Post on 19-Oct-2014
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Sustainable food for sustainable diets?
The challenge of ecological public health
Tim Lang
Centre for Food Policy, City University London, UK. e: t.lang@city.ac.uk
Paper to Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, April 11, 2012
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The Evidence
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LAC53m
Asia & Pac642m
SSA265m
NENA 42m
Developed15m
Food systems are already failing many:
1.02 billion people hungry in 2009
Food and NCDs (a familiar story)(WHO Global Status Rep 2010)
• Tobacco
• Alcohol
• Salt
• Saturated fats
• Trans fats
• etc
• Blood pressure
• Overweight
• Social gradient
• Raised cholesterol
• etc
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Diet-related results (serious)
Health outcomes:
• Cancers
• CHD
• Diabetes
• etc
Associated with:
• Physical activity
• Fruit and vegetables
• Fat
• etc
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Diet and cancers: factors adviceWCRF/AIRC 2007 report
• Body fatness– Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.
• Physical activity– Be physically active as part of everyday life.
• Foods and drink that promote weight gain– Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks.
• Eat mostly foods of plant origin– Eat mostly foods of plant origin.
• Animal foods– Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.
• Alcoholic drinks– Limit alcoholic drinks.
• Preservation, processing, preparation– Limit consumption of salt. Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes).
• Dietary supplements– Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.
• Breastfeeding– Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed.
• Cancer survivors– Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.
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Planetary Boundaries already exceeded?Source: Rockström, Steffen et al. 2009
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Food’s environmental impactsources: Rayner & Lang World Nutrition April 2012
• Modern agriculture = c14% greenhouse gas (GHG) (UN)
• Of agriculture-related GHGs (Stern 2007)
– animals are responsible for 31%
– fertilizers (nitrous oxide: N2O) for 38%.
• Meat &dairy = 24% of EU consumers’ impact (EIPRO 2009)
• C50% cereals fed to animals. (Steinfeld/FAO 2008)
• 15 / 24 world ecosystem services = degraded or unsustainably used– Food is a major source of this degradation (MEA 2005)
• Global agriculture uses 70% of all freshwater extracted for human use (WWF Thirsty Crops)
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More....
• “Intensive livestock production is probably the largest sector-specific source of water pollution”
(UN World Economic and Social Survey 2011)
• Intensive water use for food products:(Chapagain Hoekstra 2007):
– 200 litres water to produce 200ml milk
– 2400 litres water to produce a 150g hamburger
• C20th lost c75% genetic diversity of domestic agricultural crops (FAO 1995)
• 52% of global wild fish stocks ‘fully exploited’FAO SOFA 2007
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The Global shift in diet 1970-2000source: Defra Fd Sec Assessment Jan 2010 p19
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This is a cultural transition!
• What we eat
• How it is made
• Where we buy it
• How and where we consume
• Food’s meanings not just nutritional impact
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But the economics are fragile
The 2007-08 prices spike
Is the long drop in prices halted?
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FAO food price index todayhttp://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/foodpricesindex/en/ [accessed April 6 2012]
FAO food price index 1990-2012 http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/foodpricesindex/en/ [accessed April 6 2012]
Volatility ahead? OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2019 prices will be lower than 2008 but higher than before
Source: OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2010-201915
WHAT IS GOING ON?
Is this a policy failure?
Or the result of policy?
Certainly, an evidence-policy MISMATCH
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The legacy of Productionism
Science + Technology + Distribution cut Waste Output rise Prices fall Affordability rise = Health +
Progress
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Rev. Thomas Malthus
(1766-1834)An Essay on the Principle of
Population (1798)
Dr Karl Marx
(1818-1883)
Political economist
Fr Gregor Mendel(1822-1884)
Monk, gardener,
geneticist
An old debate: the 3 M’s
C19th Agricultural progressives
Sir John Bennet Lawes(1803-1873)
agricultural research Rothamsted
Justus von Liebig(1803-1873)
chemist Giessen
Mid C20th change agents: food, health, income & farm
Sir John Boyd Orr (1880-1971)public health 1st D-G of FAO
Sir George Stapledon (1882-1960)soil scientistAberystwyth
Elsie Widdowson CH (1908-2000)nutritionistCambridge
How is current policy addressing the problem?
Mainly soft measures
But there are emerging discourses
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There is no agreement yet on....
