Nutritious food

Currently the split in food consumption is around 70/30 plant versus animal based and there is considerable data on the nutritional value of these food groups. There will be continued debate about the value of sugar vs fat and meat vs dairy vs plants.

This is because the data is largely based on observational studies and the power of these types of studies will always be weak. What we need to ensure as new products are brought to the market, is that we don’t make the situation any worse. Highly processed foods are both inefficient in manufacture and being questioned with regards to their health benefits and cost to consumers. 

Dairy and meat are more than just a great source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, sugars and fats. All of these components are formed into a complex natural food matrix that ensures that essential amino-acids and nutrients like B12, calcium, iron, vitamin D and zinc are efficiently absorbed by our bodies to provide the nutrition we need for healthy bodies. 

Food production for both plants and animals have various impacts on the environment such as land and water usage, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and risk of impact on water systems. Technology now exists that allows us to produce food in a more sustainable way and Governments and the Private Sector needs to promote the rapid uptake of these innovations. Various National farming groups are setting aggressive targets for reducing their environmental footprint and these goals should be supported at a global level. 

Many farmers grow crops and raise livestock in mixed farming systems. In Africa 25 % of fertiliser for crops comes direct from animals as well as significant draught power. Livestock are also good at recycling unwanted waste products from cropping into nutritious high value protein. With estimates for food waste at 30% of production the use of this material as feed sources for livestock avoids them going into landfill and the generation of additional GHGs. Much of the land that livestock graze on is not arable and hence would produce no additional human food without ruminants. 

Around 2 billion people are involved in farming on a global level with around 1 billion of them being smallholder farmers who rely on livestock for their nutrition and livelihoods. Livestock contribute 40% of global agricultural GDP and sudden shifts in farming practices would have significant social consequences. With women contributing 70% of the farming labour force these impacts would fall mostly on them. 

The selection of the foods we chose to eat is not just based around their nutritional value but tradition, family, religion and culture. We gather as families and communities to celebrate who we are, and food is a big part of how we express our culture. Providing food choices is a critical part of the concept of food security as people need to be free to practice their religious or ethnic traditions. The concept of dictating to the French that there is no duck, the Greeks no lamb, Indians no milk or Chinese no pork, is not a solution that would be found acceptable. 

Fake news is now the major enemy of science irrespective of whether it is due to ignorance, ideology or economic gain. The loudest and best resourced voices can dominant the debate through the use of social media irrespective of the strength of data supporting their position. In Agriculture there are those who have reduced the debate to an argument around plant vs animal-based products when we actually need both for global food sustainability. 

There has been insufficient attention on the solutions as we continue to debate the problems. Technologies such as genetic selection of plants and animals with enhanced traits, carbon sequestration in soils, improved grazing management, smart water management, precision agriculture, disease detections and management and renewable energy sources are the solutions for building Global Food Security. Why are these topics not the major points for discussion?