraro 2017). Global Warming Potential (GWP) was found to be reduced by 22% by dietary changes and land use (LU) by 23.7%. Reducing waste and loss in the supply chain only accounted for GWP reduction of 8.2% and LU reduction of 7.3%. The lowest reduction for GWP at 2.6% was eating locally (Bennis & Ferraro 2017).
Fast Food
Much of the fast food and unhealthy processed food we have is cheap. It is generally high in fat, salt, sugar and calories. Eating fast food affects children more than adults and despite token rules stopping fast food chains near schools more and more children are obese (Mandal A. 2009). This is a crisis for the future of public health.
Fast food is what is known as discretionary food. The Australian dietary guidelines describe these foods as ‘not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs’ (NHMRC 2021). Eating too many calories is bad for the environment as they are not nutritionally required (Hadjikakou 2016). There is barely any research on the sustainability of fast food. While little life cycle analysis has been conducted it is reasonable to suggest that the more processed the food the greater the environmental impact (Hadjikakou 2016). The little nutritional value these foods offer does not offset their impact on the planet.
The problem is they are cheap and thus appeal to the lower socio-economic population across the globe. With fast food companies targeting South America, Asia and Africa there is a boom in consumption of these unhealthy and unsustainable foods (Imamura et al. 2015). The main way of combatting these dietary problems is extensive education and global policy along with the idea of fast-food taxes (Thow 2014). Some countries like Japan and Denmark have tried this in different formats to no avail. By increasing GST on junk food we may be able to find an effective way to achieve better health (Xynas 2019). Research suggests that a 10% fast food tax could save Australia’s health system vast amounts of money and therefore provide extensive increase in the populations additional working years (Carter et al. 2019).
Meat or Vege
The WHO (2019) suggests reducing eating meat to reduce the environmental impact of our food systems. Plant based diets are more sustainable as they use fewer natural resources and have less impact on the environment (Sabate & Soret 2014). They are also healthier. Plant based diets are associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and death (Tello M, 2018, Pan A, 2012). Also worthy of note is the increase of meat consumption especially for lower-mid income countries where incomes are continuing to rise. Here is a case where a type food is more expensive and not beneficial to public health.
Bill Gates recently said “All rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef” in an interview with MIT Technology Review (Blaustein-Rejto & Smith 2021). Consumer demand is growing for alternative, more sustainable meat replacement but it is not enough to alleviate the desire for real meat in our diets. Technology can assist but we also need to attempt to change our farming of animals to reduce emissions. Companies are developing feed that reduces the methane emitted by cows but this alone is nowhere near enough (Blaustein-Rejto & Smith 2021). With reference to the current Covid 19 pandemic and meat consumption there is also notable risk of zoonotic disease through consumption of wild meats. My review of the literature has found that all meat consumption should be reduced to contribute to a healthier population and a sustainable future. From experience in Australia, UK and the USA I have found buying organic, grass fed and less industrialised meat is more expensive. There is scope here to reduce the cost of ‘better’ meat and reduce the stress on the environment.
Eat local
Locally grown food is not always more sustainable (Stein 2021). Purely considering transportation does not account for other factors involved in a products carbon print. Covid 19 has highlighted the benefit of homegrown food however there needs to be a distinction between local food and short supply chains. If a local product has many different processes before reaching us then it will not necessarily be sustainable nor easily accessed even during a pandemic. Stein et al (2021) found ‘no simple statement on the sustainability of different food systems is possible as sustainability is determined by many factors’. One would expect food made in Australia is cheaper than imported food, though a simple visit to the supermarket can suggest otherwise.
Cost
Eating more vegetables and less meat is good for our health and the planet but there is a common misconception that eating more vegetables can be more expensive. The indications are that in Australia a healthy diet is not necessarily more expensive (Lee 2016). Superfood trends and the cost of organic produce can suggest healthy food is more expensive but carrots and lentils do not cost the earth (Middleton 2018).
Or do they?
