The Intersection Between Food Sustainability and Health

How Global Food Sustainability and Health Intersect and the Environmental Sustainability of Food Systems

Evan Fraser, PhD, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Producing enough food for the growing human population while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts from farming is a major global challenge.  Proposed solutions, which commonly focus on boosting production by approximately 70%, increasing yields in unproductive regions, eliminating waste, and reducing meat consumption, are necessary for improving food security. Such solutions may also help humanity reach some of the environmental targets set by international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To date, however, there has been no serious global evaluation as to whether the production of different types of food (and especially fruits and vegetables) is sufficient to meet recommended nutritional dietary requirements for the global population. Nor is it known how much a switch towards a healthier diet might help humanity reduce the environmental impact of food production thus helping meet SDGs and Paris Agreement targets. Here we present the results of such an evaluation and clearly demonstrate that sugars, fats and grains are substantially over-produced at the global level, while fruits, vegetables, and protein production are insufficient to meet current demands. We show that correcting this imbalance could reduce the amount of arable land used by agriculture by 51 million hectares globally, thus helping protect habitat and meet SDGs. At the same time, however, unless consumers adopt a less livestock-intensive diet, the global greenhouse gas emissions from farming will likely rise. 

Growing Trust: Delivering on a New Food, Health & Sustainability Agenda

David McInnes, DMci Strategies, Canada

Can food production be good for the planet and for people? While the food system has demonstrated that it can produce sufficient high-quality and safe food, expectations are rising fast, challenging what is nutritious and sustainable, and even ethical. New voices are weighing in, such as from the investor community which sees new risks of global food production. The bar is rising for anyone involved in or associated with this sector. Governance is taking centre stage. At risk is trust. Food players are being called out for not being genuine or transparent on a breadth of issues – many of which touch on health and sustainability. It is also becoming very clear that systems thinking and new metrics are required to respond to profound change. As this chaotic global agenda unfolds, there are opportunities to break new ground, prosper and substantively improve people’s and the planet’s health. Indeed, we have no choice but to collectively step up.

Best Practices from the Food Sustainability Index: Food Production and Consumption Alignment with Sustainable Practices and the SDGs

Lucy Hurst, Economist Intelligence Unit, London, UK

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Food Sustainability Index (FSI) looks at food, nutrition, sustainable agriculture and diets.  The index looks to understand best practices in national systems that lead to positive outcomes in nutrition, sustainable diets and sustainable production.  The focus of this session will be on the learnings from the sustainable agriculture and nutritional challenges data to understand areas of correlation and best practices.

Since its official launch at the BCFN International Forum in Milan on 1 December 2016, and at the European Parliament a few days later, the Index has been developed to become a globally relevant repository of information, helping policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders to deliver solutions to the food sustainability challenges faced by our planet. Already, it has garnered respect on an international level and it is followed by 80,000 people online.

Mario Ferruzi, PhD

Mario Ferruzzi is a Professor in the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science and Nutrition from The Ohio State University.  Prior to joining North Carolina State University, Dr. Ferruzzi was a Professor at Purdue University in the Departments of Nutrition Science and Food Science (2004-2016).  He also served as a Development Scientist in the Coffee and Tea Beverage Development group at Nestlé Research & Development Center, Marysville, OH and as a Research Scientist the Nutrition & Health and Scientific & Nutritional Support Departments at the Nestlé Research Centre in Lausanne Switzerland. His research interests are in the area of botanical chemistry with emphasis on translational aspects of nutrition including investigating the impact of the food matrix and processing on bioavailability and metabolism of health promoting phytochemicals. He is a professional member of the Institute of Food Technologist (IFT), the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

Dorothy Lagg

Dorothy Lagg is the North America Scientific & Regulatory Affairs (SRA) Director for Mars Wrigley Confectionery. She joined Mars in 1986 and has also held positions in basic research and product development. In her current role, she leads the Mars Wrigley Confectionery SRA Team covering food regulatory and chemical food safety topics. She also represents Mars on committees with the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), International Food Information Council (IFIC), the National Confectioners Association (NCA), and the International Association of Color Manufacturers (IACM). Ms. Lagg received a BS in Chemistry from Bates College, and MS in Organic Chemistry from Rutgers University.  She is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Institute of Food Technologists, and, a Certified Food Scientist.

Evan Fraser, PhD

Evan Fraser completed a PhD and post-doc at the University of British Columbia and worked at the University of Leeds in the UK between 2003 and 2010. He is the Director of the Arrell Food Institute, a Professor of Geography and holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security at the University of Guelph. Dr. Fraser is also a fellow of the Trudeau Foundation, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars.  His work is on challenges to food security over the next two generations, during which time population growth and climate change threaten to make food harder to produce and more expensive to buy. Dr. Fraser has worked extensively with climate modelers, economists, ecologists, anthropologists, and journalists to explore possible solutions to this global challenge. In addition to over 90 academic articles and book chapters, he has written two popular books on food and sustainable agriculture and has had articles published by CNN.com, theguardian.com, ForeignAffairs.com, Ottawa Citizen and The Walrus. 

David McInnes

David McInnes is the Principal of DMci Strategies; he is a strategic advisor, speaker and facilitator on change and opportunity facing the Canadian food system. For eight years as President & CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI), he led national dialogues on a host of issues and advanced policy and strategy solutions for governments and industry sectors. Widely-published on improving competitiveness, McInnes also catalyzed an acclaimed vision for Canada – being the trusted global leader in nutritious and sustainably-produced food.

McInnes is the Chair of WaterAid Canada, which is improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in nearly 40 countries, and he is a Trustee of WaterAid International, based in London, U.K. He is a Global Advisor for Nova Scotia Business Inc., which promotes that province’s exports, a member of Export Development Canada’s Industry Stakeholder Panel, and an advisor to the Delegation of Canada for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

Previously, McInnes was Vice-President, International Relations at MDS Nordion, the world’s leading supplier of medical isotopes, a role that involved collaborating with multiple United Nations agencies worldwide. McInnes has been a director of the Greater Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, the Ottawa Life Sciences Council, the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, and the U.S.-based Council of Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals. He published the book "Taking It to the Hill - the Complete Guide to Appearing Before Parliamentary Committees" (2^nd edition, University of Ottawa Press).

McInnes is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Dalhousie University in Halifax. He resides in Ottawa.

Lucy B. Hurst

Lucy Hurst is the London-based Director of EIU Consulting's Public Policy, Economics and Politics division for Europe, Middle East and Africa.  EIU Consulting is part of the Economist Group.  For the past 10 years, Lucy has directed many of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s public policy research studies, including access to healthcare, women’s economic empowerment, sustainable agriculture and access to finance. She has led key studies on food systems, including the Global Food Security index project, and the Food Sustainability Index. Lucy has a master’s degree in International Affairs from the Patterson School of Diplomacy at the University of Kentucky and a BA in French and Political Science from Vanderbilt University.