Health, Sustainable Agriculture, Evolving Food Systems

Transcription

1 Health, Sustainable Agriculture, Evolving Food Systems Carol Kramer-LeBlanc, Ph.D. Director, Sustainable Development U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Chief Economist 1

2 Purpose of Talk Discuss Factors Influencing Consumers and the Global Food System 2

3 Including... Health and Nutrition Sustainability Macro Economy, Trade and Industry Issues New Technologies 3

4 Answer Questions Is Sustainability Becoming Mainstream in U.S. Agriculture? Are Consumers Willing to Pay for Sustainability? What About Proliferation of Private Sector Initiatives? Does Government Have a Role? What Effect From the Economic Downturn? 4

5 Setting the Stage Consciousness of the Interrelationships Between Diet, Health and the Environment Continues to Grow Opportunities to Improve Health through Diet Opportunities to Improve Environmental Outcomes Through Food Choices 5

6 The Big Picture Worldwide Challenges Posed by: 9.1 Billion Population Predicted by 2050 Need Increase of % in Food Supply Negative Effects of Global Climate Change Resource Scarcity: Water, Soil, Biodiversity Losses 6

7 More Challenges- Pollution Effects of Agriculture, Manufacturing, Transport, Consumption Turbulence of Global Systems Knowledge of Diet-Health-Environmental Linkages Food and Nutrition Insecurity Obesity Growing 7

8 U.S. Diet-Health Problems? Poor Diets and Inactivity Contribute to 310, ,000 Deaths Each Year in the United States Are Leading Risk Factors for Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Chronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis and High Blood Pressure 61% U.S. Adults Overweight or Obese 12.5 Million Children and Adolescents (17% of Children 2-19) Overweight 8

9 The Dual Challenges of Childhood Hunger and Obesity 16.7 million children lived in food-insecure households in in 3 American children are obese or overweight. 9

10 Child Obesity and Overweight What Does This Mean? Starting Younger Than Ever Means: Children More Likely to Have Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease: Type II Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol Initiatives: Michelle Obama s Let s Move, Farm-to-School Efforts, etc. 10

11 Factors Influencing Overweight Too Many Calories Too Little Exercise Changing Lifestyles Unbalanced Diets 11

12 U.S. Consumption Trends Excess Refined Grains Not Enough Fruits and Veggies Not Enough Dairy Excess Meat, Eggs and Nuts Way Too Much Sugar, Added Fat 12

13 Impact of Eating Out 42% American Food Budget Generally Less Nutritious For Average Consumer, One Meal /Week Implies Two Lbs./Year!! FAFH Affects Dairy, Fruits, Vegs Consumption (Too Little) 13

14 Investing in Children s Healthy Diets Administration proposed an investment of an additional $10 billion over the next ten years Reduce barriers that keep children from participating Improve the quality of school meals & health of school environment Enhance program performance 14

15 The First Lady s Let s Move! Campaign Dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. Four Pillars: Helping parents make healthy family choices Serving healthier food in schools LetsMove.gov Improving access to healthy, affordable food 15 Increasing physical activity of kids

16 Farm to School Teams Link schools and local food producers Assist schools in accessing local markets Help food producers effectively serve local schools USDA tools and resources available on our F2Swebsite: 16

17 School Lunch Equipment Grants Recovery Act provided $100 million for NSLP equipment assistance; Additional $25 million provided in FY 2010 States grants to schools filled local needs to improve quality, safety, energy efficiency, and creative use of cafeteria space 17

18 People s Garden School Pilot Program $1 million in funding for school gardens in high poverty areas Teach students food production, diet, nutrition and how to grow produce for local use 18

19 Global Food Insecurity 19

20 The State of Food Insecurity in the World The international reference on global hunger issues. Available on FAO s website in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese 20

21 Some Basic Terms and Definitions Food Security: exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food Undernourishment: describes the status of persons, whose food intake regularly provides less than their minimum energy requirements Global Hunger Targets the World Food Summit Target and the Millennium Development Goals 21

