A global perspective on food systems

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Ecosystem Stewardship: Sustainability Strategies for a Rapidly Changing Planet

Ecosystem stewardship is an action-oriented framework intended to foster social-ecological sustainability of a rapidly changing planet. Recent developments identify three strategies that make optimal use of current understanding in an environment of inevitable uncertainty and abrupt change: reducing the magnitude of, and exposure and sensitivity to, known stresses; focusing on proactive policies that shape change; and avoiding or escaping unsustainable social-ecological traps. All social-ecological systems are vulnerable to recent and projected changes but have sources of adaptive capacity and resilience that can sustain ecosystem services and human well-being through active ecosystem stewardship

High time for conservation: adding the environment to the debate on marijuana liberalization

The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60%–70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm.Published versio

Articulating the effect of food systems innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals

Food system innovations will be instrumental to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, major innovation breakthroughs can trigger profound and disruptive changes, leading to simultaneous and interlinked reconfigurations of multiple parts of the global food system. The emergence of new technologies or social solutions, therefore, have very different impact profiles, with favourable consequences for some SDGs and unintended adverse side-effects for others. Stand-alone innovations seldom achieve positive outcomes over multiple sustainability dimensions. Instead, they should be embedded as part of systemic changes that facilitate the implementation of the SDGs. Emerging trade-offs need to be intentionally addressed to achieve true sustainability, particularly those involving social aspects like inequality in its many forms, social justice, and strong institutions, which remain challenging. Trade-offs with undesirable consequences are manageable through the development of well planned transition pathways, careful monitoring of key indicators, and through the implementation of transparent science targets at the local level

Blue Food Demand Across Geographic and Temporal Scales

Numerous studies have focused on the need to expand production of ‘blue foods’, defined as aquatic foods captured or cultivated in marine and freshwater systems, to meet rising population- and income-driven demand. Here we analyze the roles of economic, demographic, and geographic factors and preferences in shaping blue food demand, using secondary data from FAO and The World Bank, parameters from published models, and case studies at national to sub-national scales. Our results show a weak cross-sectional relationship between per capita income and consumption globally when using an aggregate fish metric. Disaggregation by fish species group reveals distinct geographic patterns; for example, high consumption of freshwater fish in China and pelagic fish in Ghana and Peru where these fish are widely available, affordable, and traditionally eaten. We project a near doubling of global fish demand by mid-century assuming continued growth in aquaculture production and constant real prices for fish. Our study concludes that nutritional and environmental consequences of rising demand will depend on substitution among fish groups and other animal source foods in national diets

Articulating the effect of food systems innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals

Acknowledgments MH, DM-D, JP, JRB, AH, GDB, CMG, CLM, and KR acknowledge funding from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. PKT, BMC, AJ, and AML acknowledge funding from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, which is supported by the CGIAR Trust Fund and through bilateral funding agreements. PP acknowledges funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the BIOCLIMAPATHS project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Global Perspective on Food Systems

First paragraphs: There is a widespread perception, particularly among observers in the United States, that the world's food system is broken. Obesity rates now rival hunger rates in developed and developing countries. Both afflictions are more prevalent than they should be given the rising prosperity and technological advances that have occurred in many parts of the world in recent decades. Private corporations dominate large segments of the global agricultural economy—most notably in seed development and distribution—and unhealthy food products are marketed widely at prices affordable to most consumers. Agricultural development strains water and land resources, and farming operations generate nutrient and chemical pollution. Food and agricultural policies in many countries favor certain interest groups with only limited consideration for the larger social good. Yet as 2015 unfolds it is clear that a growing appreciation for the biophysical and socioeconomic complexities of food systems is enabling communities throughout the world to manage agriculture in ways that promote healthy food products, rural income growth, and environmental services. Strategies for enriching food systems are numerous and highly varied at local to global scales. No silver bullet exists to assure food-system success, and it is particularly important for critics to keep an open mind with respect to the evolving opportunities and challenges of achieving food and nutrition security both at home and abroad...

Threats to Aquatic Environments: Is Aquaculture a Solution?

Marine ecosystems and fisheries face serious threats from over-fishing, run-off of land-based pollutants, introductions and invasions of exotic species, coastal development and habitat alteration, unintended by-catch, and climate change. Annual global fish catches fluctuate between 80 and 90 million metric tonnes (MMT) and appear to be declining. As a result of limitations on wild capture, aquaculture has emerged as a major player in seafood production and marketing worldwide. During the past decade, global output of farmed finfish and shellfish almost tripled in weight and nearly doubled in value. This paper shows how aquaculture is both a contributing factor and a possible solution to the decline in world fisheries. The threats include overfishing of small pelagic fish (low on the marine food chain) to feed farmed fish, the transmission of diseases from farms to the wild, and genetic changes caused by the escape of farmed fish from netpens. The introduction of offshore aquaculture facilities and genetically modified farmed fish present further risks to wild fish populations. The paper discusses the benefits and risks of aquaculture for marine ecosystems and wild fish supplies, and presents ideas for a more sustainable future for fish production