Monoculture or mono cropping is when farmers produce only one crop on their land. In the USA two crops corn and soybean accounts for 70% of the planted farmland (Kutcha 2021). Growing one or two crops uses huge amounts of fertilizer and this industrialisation of agriculture has dire effects on the environment and human health (Nink 2016). Back in the 1950s this so called ‘Green Revolution’ was anything but. While monocropping enabled crop production to double and it lifted millions of people out of poverty, creating self-sufficiency for nations like India and Mexico, it was responsible for biodiversity loss, health issues from pesticides and soil contamination and general negative environmental impacts. Crops were cheaper but the cost to the planet was greater. Human health was also sabotaged with 50% of the diet now consisting of 3 things – rice, maize and wheat. Mono cropping has contributed to malnutrition worldwide and has not solved food security or world hunger (Kutcha 2021). This is not a detailed assessment of differing agricultural techniques however my research has found that there is great benefit from crop rotation, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry (Assefa et al 2014; Kutcha 2021). Project Drawdown, one of the most respected resources for climate solutions ranks regenerative agriculture at number 11. Research, while minimal, shows this kind of farming can be more profitable too. Spending less on expensive fertiliser and pesticides means these savings can be passed down to the consumer and on to the planet too (LaCanne C & Lundgren J 2018). Changing the worlds farming will take enormous focus and initiative from policy makers and integrated partnerships from players across the globe.
If more people have access to good food there can be positive change in a populations health. Conversely when a country gains access to dietary options that are bad for them but popular you have a rise in adverse effects such as obesity and non-communicable disease. With the increase in income over the last two decades and doubling of the middle class in India and Asia also came an increase in demand for so called western food options (Lingren et al. 2018). The move from the traditional diets gave way to more processed food and more animal based products. Both impact the environment and are not as healthy as plant-based diets. The popular Daily Mail newspaper reported on the 14th September 2021 that ‘Meat and dairy accounts for 57% of greenhouse gas emissions released through food production and almost TWICE as much as plant-based alternatives, study finds’ (Chadwick 2021). The study assessed data from 2010 through to 2021 and found that global GHG emissions from food production were 17.318 billion metric tonnes (Xu et al. 2021). Beef was the worst offender from the animal-based side producing 25% of emissions and in the plant-based corner we have rice at 12% of all emissions. This study is the first to account for net carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions from all the subsectors of food production and consumption (Chadwick 2021). It seems that the healthier option here is indeed better for the environment.
While factors such as culture, religion, consumer awareness and trends and marketing effect play a role, availability and affordability are the crucial factors in food choice (Miller et al 2017). What is needed is an all-encompassing response ranging from policy, farming, trade, to private sector and to consumer demands (Haddad L, 2016). Reducing waste by changing packaging and simple labelling to help consumers gauge how sustainable their food is, are steps we can take now. Marketing and education can take place now. Bigger changes will take time but we are running out of this luxury. Experts have suggested a response equivalent to that made with malaria, HIV and smoking is required (Haddad L, 2016). We have no choice other than to move towards more sustainable food systems. On the 23rd September 2021 the UN Food Summit will take place in New York. Mobilising the world with these initiatives holds the key to our future. Producing healthy food cheaply will be on the agenda but this will only be of benefit if the price the planet pays is diminished.
References
1. Blaustein-Rejto, D, Smith, A 2021, ‘We’re on track to set a new record for global meat consumption’, MIT Technology Review, viewed 13 September 2021, https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/26/1023636/sustainable-meat-livestock-production-climate-change/
2. Chadwick, J 2021, ‘Meat and dairy accounts for 57% of greenhouse gas emissions released through food production and almost TWICE as much as plant-based alternatives, study finds’, Daily Mail UK, 14 September, viewed 14 September 2021, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9986035/Animal-products-make-57-food-based-greenhouse-gas-emissions-study-finds.html
3. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2021, ‘Green food project conclusions’, viewed 14 September 2021, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69569/pb13800-greenfoodproject-onlineforumsummary.pdf
4. Drawdown, Project Drawdown, viewed 14 September 2021, https://drawdown.org
5. Foley J, Ramankutty, N, Brauman, K, Cassidy, E, et al 2011, ‘Solutions for a cultivated planet’, Nature, vol. 478, pp.337-342, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10452
6. Lee, A, Kane, S, Ramsey, R, Good, E, Dick, M 2016, ‘Testing the price and affordability of healthy and current (unhealthy) diets and the potential impacts of policy change in Australia’, BMC Public Health, vol. 16 pp. 315, viewed 14 September 2021, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2996-y
7. Lingren, E, Harris, Dangour, A, Gasparatos, A, Hiramatsu, Javadi, F, Loken B, Murakami, T, Scheelbeek, P, Haines, A 2018, ‘Sustainable food systems – a health perspective’, Sustainability Science, vol 13, pp. 1505-1517.