22 The FAO Hunger Map Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, FAO (2009). 22

23 Trends in world hunger Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, FAO (2009). 23

24 Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, FAO (2009). 24

25 Coping Mechanisms Come at a Cost New Economic Activities Consumption Smoothing ACTIONS More Participation in Economic Activities, Migration Sale of Assets, Borrowing COSTS Reduced Leisure; Maternal Care May Suffer Loss of Community Cohesion; Family Break-ups Reduction or Loss of Future Earning Potential Change in Consumption Patterns Substitute Away From Nutritious Foods, Less Expenditure on Health, Education 25 Malnutrition Degradation of Health Status and Education

26 Global Drivers of Food Insecurity- Population Growth Globalization of Consumption Patterns Including More Livestock Products Biofuels Demand Slowdown in Agricultural Productivity Growth Climate Change, Resource Depletion 26

27 Global Crisis Hits Countries Higher Unemployment Lower Capital Inflows (Remittances, Aid, FDI) Fewer Export Opportunities Few Policy Options Due to Global Nature of Crisis: e.g. No Currency Devaluation or External Borrowing 27

28 Reasons for the Increase of Hunger The Food Price Crisis The Global Economic Slowdown Insufficient Investment in Agriculture 2008 Not a Result of Poor Crop Harvest 28

29 Perc centage change, Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, FAO (2009). 29

30 Low Investment in Agriculture Source: Creditor Reporting System, OECD 30 (2009)

31 U.S. Food Insecurity Increases In U.S., Food Spending for Low and Middle-Income Households Shrank, Food Insecurity Increased Among these Households 31

32 Longer Term Prices... Depend on Supply and Demand Fundamentals Population and Income Agricultural Productivity Growth Lags Investments in R&D Alston and Pardey Document Widespread Slowdown in Productivity Growth in Agriculture Public Sector Agricultural Investment has Dropped in Important Developed Countries 32

33 Sustainable Agriculture 33

34 U.S. Agriculture Sector More Sustainable? Progress in Input Use Efficiency Water, Serious Challenge Biodiversity Issues Renewed Examination of Regional Food Systems New Technologies Under Development 34

35 What Is Sustainability? No Uniform Definitions in United States but Many Efforts Major New Study Released Summer 2010 Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century By the U.S. National Research Council, National Academies Sustainability Defined by Progress Toward Four Goals 35

36 Four Goals of Sustainable Agriculture 1) Enough Food, Feed, Fiber and Some Fuels for Human Needs 2) Enhancing Environmental Quality and the Natural Resource Base 3) Being Profitable 4) Increasing Quality of Life for Farmers, Farm Workers, Society 36

37 NRC Calls for Dual Track Approach to Sustainability Incremental Approach Expand Adoption of Improved Practices to More Farmers, Examples: No-till, Integrated Pest Management, Filter Strips Transformative Approach Design New Farming Systems Balancing Four Sustainability Goals from the Outset- Examples: Organic Systems, Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems, Perennial Crops Systems, Etc. 37

38 Multiple Dimensions of Sustainability For example, Energy, Water, Soil, Biodiversity, Waste Management, Packaging, Energy Use, Labor Practices, Etc. In 2007, the U.S. food system accounted for almost 16% of the Nation s energy budget, up from 14% in Greater reliance on energy-intensive technologies throughout the food system, along with population growth and higher per capita food expenditures, boosted food-related energy consumption. 38

39 Sustainability Initiatives Keystone Center for Field Crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton) Stewardship Council for Specialty Crops (fruits, vegetables) Commodity Roundtables (palm oil, soy, dairy, beef cattle, etc.) Forest Stewardship Council Sustainability Forest Council Walmart Initiatives, Sustainability Consortium 39

40 Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture * Producing enough food for the world s population in 2050 will be easy. But doing it at an acceptable cost to the planet will depend on research into everything from high-tech seeds to low-tech farming practices. --Nature,

