Food and thriving people in the 21st century

In this talk, I reflect on why food security is not the best way of thinking about the challenges of feeding everyone well, the differing narratives around productivity and sufficiency used to characterise our food future, the big threats we face, paradigm shifts and system changes needed to meet them, and ways to take action.

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Running order:

Introduction: 0 - 1 minute 25 seconds

Part 1. Rethinking food security:  1 min 25 sec - 7 min 19 sec

Part 2. Four key threats: 7 min 19 sec - 10 min 12 sec

Part 3. A thought experiment: 10 min 12 sec - 12 min 42 sec

Part 4. Food at a crossroads: 12 min 42 sec - 18 min 25 sec

Part 5. Transforming food systems and societies: 18 min 25 sec - 21 min 08 sec

Part 6. Taking action: 21 min 08 sec - 26 min 31 sec

Part 7. Final reflections: 26 min 31 sec - end

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Further reading

The issues raised in this talk are discussed further in my referenced article 'Food and thriving people: Paradigm shifts for fair and sustainable food systems', Food and Energy Security, vol 2 no 1, available here.

European Commission (2011), Sustainable food consumption and production in a resource-constrained world, 3rd SCAR foresight exercise.

Davies, J., S. Sandström, A. Shorrocks, and E. N. Wolff (2006), ‘The Global Distribution of Household Wealth’, Wider Angle, (2) 4-7, available here.

Fraser, E.D.G. and A. Rimas (2010), Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, New York and London: Random House.

Gerard Hastings, ‘Why corporate power is a public health priority’, BMJ 2012;345:e5124, 21 August 2012.

International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). 2009. Agriculture at the crossroads, synthesis report. Island Press, Washington, DC. Available here.

Jackson, T. (2009), Prosperity without growth? the transition to a sustainable economy, London: Sustainable Development Commission; revised and published as a book of the same name by Earthscan 2010.

Donella H Meadows, ed by Diana Wright (2009), Thinking in Systems: A Primer, Earthscan, London.

Links

Evan Fraser's website, Feeding Nine Billion, has some short, illustrated videos discussing some of these issues.

New Economics Foundation - the UK's leading think tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice. You can download 'The Great Transition' report here.

The Sarkozy Commission's full title is Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress and its report is available here.

Colin Tudge's work today focuses on The Campaign for Real Farming.

The Worldwatch Institute in Washington DC produces annual state of the world reports and their one in 2010 dealt with Transforming Cultures.