• What a sustainable lifestyle is
• What sustainable consumption is
• What sustainable production is
• What sustainable food systems are
• What a sustainable diet is
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Measures to address change
• Generally ‘soft’– Labels
– Education
– Information
– Appeals to consumers
– Corporate Responsibility
• Not working– Fast enough
– Deep enough
– Even within health, let alone environment
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From the policy perspective, we have:
• Tensions between:– Consumerism / environment / market economics
– Health / food supply
• Nervous politicians
BUT...
• Some emerging policy frameworks – EU: SCP, climate change commitments,
• Growing recognition by companies and NGOs of need for change
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Agreement on...
• Food is a central issue
• Sustainability is a real problem
• Current lifestyles not sustainable (however measured)
• Inaction will increase negative impacts:
– Climate change
– Water stress/shortage
– Natural resource damage
– Eco-systems damage.
– Human Ill-health25
Some policy responsesLevel of action Policy action Limitations
Global High Level Task Force (2008ff); Committee on World Food Security (CFS); Rio+20 (June 2012)
Tends to suffer from LDC focus (little about the rich and powerful DCs); marginalised by financial crisis
Regional / EU CAP reform CAP2020; Sustainable Consumption & Production (SCP) programme
Not joined up with health; marginalised by eurozone crisis; locked into intra-CAP dynamics
National / UK Food Matters (2008); Food 2030; Food Business Plan 2011-15; Green Food Project (2011-12)
Emerging structural reviews not followed up or consolidated into action
Sub-national /Scotland, Wales
Scotland: SDAP review (2007) SNP Food & Drink Scotland. Wales: Rural + public purchasing
More holistic than England /UK but some sector ‘myopia’ (eg alcohol and sheep)
Local Community food actions; Food Policy Councils;
Build networks but little influence on powerful corporate interests
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Sustainable Food: some EU developments 2008-12
• Sustainable Consumption-Production & Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan (2008)
• Suitability of the potential extension of the Ecolabel to foodproducts
• European Food Sustainable Consumption Production (SCP) Roundtable (2009-) co-chairs DG Environment & European Food & Feed Trade Associations. Based in FoodDrinkEurope) & supported by JRC.
• DG Environment & JRC (2011 -2012): Harmonised framework methodology for the calculation of the environmental footprint of products.
• Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (2011) part of the actions form Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (2010)
•27
Sustainable food consumption and production –emerging Govt policy advice in Europe (North)
UK 2006 Sustainable Development Commission
(SDC) & National Consumer Council
Sustainable Consumption “I
will if you will” – generic
Germany
1990s
(2008)
German Council for Sustainable
Development
Sustainable Shopping Basket :
includes food – lists labels and
schemes
EU 2008 Sustainable Consumption-Production &
Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan
Voluntary initiatives – but little
food focus
Netherlands
2009
LNV Ministry – Policy outline for achieving
Sustainable Food
Sustainable food production &
consumer educ. campaigns
Sweden
2009
National Food Administration (& Swedish
EPA) – notification to EU (withdrawn 2011)
Environmentally friendly food
choices
UK 2009 SDC, Council of Food Policy Advisors
Dept Environment Food Rural Affairs (Defra)
Recommend defining low
impact (sustainable) healthy
diet
Netherlands
2011Health Council for Ministry Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation
Guidelines Healthy Diet:
Ecological Perspective
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Companies meanwhile are engaging• International companies:
– 2002: SAI launched Groupe Danone, Nestlé, Unilever
– 2009 (Oct 16): G30 top TNCs initiative Coca-Cola, Tesco, Unilever,
News International
– 2010: World Economic Forum process (out 2011)
• UK companies:
– 2007: IGD Food Industry Sustainability Strategy Champions Group focus on low carbon + ethics
– 2008: Tesco gives £25m Manchester SCI
– 3 retailers’ choice-edit M&S Plan A, Co-operative Group, Waitrose
• A product specific approach, not overall diet
What is meant by Sustainability in policy?
It is used by bankers, too!
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Current approach to food sustainability
• A tendency to focus on climate change
– CO2 is very important ...but....