41 British Royal Society Calls for New Agricultural Science Priorities World Situation Requires A Wholesale Realignment of Priorities Urgent International Effort with a Clear Sense of Long-Term Challenges and Possibilities 41

42 Equally Crucial Lower-Tech, Multi-Disciplinary Science and Social Science Research Into: Adoption and Effects of Crop Rotation, Mixed Enterprises on Smallholder Farms, Cost-Effective Mechanization, Water Management, Soil Management, Methods of Reducing Losses in Fields and Post-Harvest $83 Billion/Yr Needed for Agricultural Value Chain Investment (FAO) 42

43 Biological Sciences Will Play Vital Role New Crop Varieties, Higher Yields Drought Resistance, Heat Resistance Withstand Submersion Resist Pests, Diseases Photosynthetic Efficiency Nitrogen Fixation 43

44 NRC Report predicts: Within a decade, the number of GE crops available to farmers will significantly increase. Many major U.S. universities, in addition to private seed companies, have active research programs on the use of GE technologies for crop improvement, especially for specialty crops where there is less involvement of the private sector. 44

45 International Example, HarvestPlus Public Private Partnership Challenge Program of the CGIAR (International Research Centers) Biofortification of Food Staples with Essential Nutrients International Potato Center Producing Orange Sweet Potato an Example 45

46 Evolving Sustainable Food Systems Combine Efficient International Health Markets with Reinvigorated Local and Regional Markets 46

47 Healthy Food Systems Increasingly, Healthy Food Systems Reflect Sensible Urban and Regional Planning, Participatory Governance, Conscious Consumerism, Strengthened Rural-Urban Linkages. Urban Populations Growing, Cities and Towns Now Hold Majority of Population Combination of Food Insecurity, Obesity 47

48 Food System Planning Integrates Local and Regional Planning (Including Land Use) Global Interdependence (Importance of Trade) Efficient Use of Globally Scarce Resources Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains (Hot Spot Analysis, LCA, Certification) Educated Consumers 48

49 Framing a Healthy Food System 1) It Would Insure Community Food Security For All Residents 2) It Would Be Community Based 3) It Would Be Locally Integrated 4) It Would Be Reasonably Seasonal In Nature 5) Present Primarily Opportunities Rather Than Problems 6) Connect Healthy Across the Layers of the System 7) Be Diverse (Source: MichaelW. Hamm, Michigan State University) 49

50 Know Your Farmer-Know Your Food USDA-Wide Effort to Create New Economic Opportunities by Better Connecting Consumers with Local Producers By Strengthening Urban-Rural Links, We Can Promote Sustainable Agriculture Practices We Can Generate Income Opportunities for the Communities Provide Families and Children With Fresh, Healthy Food Supply Builds on 2008 Farm Bill and Uses Existing USDA Programs to Support Local and Regional Food Systems and Break Down Barriers 50

51 Will Consumers Pay? For Health? For Sustainability? 51

52 Market Trends Organic Food Market Functional Food Market Local Food Markets (Farmers Markets, CSAs, Farm to School) Private Sustainability Efforts 52

53 The Top 10 Functional Food Trends in U.S. 1. Healthy Household Halo (Americans Want Healthier Households) 2. Natural End Benefits (Scientific Validation of Superfoods-Blood Oranges, Goji Berries, Seabuckthorn, Mangosteens, Garbanzo Beans, etc) 3. Balancing the Bulget 4. Contemporary Conditions (To Balance Functional Foods with Groups Needs) 5. Proactive Lifestyles 53

54 Top Ten Functional Foods, cont. 6. Simpler, Greener, Cleaner 7. Smart Treats 8. Sensitivity Training 9. Vitality Treadmill 10. New Venues Source: Institute of Food Technology 54

55 Issues Affecting Food System Health Care High Commodity Prices Deficit Spending, Tax Fears Recession Fears Continuing Unemployment and Job Uncertainty Sustainability and the Future: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse 55

56 Thanks Very Much!! 56