4.6 Reading: Global food systems, biodiversity and water

 

The organizations involved in the work,  

The two organizations that provided the scientific researches on the impact of food system on biodiversity and water system are the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) and the EAT Lancet commission.

According to google search, the IPCC is an intergovernmental body of United Nation responsible for advancing knowledge on human induced climate change that was established in 1988 by the World meteorological organization and the United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) and later endorsed by the United Nation.

And

Google explained that EAT-Lancet Commission which is co-chaired by Walter Willett and Johan Rockström, brought together 19 Commissioners and 18 co-authors from 16 countries in various fields including human health, agriculture, political science and environmental sustainability.

 

 The actions they are proposing,

Both reports proposed the following strategies for sustainable food production and to reduce environment impact of food production on biodiversity and water resources.

ü  To change human diet. They proposed to change human food consumption pattern from feeding on less meat and dairy products to more fruit, vegetable, nut and pulses consumption. They argued that this would reduce the use of land and water for the production of livestock feed thereby reducing biodiversity lost.  But as they quickly thought the impacts would only be meaningful if the alternative food production requires less land and water. This required detail research.  They are optimistic that this change in consumption will reduce the emission of GHG.

ü  To reduce food waste and lost: it is very clear that the less food is waste, is lesser the production even at household level. Many researchers including (FAO 2015) have testified that up to 30% of all food globally is waste and the subsequent result would be more global food production demand, more land required and lose of biodiversity, excess us of water for production at every level. Food waste is at every level starting from household, institutions like restaurants, processors and postharvest losses. Food waste and loss reduction will prevent large land conversion to agricultural land in tropic regions especially.

ü  Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture- because I have little knowledge about this topic, I found it a bit hard to comprehend “closing yield gap” meaning using less land to produce the same quantity of food, less impact on water and biodiversity. An interesting phenomenon here I underscored is that the process would possibly require more land, and if this expansion is to happen, it should happen into a secondary land or “manage”???? rather than a primary forest I can understand. but how to manage? The reports also agreed that sustainable intensification will benefit agricultural system by increasing in biodiversity where pollination and pest control will be beneficial. I would more understanding on this section

 

 The research needs highlighted by the authors.

The authors highlight these areas for future researches that focus on protecting biodiversity and water resources as follows:

ü  Understanding Biodiversity and Agriculture Interaction

ü  Adapting Global Food Systems for Planetary Health

ü  The Role of Global Food Trade

Why do certain actors take particular actions?

According to the authors, The EAT report calls for ‘‘radical change’’ in the global system, and the SRCCL report states that ‘‘coordinated action to tackle climate change can simultaneously improve land, food security and nutrition, and help to end hunger.’

What do you see as the consequences of these actions on sustainability and society?