8. Lindgren, E, Elmqvist, T, 2017, ‘Ecosystem Services and Human Health’ 2017, Environmental Science, viewed September 14 2021, https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-86
9. Mandal, A, 2016, ‘Obesity and Fast Food’, News Medical Life Sciences, viewed 14 September 2021, https://www.news-medical.net/health/Obesity-and-Fast-Food.aspx
10. Middleton, C 2018, ‘Myth: healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food’, The Conversation,viewed 12 September 2021, https://theconversation.com/myth-healthy-food-is-more-expensive-than-unhealthy-food-101213
11. Nink, E , ‘Accounting for the Hidden Costs of Monoculture Crops’, Food Tank, viewed 14 September 2021, https://foodtank.com/news/2015/06/accounting-for-the-hidden-costs-of-monoculture-crops/
12. Pan, A, Sun, Q, Bernstein, A, Schulze, M, Manson, J, Stampfer, M, Willet, W, Frank, B 2012, Red Meat Consumption and Mortality, Results from 2 Prospective Co-hort Studies, Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol 172, pp. 555-563
13. Polleau, A, Beirmann, G 2021, ‘Eat local to save the planet? Contrasting scientific evidence and consumers’ perceptions of healthy and environmentally friendly diets’ Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, vol 3, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2021.100054
14. Rockstrom, J, Williams, J, Daily, G, Noble, A, Matthews, N, Gordon, L, Wetterstrand, H, DeClerk, F, Shah, M, Steduto, P, de Fraiture, C, Hatibu, N, Unver, O, Bird, Sibanda, L 2017, Ambio, vol. 46, pp. 4-17, viewed 14 September 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0793-6
15. Swinburn, B, Kraak, V, Allender, S, Atkins, V, Baker, P, Bogard, Brinsden, H, Calvillo, Alejandro, De Schutter, O, Devarajan, R, Ezzati, M, Friel, S, Goenka, Hammond, R, Hastings, G, Hawkes, C, Herrero, M, Hovman, P, Howden, M, Jaacks, L, Kapetanaki, A, Kasman, M, Kuhnlein, H, Kumanyika, S, Larinjani, Lobstein, T, Long, M, Matsudo V, Mills, S, Morgan, G, Morshde, A, Nece, P, Pan, A, Patterson, Sacks, G, Shekar, M, Simmons, G, Smit, W, Tootee, Vandevijvere, S, Waterlander, W, Wolfenden L, Dietz, W 2019, ‘The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Chane: The Lancet Commission report, The Lancet, vol. 393, issue 10173, pp. 791-846, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32822-8
16. Thow, A, Downs, S, Jan, S 2014, ‘A systematic review of the effectiveness of food taxes and subsidies to improve diet: Understanding the recent evidence’, Nutrition Reviews, Vol. 72 issue 9, pp. 551-565,https://doi.org/10.1111/nure.12123
17. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sustainable Development 2021, viewed 14 September 2021, https://sdgs.un.org/
18. United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition 2021, A world free of hunger and all forms of malnutrition is attainable in this generation, viewed 14 September 2021, https://www.unscn.org/en/topics/un-decade-of-action-on-nutrition
19. Willet,W, Rockstrom, J, Loken, B, Springmann, M, Lang, T, Vermeulen, S, Garnett, T, Tilman,D, DeClerk, F, Wood, A, Jonell, M, Clark, M, Gordon, L, Fanzo, J, Hawkes, C, Zurayk, R, Rivera, J, De Vries, W, Sibanda, L, Afshin, A, Chauhary, A, Herrero, M, Agustina, R, Branca, F, Lartey, A, Fan, S, Crona, B, Foz E, Reddy, K, Narain, S, Nishtar, S, Murray, C 2019 ‘Food in the Anthropocense: the EAT- Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems’, The Lancet Commissions vol. 393, Issue 10170, pp. 447-492.
20. Whitmee, S, Haines, A, Beyrer, C, Boltz, F, Capon, A, de Souza Dias, B, Ezeh, A, Frumkin, H, Gond, P, Head, P, Horton, R, Mace, G, Marten, R, Myers, S, Nishtar, S, Osofsky, S, Pattanayak, S, Pongsiri, M, Romanelli, C, Soucta, A, Vega, J, Yach, D 2015, ‘Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation – Lancet Commission on planetary health, The Lancet, vol. 386, issue 10007, pp. 1973-2028.
21. World Health Organization 2021, Malnutrition, viewed 12 September 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition
22. Xu, X, Sharma, P, Shu, S, Lin, T, Ciais, P, Tubiello, F, Smith, P, Campbell, N, Jain, A 2021, ‘Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal based foods are twice those of plant based food’, Nature Food,viewed 14 September 2021, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x