Conversations about food

Poverty which leaves too many with limited or no means of providing today’s lunch, tonight’s dinner or tomorrow’s breakfast for their children and themselves.

Poverty which increasingly places an intolerable and unequal burden on the long-suffering women in our society – our mothers, grandmothers and aunts.

Food and nutrition security is a complex issue, compounded by our irresponsible and unthinking attitude to the environment, readily observed in the deteriorating state of our natural resources.

Indecision on the part of citizen and government undermines achievement of sorely needed changes. Office-holders seem inherently unwilling to institute participatory governance arrangements that foster greater citizen inclusion and more effective decision-making and implementation.

This robs the country of access to a rich reservoir of creative energy which could be unleashed to help resolve problems. Citizens themselves are often disinclined to be proactive and hesitant to adopt a “can do” attitude in pursuit of their own self-interest.

Today, we are challenged to produce more food sustainably, by disseminating and implementing existing knowledge, technology and best practice, and by investing in new science and innovation and the social infrastructure that enables food producers to benefit from these.

Concurrently, we must contain demand for the most resource-intensive types of food; minimise waste in all areas of the food system; and improve the political and economic governance of the food system to increase productivity and sustainability.

It is not merely a matter of producing more food, changing diets, or eliminating waste. The food system makes extensive use of both renewable and non-renewable resources. It also releases pollutants which contaminate our air, land, sea and waterways.

Moreover, through land conversion, it contributes to the destruction of biodiversity.

Unless the system is adapted to be more environmentally friendly and climate smart, our capacity to sustainably produce food for the population will be compromised with grave implications for our future food and nutrition security.

It is imperative then that considerations of sustainability be introduced to all sectors of the food system, from production to consumption, and in education, governance and research.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations promotes the adoption of a sustainable diet: “… one that has little impact on the environment, is nutritionally adequate, culturally acceptable, and affordable.” Research has shown that these criteria are indeed compatible.

But sustainable diets must also be realistic diets. Our interventions must therefore promote smart food choices: simpler diets utilising more starchy foods, more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

This creates an exciting opportunity to recruit the support of our dieticians, nutritionists and chefs in a collaborative enterprise with producers, to demonstrate how local foods can be prepared and presented in attractive, appealing, affordable and socially acceptable ways.

Best Village and the School Feeding Programme are excellent launching pads.

WINSTON R RUDDER Petit Valley