Food Systems: Think Piece

Food System: Broken System?

Whether it comes as news to you or not, the fact is that we as a global population are rapidly outgrowing every part of this planet - and that includes our food systems. 

A report from the World Resources Institute (Creating A Sustainable Food Future: Final Report) broke down the situation we’re currently dealing with, and how it is critical that we change it if we’re to keep up with population growth. As it is, we know that food is not equitably distributed. We have enough food to feed the billions of people on our planet, yet some are left with almost nothing, while others live in such excess that we remind ourselves to not overeat. To put that into numbers, there are seven billion of us living on Earth today, but 820 million of us are undernourished.

Harvesting Coffee from a plantation in Costa Rica

organic Coffee plantation in Costa Rica

Half of the vegetated land in the world is taken up by agriculture, which also uses 90 percent of all the water used by humans. On top of that, 25 percent of the annual global emissions that are causing global warming is produced by agriculture.

With these numbers in mind, the difficulty is made plain: if agriculture as we know it is destroying the planet, yet people are still starving, how are we expected to go about feeding even more people in the coming decades? Like many of the answers to complex environmental and humanitarian questions, the answer is straightforward but will require time, energy, and devotion to solving a crisis that is only going to get worse otherwise. 

Visiting an Organic Cacao farm in Costa Rica

According to the report, these are the measures that will need to be taken:

• Reduce or eliminate food waste

  Changing farming technology to help foods have a longer shelf life, and making composting a widespread practice would help immensely. The entire supply chain needs to be re-worked, but so does our understanding and relationship with waste. Right now, we live in a world where it is already difficult (sometimes impossible) for people to recycle, much less compost. If we can make food last longer, and develop community-driven ways to responsibly dispose of food that has gone bad instead of sending it to a landfill, we would be on a good path.

• Shift diets from being meat-heavy to plant-heavy

  It’s true, some among us adopt a vegetarian, pescetarian, or vegan diet for the trend appeal. But at the end of the day, what will keep people in those lifestyles has to go deeper than that, otherwise the sacrifice, inconvenience, and (let’s be honest) expense just won’t stick. But whatever your reason, the fact of the matter is that meat production as we know it is dealing an exceptionally harsh blow to the health of the planet and has been for decades. In fact, livestock production is the second-highest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing transportation and fossil fuel retrieval. Meat from cattle, sheep, and goats is especially hard on resources.

• Improve crop-breeding techniques

  As we know, an enormous amount of land is already being devoted to agriculture, so moving forward won’t be a question as much of where we can set up shop next, but rather how to improve upon the systems we already have in place. New (and more responsible) technologies to maximize crop yields will be hugely important.

• Improve fishing and aquaculture management

  Overfishing is the dirty secret it seems no one wants to talk about - but it is a problem whether we like it or not. By reducing subsidies to global fisheries, and instead investing in responsible and sustainable aquaculture, we could take huge strides in improving the state of our oceans. Not only that, but we as a global community need to enforce restrictions against illegal fishing. 

The National Geographic article I’ve cited throughout begs the question: is all of this going to be enough? Read NatGeo’s thoughts on that for their take - but if you ask me, I’m inclined to say that no, it won’t be enough.

Example of an Organic and regenerative agriculture system

Dismal though it may be, it must be observed that technology has changed faster than people have, essentially for as long as we’ve had the creativity to make it, and the lifestyles to help it grow and evolve. I’m making a sweeping generalization here, but I would also stand to observe that changes in technology have not been great for the planet. When it comes to technological “advances” as they relate to agriculture, I would love to think that there is a reality in which there is a widespread adoption of responsible practices - but I’m not so sure. 

The future is unclear, but that is also why, despite how overwhelming this may all seem to us as individuals, we are all individually called to do something about it. Stay vigilant, do better, and keep asking questions. We’re in this together, or not at all.

Article written by Megan Embrey // Find her on Instagram @m_embrey

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