• Downplays biodiversity, water, soil, land, etc
• Repeats Productionist emphasis on supply
• Downplays culture, consumption ie demand
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Key hotspots show food is more than an environmental challenge
• Meat & dairy:– Aspirational (rises + €) but high impact (health + enviro)
• Waste:– 30% after consumers buy it (rich countries)
– c40% globally at farm level (poor countries)
• Inequalities:– Within / between countries (even in EU
• Prices:– Failure to internalise full costs
– But would consumers pay more?
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Sustainability: an unclear term?
• Brundtland report 1987
• Triple focus: enviro + society + econ
• “meeting needs now without compromising the ability of future generations to meet needs”
BUT IS THIS NOW DETAILED ENOUGH?
• I think not
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UK Sustainable Development Commission 2011 report proposed sustainability as a complex set of ‘poly-values’
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=1187
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Quality Social values• Taste
• Seasonality
• Cosmetic
• Fresh (where appropriate)
• Authenticity
• Pleasure
• Identity
• Animal welfare
• Equality & justice
• Trust
• Choice
• Skills (citizenship)
Environment Health• Climate change
• Energy use
• Water
• Land use
• Soil
• Biodiversity
• Waste reduction
• Safety
• Nutrition
• Equal access
• Availability
• Social status/ affordability
• Information & education
Economy Governance• Food security & resilience
• Affordability (price)
• Efficiency
• True competition & fair returns
• Jobs & decent working conditions
• Fully internalised costs
• Science & technology evidence base
• Transparency
• Democratic accountability
• Ethical values (fairness)
• International aid & development
FAO Sustainable Diets International Scientific Symposium,
Rome November 3-5, 2010
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The difference this makes
• Changes the general policy framework
• Resolves nutrition’s intellectual split:
– life science, social, eco-nutrition (Lang et al 2009)
• Sets new challenges
• Resets moral compass
• Puts Needs not Wants as food system’s drivers
• Helps shape institutional reform
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INPUTS
eg, agrichemicals, pharmaceuticals, equipment
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
farming, fishing, horticulture
PROCESSING & MANUFACTURE
DISTRIBUTION & LOGISTICS
eg, national/international, import/export
RETAIL
eg, supermarkets, shops
CATERING
restaurants, public sector
DOMESTIC FOOD PREPARATION
International Organizations Policy guidelines, advice, etc
Regional bodies Regulations, law, subsidies, etc
National governments Laws, regulations, subsidies, etc
Socio-cultural influences, eg religion, gender,
family
Consciousness industries, eg advertising, media
Health, hygiene controls
Environmental ‘givens’ eg climate, water, land,
biodiversity
Civil society organisations
Social policies
Human labour, skills & education
Research, development, engineering & technology
The food system, its external influences and outcomes: a flowchart
Local governments Laws, regulations, subsidies, etc
Social impact Waste & biological outflow eg pollutants
Energy & material outflow
Economic drivers eg price, profits
Health / ill-healthcultural impact
Finance capital
CONTEXT
SHAPING FORCES
INSTITUTIONS
OUTCOMES
Where do we go from here?
The Ecological Public Health agenda
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We must....• Champion Ecological Public Health as the
paradigm (Rayner & Lang 2012)
• Rethink diet around environmental limits:– Fork to farm (not farm to fork)
• Begin work on EU Sustainable Dietary Guidelines
• Help redesign food systems around Sust Diets– Not around reformed production
• Be open about the moral dimension: Health is about social progress!
• Ask if our institutions are fit for this purpose
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For us professionally....
• Ask our professional bodies to engage
• Press for our Governments to produce sustainable dietary advice (and at EU)
• From CAP Common Sustainable Food Policy
• Include all dimensions that shape conditions on which health depends:
– Material / bio-physiological / social / cognitive
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To deliver Sustainable Diets means
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Change from …
…to… …with troubleahead over…
Nutrition guidelines
Eco-nutrition guidelines
linking calories with carbon
Food products Total diet Eco-brand images
Control green claims
Verifiable standards
Advertising and marketing
Global all year sourcing
Sustainableseasonality
Defining sustainability
Low cost food as a good
Full cost accounting
Consumer expectations
Conclusions• Food system change is
– complex but not incomprehensible
– requires multi-level /-sector /-disciplinary work
– links the material, biological, cognitive and social
• The discourse needs to change
• Leadership & incentives are sorely needed
• We need to be active
• We don’t want change to be forced on us
• There is enough evidence for policy to change
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