Food in Society Local and Global Issues

The Food System A typical mean can consist of several different fresh and prepared or processed foods. Have you ever wondered how the food you eat was produced and how it arrived in front of you? A complex and integrated system is responsible for the foods you enjoy and eat every day. The food system includes all the processes, activities, people, and other resources involved in growing and harvesting, production and processing, packaging, transporting, distributing, marketing, retailing, consuming, and disposing of food and food­related items. It also includes the activities associated with importing foods once they have entered a country. Because a food system operates within social, political, economic and environmental contexts in can be influenced by all of these.

What is a Sustainable Food System? The report of the World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations to meet their needs. This was in 1987, since that time most experts agree that three areas; environmental, economic and social need to be co­ordinated and addressed to ensure the long term health of our communities and the Earth.

The Use of Chemicals Fertilizers are chemicals or natural substances that are added to soil to increase its ability to provide nutrients to crops and increase production. Conventional agriculture relies on chemical fertilizers that are commonly derived from petroleum with concentrated forms of nitrogen and phosphorus added. Because chemical fertilizers tend to be concentrated, they release large amounts of nutrients quickly, excess nutrients can run off into storm drains or drainage ditches that feed into our rivers and streams. These chemicals can kill aquatic plants and other organisms. They can also promote the growth of algae, which bloom all at once and deprive the surrounding water of oxygen. This process is called eutrophication. Areas of severe eutrophicaiton, in which the water does not have enough oxygen to support life, are known as dead zonea. In Canada, dead zones have been identified in several areas associated with agriculture, including lake Winnipeg. If chemical fertilizers leach into wells used for drinking water, they can affect human health as well. Pesticides are used to kill pests that threaten crops. Insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides kills insects, fungi and unwanted plants respectively. Excessive or improper use of chemical pesticides can result in negative effects on human health; contamination of soil, water and air; killing of pollinators and other beneficial insects; and pesticide resistance (adaptations of pests so that the pesticides are no longer effective). There are alternatives to the widespread application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Who is Food Insecure- the Global Picture The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calculates that 3/4 of all undernourished people live in rural areas, mainly in the villages of Asia and Africa. Most of these people are dependent on agriculture for their food, and they seldom have alternative sources of income or employment. They may be farming marginal lands, herding, fishing, or harvesting forest resources. They are vulnerable to drought, flood, political corruption, and unethical business practises. Many migrate to cities in search of employment, swelling the ever­expanding populations of shantytowns or slums.

Policies for Food Security The idea of food sovereignty was first proposed internationally at the U.N.s FAO World Food Summit in 1996. Since then, food­producing communities, women's movements, consumer movements, environmental movements, and inidividuals have begun to adopt it. Proponents of food sovereignty believe that agriculture should remain outside the control of the WTO (World Trade Organization), leaving individual countries free to establish their own national food policies.

The 6 Pillars of Food Sovereignty are: Food Sovereignty implies the right of individuals, peoples, communities and countries to: define their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food, land, and water management policies that are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances to sustain their food producing resources, and have safe, nutritiuos, and culturally appropriate food protect and regulate domestic production and trade and prevent the dumping of food products and unnecessary food aid on domestic markets to choose their own level of self­reliance on food to manage, use and control life sustaining natural resources; land, water, seeds, livestock etc to produce and harvest food in an ecologically sustainable manner The 6 Pillars of Food Sovereignty are: 1. Focusses on Food for People 2. Values Food Producers 3. Localizes Food Systems 4. Puts Control Locally 5. Builds Knowledge and Skills 6. Works with Nature