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Time to rethink the food systems for a sustainable diet
Martine Padilla
CIHEAM-IAMM/UMR MOISA
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Food production and distribution =>
30% of GHG emissions of the planet
20% to 30% of acidification, eco-toxicity and human toxicity
more than 50% of eutrophication [EIPRO, 2006].
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Aubert C. 2008
Different diets, different impacts
T o
f E
q C
O2 e
mis
sio
ns p
er
pers
on
/year
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Conventional (mainly
meat)
Conventional (standard)
Conventional (mainly
plant based)
Organic (mainly plant
based)
Organic (plant based)
Organic semi-autarkic
GHG emissions
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Ecological Footprint of our Food
[FAO 2006]
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Type of Food Area required
Vegetarian Food 500 m2
Dominant vegetarian
Food
700 m2
Western diet 4000 m2
Mainly meat diet 7000 m2
Have we enough space?
On the total surface, 12 billion ha (/51 billion of soil and water) are bio-
productive (Global Footprint Network)
Bio-productive surface per person: 1,9 hag (global hectar)
An European needs 4,8 hag => 2,5 planets
• An American = 5,2 planets
• A Bresilian = 1,3 planet
• A Chinese = 1 planet
• An Indian = 0,4 planet
• A South Mediterranean = 0,8 -1 planet
Living Planet Report 2012
Is there enough Earth?
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Is there enough water?
96% of water is used for food [Marsily, 2010]
We need about 1 liter of water to produce 1 final Kcal [Molden et al,
2007].
At production level, Horticultural crops require less water than staple
food crops per kilo: 150 l of water to produce 1kg tomatoes, 1000 l for
pulses and 1500 l for cereals [Chapagain and al, 2008]
On an average, to feed himself a human being consumes 1240 m3
(USA=2480 m3, China=700m3) [Hoekstra et Chapagain, 2006]
A «western » consumer uses 4000 l/day
A vegetarian = 1500 l/day [FAO, 2003]
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
10 Kcal 1 Kcal
Food energy used in the Food system in France
In 1975 (CNEEMA)
Thirty years later… (Solagro)
20 Kcal 1 Kcal
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Do we really need a complex Food System?
Field Transport Storage Processing Transport Supermarket Transport Storage Cooking
Only 10 plants (corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, cassava, soybean, palm nuts, sugar cane, tomatoes and bananas) and 3 animal products (cow's milk, meat pork and poultry) assured about ¾ of food supply in volume in 2009.
Complex Food System alter nutrients
At production stage, genetics influence nutrient content more than
production methods.
Ex: tomatoes -> the vitamin C content of different varieties grown in
same conditions can vary from 8.3 to 32.6 mg/100g. For a single variety,
the vitamin C content of fruits placed in different conditions ranges from
26.2 to 32.2 mg/100g.
At the logistics stage, the longer the product is stored at high
temperature or low temperature, the less vitamin C will remain.
Ex: tomatoes, losses reach 50% after 8 days at 25°C and 40% after 16
days at 4°C [Sablani et al., 2006].
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
At the industrial processing stage, peeling highly affects nutrients.
Ex: tomatoes, the skin and seeds contribute on average 53% of all
polyphenols, including 52% of flavonoids, 48% of lycopene and 43% of
ascorbic acid [Toor and Savage, 2005].
We must reduce food losses and waste
FAO, 2011
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Should we replace animal products with vegetable products?
Should we chose organic or conventional food ?
In season or out of season production ?
Local food or imported food?
Short or long food supply chains?
How can we assure a Sustainable Food System ?
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
1- Animal products or vegetable products?
Livestock
- is responsible for 18% of GHG emissions (>transport)
- uses 78% of agricultural surface and pastureland and 38% of
cultivated surface
- 8% of the whole world’s water consumption
[Livestock’s long shadow; FAO, 2006]
BUT:
Fruit and vegetables produced at 600 Km from the sale point have a
higher environmental impact than locally produced and consumed
milk [Wallon et al., 2004]
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Freyer, 2008
2- Organic products or conventional products ?
GHG emissions by group of Foods and recommended levels (organic and
conventional products)
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
3 - In season products or products throughout the year?
Imported food
Energetic cost of green beans from Kenya and UK (Production +
packaging + transport to supermarket [Blanke, Burdick, 2005] =
4,7 to 5,3 MJ/Kg for UK products
62,5 to 63,5 MJ/Kg for Kenyan products
BUT: What about local Products grown in greenhouses?
Greenhouse vegetables = more pollution and much more energy
than open field vegetables : CO2 emissions are 4 times higher
[Jungbluth N., Faist Emmenegger M. 2004]
A German study showed that in winter it makes more sense to import
salad from Spain than to produce it locally in greenhouses as energy
consumption and the carbon footprint for the latter are twice as high
as the former [Müller-Lindenlauf et Reinhardt, 2010].
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
4- Local Products or imported products ?
- A local product is not necessarily preferable [Schlich and
Fleissner, 2005]
- Mass transport, even over long distances, can offer ecological
advantages?
- High level of natural resources depletion (such as heated
greenhouses to produce vegetables and cold storage for fruit)
- Moreover local products have to integrate the industrial supply
chains
- It is important not to confuse sustainable with local, alternative,
speciality, traditional product [Ilbery et Maye, 2005].
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
5 - Short or long supply chains?
It may have environmental, economic and social advantages of
short supply chains
BUT :
A sustainable Food System is linked
-To organization of the logistics
-To the production methods (more than transport)
Difficult to conclude whether short supply chains are always
preferable to long supply chains
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Conclusion
Standing Committee on Nutrition - Martine PADILLA - Roma 12 November 2013
Beyond nutrition education, which often bear the responsibility for
the situation in the sole consumer, it's time to rethink the food
systems. Acting on different levels of food chain can improve the
availability and nutritional density of the products.
Further research is needed to contextualize and to inform decision-
makers.