Let’s make food our medicine for a better future

The World Bank organized a discussion on a key issue impacting the present and future of the world.

“On the Menu: Can Food be the Planet’s Medicine?” sprang from concerns that  current diets are making both people and planet sick.

The discussion commenced with World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva’s argument that transforming food is essential to boost economic inclusion, build human capital and increase climate resilience.

The event featured thought leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs and policy makers, many of whom challenged the status quo of food consumption and production.

EAT Co-founders Gunhild Stordalen and Johan Rockström then shared highlights from the recent EAT- Lancet Commission Report on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems which attempts for the first time to define a healthy diet based on available scientific evidence and imagine what it would take to feed almost 10 billion people by 2050 a healthy diet within planetary boundaries, the Bank said on its website.

“Two strong messages emerged: We’re unlikely to stay within safe operating zones on most environmental indicators – water, greenhouse gases, biodiversity, phosphorus, etc – unless we shift to a planetary health diet.

By Peggy Greb, USDA ARS [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Evan Lutz, CEO of Hungry Harvest, shared the story of his social enterprise that provides fresh food delivery services focused on ending hunger and reducing food loss and waste. Chef Alejandra Schrader delivered a powerful plea for educating home cooks so that they feel empowered to improve their diets through delicious and healthy food.

Abir Lemseffer, Director General of the Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change, stressed that most of the growing population in coming decades will be in Sub-Saharan Africa, where climate, livelihoods, agriculture and hunger form a single, vital agenda. Norway’s Minister of International Development Dag-Inge Ulstein stressed the importance of investing in sustainable fisheries and curbing tropical deforestation rates to protect important food supplies and ecosystem services. 

A thought-provoking observation: 

The quest for “Food and Fuel” are the main drivers reshaping our planet according to World Resources Institute Vice President Craig Hanson, who moderated the panel – the rest is “Footnotes.”

SOURCE: World Bank