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a sustainable food future
Dr Rosemary Stanton OAMnutritionist
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
the balanced diet
nutritionnutrition& health& health
environmentenvironmental al
sustainabilitysustainability
tastetaste‘food literacy’‘food literacy’
our ‘industrialised’ food supply
designed mainly for profit (health secondary; equity largely ignored)
highly processed & packaged huge ‘choice’, seasonality ignored high status for animal products loss of biodiversity ignored (may have
implications for food security)
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
consumption-based growth
grow more process more sell more waste more waist more
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
nutrition & health
linked with sustainability the more people eat, the greater the costs of
production & waste high consumption, especially of animal foods,
influences greenhouse gas emissions
Edwards P, Roberts I. Population adiposity and climate change. Int J Epidemiol. 2009; 38(4):1137-40
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
sustainability issues & food
up to 25%
of total greenhouse gas emissions
come from
production and distribution
of what we eat and drink
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
CO2 equiv (kg/head/yr) - Sweden
meat* 412(47%)dairy products* 116(13%)fish* 47 ( 5%)potatoes 16 ( 2%)other vegetables 89(10%)bread and grains 57 ( 6%)fruit 19 ( 2%)edible fats 36 ( 4%)sweets, juice, soft drinks 83(10%)*65% total
Wallen A, Brandt N, Wennersten R. Does the Swedish consumer’s choice of food influence greenhouse gas emissions? Environmental Science and Policy 7 (2004) 525-535.
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
CO2 equivalents - Netherlands%
meat & fish 28dairy products 23potatoes, veg, fruit 15sweet beverages 15bread and grains 13oils, fats 3other foods 3
in Garnaut 2008
sustainability issues & food
crises coming for water, oil and phosphorus (in fertilisers)
Australia highly vulnerable ‘business as usual’ no longer valid
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
follow the food chain
all our recommendations should consider
- use of resources (soil, water, energy)
- fertilisers, especially phosphorus
- pesticides
- animal welfare ?
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
follow the food chain
implications for
- food choices
- skills (shopping, cooking)
- growing food
- waste
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
go down the food chain?
WHO and others recommend
we bias our diets towards
plant foods
and less processed foods
for health & sustainability
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
food choices – animal foods
‘less’ need not mean ‘none’ look for minimum quantity of meat look at types - (smaller animals, grass
eating, minimal environmental impact) problems with grain-feeding (40% of
world’s grain fed to animals)
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
action on fish more is not sustainable choose fish listed as sustainable* appropriate fish farming look for other sources of omega 3s
(research in progress for long chain omega 3s in grains)
*Marine Stewardship Council & Sustainable fish listings
* see http://www.acfonline.org.au
follow the food chain
implications for types of food
- packaged ?
- fortified (functional) ?
- stored ?
- affordable ?
- available to all ?
- sustainable ?
- waste
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
wasteoccurs at all stages of the food chain
– total spent on food = $158 billion/year
– waste 20% (ie >$30 billion/year)
– buy then throw out 4m tonnes edible food/year*, worth at least $8b**, enough to fill 450,000 garbage trucks)***
– food waste in developed countries could feed an extra 3 billion people
* The National Waste Report 2010, Aust Govt. http://www.environment.gov.au
** http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2013/06/05/3774785.htm
*** DoSomething! Research, available at http://dosomething.net.au/
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
packaging ~ 65% packaging for
food/beverages
useful because it improves shelf life and reduces food waste
a problem because it uses energy resources to produce, and more when added to landfill
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
packaging - action choose foods with less/no packaging
refill water bottles from tap or tank
re-use packaging
recycle (widely available bins - in schools ?)
push governments to set mandatory rules for container deposits
lobby for recycling costs to be included in product price
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
processed food - action
use fewer processed products
promote products with less processing (eg rolled oats not popped sugary cereals)
teach cooking skills
get involved in school/community gardens
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
social global equity
food miles?
local foods where possible, but
social global equity needs consideration
– crops such as coffee & chocolate vital to farmers in many countries
– globalisation means we need trade
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
social global equity
what are the ethics of large agribusinesses owning the patents for seeds ?
GM crops ?
what about biodiversity ?
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
new emphasis needed
question: is it ethical to use resources to produce so many
- animal foods
- modified foods
- ‘functional’ foods
for overfed people while others starve
fuel or food?ethanol-based fuels 4.4 hectares ethanol for 1 car for 1
year, or feeds 7 people for 1 year
corn used for ethanol in the US would feed >100 million people
30-70% more energy is needed to produce ethanol than it contributes
source: Professor David Pimental, Cornell University
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
techno fix
band-aids? assume technology can fix problems
(functional foods?) ignore long-term impacts wait for a crisis before acting may ignore societal & environmental
costs (privatise profit, expect society to cover costs)
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
‘new’ food system buy only what we need sustainable packaging fresh, local/home grown, where possible home cooked rather than take-away new vegetables, grains, nuts, fruit more sustainable farming (inc fish) small portions of sustainable animal foods quench thirst with tap water
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
‘new’ food system question need for so much ‘choice’
emphasise problems of excess consumption (health & environmental)
prices for junk foods, through specific taxes
collection & recycling systems for (domestic & commercial) waste, subsidies for composting (domestic & commercial)
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
food choices - action
change expectations through education, including waste social marketing campaigns involvement in food systems (urban food,
school kitchen gardens, cooking for adults)
great opportunities more attention to soil health carbon footprint labelling new ways to reduce reliance on water,
energy, phosphate fertilisers grow foods with higher nutrient content greater biodiversity (migrant involvement) sustainable aquaculture
© Rosemary Stanton 2012
© Rosemary Stanton 2013
what we eat
social equityhealth
protection of land & water
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