Food security…
... exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
(UN-FAO 1996; 2012)
… is more than food production… is underpinned by food systems
Food Security, i.e. stability over time for:
FOOD UTILISATION
FOOD ACCESS
• Affordability• Allocation• Preference
• Nutritional Value• Social Value• Food Safety
FOOD AVAILABILITY
• Production• Distribution• Exchange
EnvironmentalWelfare
• Ecosystem stocks & flows
• Ecosystem services• Planetary
Boundaries
Social Welfare• Income• Employment • Wealth• Social capital• Political capital• Human capital
Food System OUTCOMES Contributing to:
Food System ACTIVITIESProducing food: natural resources, inputs, markets, …
Processing & packaging food: raw materials, standards, storage requirement, …
Distributing & retailing food: transport, marketing, advertising, …
Consuming food: acquisition, preparation, customs, …
The “Food System” Concept
Food System ACTIVITIESProducing food
Processing & Packaging foodDistributing & Retailing food
Consuming food
?
So what are the contributions of Food Systems to crossing
Planetary Boundaries?
Agriculture as a source of GHG emissionsMt CO2-e, 2010
Worldwatch Institute’s Vital Signs Online Service (www.worldwatch.org)
~21%, including land-use change
Crossing planetary boundariesAnd the contribution of agriculture & fisheries
Climate change
Rate of biodiversity
loss
Nitrogen cycle
Food System ACTIVITIESProducing food: natural resources, inputs, markets, …
Processing & packaging food: raw materials, standards, storage requirement, …
Distributing & retailing food: transport, marketing, advertising, …
Consuming food: acquisition, preparation, customs, …
But ‘Food Systems’ involve more than ‘agriculture’ …
87
2
1 10
60
10
7
15
8
45
19
12
23
1
Producing
Processing
Distributing
Consuming
Waste disposing
IndiaUK USA
Edwards et al., Inst Agric & Trade Policy, 2009 Pathak et al, Ag, Ecosys & Env, 2010Garnett, FCRN, 2009
… and a major proportion of GHG emissions from ‘OECD’ food systems are not from agriculture.
UK’s food industry “costs”(post-farmgate)
defra, 2006
• 14% of energy consumption by UK businesses and 7 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year
• 10% of all industrial use of the public water supply
• 10% of the industrial and commercial waste stream
• 25% of all HGV vehicle kilometres in the UK
Example contributions of
FSAs to PBs
Producing food
Processing & Packaging food
Distributing & Retailing food
Consuming food
Climate change
N cycle
P cycle
Fresh water use
Land use change
Biodiversity loss
Atmos.aerosolsChemical pollution
Example contributions of
FSAs to PBs
Producing food
Processing & Packaging food
Distributing & Retailing food
Consuming food
Climate change GHGs, albedo Energy Emissions from transport and cold chain
GHGs from cooking
N cycle Eutrophicn, GHGs
Effluent NOx from transport
Waste
P cycle P reserves Detergents Waste
Fresh water use Irrigation Washing, heating, cooling
Cleaning food Cooking, cleaning
Land use change Intensificn, soil degdn
Paper/card Transport & retail infrastructure
Forest to edible oils plantation
Biodiversity loss Deforestation, soils, fishing
[Aluminium] Invasive spp Consumer choices
Atmos.aerosols
Dust Shipping Smoke from cooking
Chemical pollution
Pesticides Effluent Transport emissions
Cooking, cleaning
1
2200
- Too much - -- Too little --
Billions of people
----- Appropriate amount -----
(indicative; not to scale)
2 3 4 5 76 8 109
2050
2013
2025
kcal
/per
son/
day
Looking ahead …?
------ Too much ------ --- Too little ------- Appropriate amount --------------- Too much ------------ ----- Too little -------- Appropriate amount ---
The health and environmental consequences of satisfying this demand with current food
systems would be dire
Food47%
Feed34%
Other19%
FAO Food Outlook 2013
2.3 bn tons cereal produced in 2010/11
Re-allocating human edible foodback to humans?
Reducing food losses and waste?
Source: FAO, Global Food Losses and Food Waste, 2011
3000
2000
2500
kcal
/per
son
/day
Edible cereal harvest
After 15% lost on-
farm
After 34%fed to
animals
After 15% lost in food chain
Nature of food ‘loss’On-farm
1775
2675
3150
2675
2400
2125
1725
15% reduction due to population increase and environmental
change
33% reduction in
on-farm losses
67% reduction in feeding to animals 50%
reduction in food chain
losses
Animal feed Food chain‘Current’ data (in red) from FAO; & Luo, 2013
Cereals: A plausible way ahead by 202550% more cereal cals/person/day, despite harvesting 15% less/person
1500
After 19% for biofuel
1250
Biofuel
1000
50% reduction in
use for biofuels
1900
850
500
3000
2000
2500
kcal
/per
son
/day
Edible cereal harvest
After 15% lost on-
farm
After 34%fed to
animals
After 15% lost in food chain
Nature of food ‘loss’On-farm
1775
2675
3150
2675
2400
2125
1725
15% reduction due to population increase and environmental
change
33% reduction in
on-farm losses
67% reduction in feeding to animals 50%
reduction in food chain
losses
Animal feed Food chain‘Current’ data (in red) from FAO; & Luo, 2013
Cereals: A plausible way ahead by 202550% more cereal cals/person/day, despite harvesting 15% less/person
1500
After 19% for biofuel
1250
Biofuel
1000
50% reduction in
use for biofuels
1900
850
500
What are th
e obstacles?
political, e
conomic, social, technical
DRIVERInteractions
SocioeconomicDRIVERSChanges in:
Demographics, Economics,Socio-political context,
Cultural contextScience & Technology
GEC DRIVERSChanges in:
Land cover & soils, Atmospheric Comp., Climate variability & means,
Water availability & quality, Nutrient availability & cycling,
Biodiversity, Sea currents & salinity, Sea level
‘Natural’DRIVERS
e.g. VolcanoesSolar cycles
Environmental feedbackse.g. water quality, GHGs
Socioeconomic feedbackse.g. livelihoods, social cohesion
Food System ACTIVITIESProducing food
Processing & Packaging foodDistributing & Retailing food
Consuming food
Food System OUTCOMESContributing to:
Social Welfare
EnvironWelfare
Food Utilisation
Food Access
Food Availability
Food Security
Optimum FS management needs to understand FS processes in context of drivers and feedbacks