(RE)Solutions to Reduce Future Climate Vulnerability in Food Systems

Source: www.wholebodyreboot.com

It is clear that one of the main issues we face when ensuring global food security is climate change. Therefore, it seems obvious that our main solution here is reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, switching to renewable sources of energy, adapting more sustainable agricultural practices, et cetera. As mentioned in other previous posts, we would benefit to staving off red meats and switching to more plant-based diets, as well as highly reducing our waste of food, and even our consumption. However, it's all well and good to say these things coming from a western perspective, where everything is readily available... Yet, most of our food is often grown abroad. Especially staple goods, like rice and wheat. It may be easy for us to switch these parts of our society, but it's not that simple for others developing nations, who rely on selling off rainforests for agricultural land (like in Amazonian countries), vast fossil fuel industries (like China) and large industries that need to increase their GDP at the expense of exploiting their workers. Things aren't always as black and white as they seem... But as privileged people, we should be doing more.

As mentioned in a few previous posts, food security is characterised by three main pillars: access, availability and utilisation. Therefore, to reduce vulnerability to external factors, such as climate change, conflict, disease and the likes, we need to ensure that we achieve security in all of these individual sects.

Availability

Gregory et al. (2005) believe that boosting production is our solution to increasing availability of food. Although this is difficult to dispute, they interpret this as increasing intensification of agricultural production, cultivating new agricultural land, increasing widespread use of chemical inputs (fertilisers, pesticides, etc.) and furthering development of genetically modified crops (which will be discussed in further detail next time).  Contrarily, the FAO disagree by stating that we need to move forward with "climate-smart" methods of agriculture. To be fair, we cannot expect nations to switch to sustainable practice, if they have not been educated or encouraged to do so. Therefore, we must campaign to reduce government subsidies that push small farmers to engage in unsustainable practices, and educate the globe about how to integrate pest management and boost yields with minimal fertilisers. Additionally, we need to increase international funding for the adaptation and mitigation of climate change for developing nations, as presented in the COP21 agreement, to reduce future global food insecurity.

Access

Poverty and infrastructure are two key elements impacting global access to food, which both boil down to economies and available money. Gregory et al. (2005) comment that we need to improve food distribution, such as enhancing transport infrastructure and political agreements that circulate food faster in cases of emergency, as well as increase economic access to food by introducing policies that cut out middle men, lowering price of production, encouraging economic growth and providing political stability. The latter point (to increase economic access) contradicts the ideas put forward for improving availability, as industrial practices reduce agricultural employment, increase production costs, and reduce GDP per capita. Thus, to improve access, we must introduce more sustainable and local agricultural practices, that serve local communities. In respect to improving transportation, this can indeed certainly be said for developing countries, however possibly less so for developed nations, who should in turn be working hard to reduce their carbon footprints within the transport sector, and instead look to grow and import food more locally.

Utilisation

Defined as the "appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care", utilisation refers to the education of its users and producers. Thus, to increase security in food utilisation, our main priority must be to educate farmers, producers and consumers in sustainable and secure practices, healthy and environmentally-friendly eating, and the reduction of food waste.


In short, it's incredibly difficult to gauge how to best increase future food security, and one that policy-makers have found challenging for decades. In a world where individuals focus on gaining personal profit at the expense of others, and environmental degradation is a "future matter", it's hard to see everything for what it truly is, instead of how it may appear... As westerners, our smart phones are often made out of conflict materials, our clothes made through slave labour, our electricity provided at the expense of suffocating smog, GHG emissions and pollution, our food processed beyond recognition, and our wars that serve agendas to be seen fighting the "war on terror". We have it so easy, yet it is never enough... So, to really reduce your impact, think about what you need, why you need it, and how best to obtain it ethically and environmentally...