Future diets
A critical guide for policymakers on taking action and investing in delivering healthy and quality diets reveals that poor food currently affects half of the global population. The Foresight report takes a closer look at food systems of the 21st century and whether they are fit for the future.
An estimated 3 billion people across 193 countries have low-quality diets, contributing to poor health outcomes and slow economic development. A new report, Food Systems and Diets: Facing the Challenges of the 21st Century, highlights how low-quality diets are fuelling non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. By 2030, it is estimated that the number of overweight and obese people will have increased from 1.33 billion in 2005 to 3.28 billion, one-third of the projected global population, with poor countries not immune to these trends.
The worldwide burden of undernutrition (stunting and low weight) and obesity is equivalent to that of experiencing a global financial crisis every year. “Our food systems are failing us. If current trends continue, one in two people will suffer from malnutrition in 2050,” says Dr Lawrence Haddad, chair of the Foresight project and the report recently published by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. Food systems, which include how food is grown, harvested, transported, processed and marketed, play a central role in delivering high-quality diets but, states Haddad, “Today’s food systems are geared towards demand, not nutrition.”
Using modelling and trend analysis from over 250 data sources and peer reviewed articles, the report, pro-vides a critical look at the diverse challenges that decision-makers will face to 2035 and beyond, as they try to ensure healthy and nutritious diets in the coming decades. “Context based evidence is needed so we can deliver significant impact at scale, at low cost to consumers and with high returns on investment; socially and economically. The well-being of societies depends on this,” says Judith Francis, CTA Senior Programme Coordinator for Science and Technology Policy with lead responsibility for the Centre’s work on strengthening the agriculture and nutrition linkage.
To encourage governments to invest in effective policies to reduce all forms of malnutrition, the report identifies decisions that policymakers need to take in the coming decade, particularly for the benefit of women and children, in order to reposition food systems from not only feeding but more importantly to nourishing people. With population growth, climate change and urbanisation, it is clear that global food systems will face increasing challenges.
“We must rethink how we look at nutrition and food systems. Nutrition is not just a health and social development issue, but an investment in socio-economic development,” says President of the African Development Bank and Global Panel member, Akinwumi Adesina. Dr Adesina is leading the high-level body, African Leaders for Nutrition, which was launched in May 2016 to help encourage governments to take decisive action on nutrition.
