"The Future of Food": Dr. Willett, Dr. Schrag, L. Reiley
The Future of Food: The pandemic has disrupted global agricultural supply chains and raised warnings about global food insecurity. Experts have long warned that food and climate must be addressed in tandem, as agriculture accounts for 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of U.S. emissions. Will the pandemic accelerate or slow patterns of agricultural change over the next decade? What has been learned from the supply chain disruptions and problems with the visas and health status of migrant farmworkers in the U.S., Europe, and around the world? Can pandemic lessons be incorporated into planning to improve food security resilience?
This program was part of “Learning from the Pandemic Series”, sponsored by BAYER. The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents and the National Press Foundation are solely responsible for this program's content.
TAKEAWAYS from the program:
➀ The pandemic has altered food supply chains, decimated the restaurant industry and heightened food insecurity. Laura Reiley, who covers the business of food for The Washington Post, has focused on the 50 million Americans who are food insecure. Many are experiencing food insecurity for the first time in their lives while suffering shame about their circumstances. Learning how to talk with them is vital.
➁ Obesity and food insecurity are twin problems in the United States and the world. In the U.S., “It’s not so much lack of calories, it’s lack of nutrition,” Reiley said. Globally, 2 billion people lack micronutrients like iron and vitamin A, 155 million children are stunted and 2 billion are obese, said Dr. Walter C. Willett, a Harvard professor of epidemiology, nutrition and medicine.
➂ If the goal is to provide food to all, meat is an inefficient way to do so. Willett noted that animals take calories that could best be consumed by humans. “We feed the very large majority of our grains to animals,” Willett said. “And if we could do one thing, it would be stop feeding grain to animals and eat the grains ourselves in a non-refined way that would make massive improvements in health and environment at the same time.”
➃ The food system is a major contributor to greenhouse gasses and climate change – but change is possible. “We are on a path leading to ecological disasters and a sick and unstable global population,” Willett said. But, he said, “Feeding 10 billion people a healthy and sustainable diet is possible.” A shift to more plant-based protein sources would have a big effect on greenhouse gasses. Replacing one serving of red meat per day with plant proteins has been linked to sharply reduced risk of stroke, heart disease and overall mortality. Making the right moves now could allow food-production greenhouse gasses to stay within the limits necessary to help mitigate climate change.
➄ A healthy diet can be traditional. Willett shared the latest science – based on thousands of students, dozens of meta-analyses – on what constitutes an optimum diet. “It turns out that this is very similar to what Greek men were eating in the 1960s, when at that time they had the healthiest life expectancy in the world,” he said. (See this New York Times piece on the Mediterranean diet, citing Willett.)
