Achieving sustainable nutrition on a global scale
In this section for submissions by our Fellows, Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan FRSNZ, Dr Nick Smith and Professor Warren McNabb discuss the challenges faced by the global food system, the importance of global food security and the role of Aotearoa in a sustainable food system of the future.
The global food system must nourish the global population to be considered sustainable.
Researchers at the Riddet Institute are engaged in analysing how food production meets the nutritional needs of the world. Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan previously authored the 2018 International Academy Partnership (IAP) report on food and nutrition security and agriculture in Asia, and has recently been invited to brief the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. In the lead up to the summit, the Riddet Institute is hosting a New Zealand food systems dialogue ‘Feed Our Future’, focussed on the role of our country in a sustainable food system of the future.
Adequate global nutrition means supplying to everyone enough calories, macro-nutrients (energy, carbohydrates, protein and fat) and micronutrients. Global health requires global nutrition. Riddet Institute research is helping to create a better understanding of the global food system and identifying opportunities for improvement, to sustainably nourish the global population.
A sustainable food system is one that “delivers food security and nutrition for all, in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised. Our food system should be profitable throughout; have broad-based benefits for society; and have a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment”¹. While it is essential to examine the environmental and socioeconomic consequences of the global food system, ensuring adequate nutrition for future generations should be a priority.
Professor Paul Moughan previously worked with a group of experts from around the greater Asia region to compile the IAP report on food security and nutrition. Asia’s population is expected to grow by nearly one billion people by 2050, with a significantly higher average age. The Working Group found that the problems of nutritional insecurity in Asia are often localised, and that remedies to these problems require localised solutions, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
The IAP report identifies the strengths and weaknesses of food science and technology in the region and has made recommendations on how best to tackle the weaknesses. These included a sustained increase in government funding for research in the areas of agriculture and food and nutrition, coupled with education and outreach, with a greater focus on systems research than previously. This could best be achieved through the establishment of regional centres of research excellence with appropriate focus and multi-disciplinary scope.
There are many opportunities for greater productivity across all production systems, innovation in agriculture, the minimisation of wastage and the adoption of healthier diets by populations. An end to food insecurity and undernutrition is possible, but only with concerted effort from national and regional bodies.
Looking to the future, it is impossible to know intuitively what outcome changes to the global food system will have, due to the complexity and interconnectivity of the system. To address this, the Riddet Institute’s Sustainable Nutrition Initiative has developed a modelling approach to test future scenarios for the food system: the DELTA Model. This model explores the ability of different food production scenarios to adequately feed the global population with all essential nutrients. The model development is being led by Dr Nick Smith. The model generates informed discussion around the possibilities for how the world can feed the world.
A common rhetoric in the food system debate is the need for increased protein supply in the future. The essential amino acids – nine nutrients that come from proteins and that cannot be synthesised by the human body – are of greatest concern. It is important to consider nutrient bioavailability when assessing global nutrition. Amino acids are required to manufacture proteins needed for all bodily functions, and their deficiency can result in a range of health issues. Long term consequences then have impacts at the individual level and on national economic development and human capital.
Protein quality, the ratio and bioavailability of amino acids in a protein, is not equal in different foods. Foods differ in their amino acid composition, and the bioavailability of these amino acids is affected by a range of food factors. The Riddet Institute was involved in the development of the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS), which is now the FAO endorsed method to measure protein quality². DIAAS allows the protein quality from different foods to be directly compared.
The DELTA Model incorporates the bioavailability of the essential amino acids. The model calculates whether a food system scenario delivers adequate bioavailable nutrition to everyone on the planet, or where it falls short. This is an improvement on similar models, which often do not take nutrient bioavailability into account.
A balanced food system with nutrient-rich plant and animal foods is important. The DELTA Model shows that global macronutrient supply is not the greatest problem: global nutrition is limited by micronutrients. Some of these nutrients are best sourced from plants and some from animal-based foods, meaning we must balance the system with both to achieve sustainable nutrition.
Once possible scenarios of how the world can be nourished are established, practicalities of the scenario can be considered. A solution that nourishes the average global citizen may not be viable from a holistic view. Wider socioeconomic and environmental factors must then be evaluated, such as land use, greenhouse gas emissions, water availability, social and economic viability. However, the Riddet Institute has put nutrition first, believing that a global food system that does not nourish the world will always be inadequate.
¹http://www.fao.org/3/ca2079en/CA2079EN.pdf
²https://www.riddet.ac.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Impact-Case-01-Measuring-the-protein-in-your-diet.pdf
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