"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Do the priviledged even have a Food Security problem?
A local food security crisis?
If I lived in a developing country, this would be only too easy to answer. Taking a look at the global hunger map is sobering enough.
But locally? I'm very lucky to live in such a priviledged country. Searching my city and 'food' brings up a multitude of links to restaurants, supermarkets, takeaways, business registrations, even courses; all things you would expect to find in a big city in the UK. We clearly have *lots* of food. Is there really much need to ponder this issue in regards to my locality?
I notice that one of the food security goals is to "promote good nutrition and health". This perhaps hits a little more closer to home.
Being overweight myself, I'm all too aware of one of the most serious problems facing the developed world. Researching the subject, I wasn't surprised to discover that, "obesity rates among adults in the North East are the highest in England, according to new statistics." (JournalLive Feb 26 2009)
I have to swallow my pride and admit we do have a problem. Almost 10% of all adults in my region are obese. I struggle with my weight, and it's an ongoing personal issue for me which is a source of shame and desperation. I know so many others in my region face the same problem. The article goes on to report that, "the information comes a day after research showed a rising tide of obesity in the UK was fuelling an increase in cases of diabetes."
So the answer to the question 'what is the problem?' is obesity. The next questions are 'why?' and 'how to tackle it?'. Common sense tells me that there are two areas that need to be addressed.
Firstly, diet. In 2002 the BBC reported that, "evidence suggests youngsters could be making themselves "pre-ill" with a diet dependent on junk food ... More than two thirds of pre-school children are fed an unhealthy diet of white bread, chips and sweets. A quarter of them are over-weight and 5% are not getting enough vitamin D." (BBC May 30 2002)
Secondly, lifestyle. Some of the figures quoted in the above articles suggest that if the situation continues unchecked we will be looking at a country where over half of the population is obese. The second factor causing it appears to be lack of exercise; which to me is self-explanatory. I know all too well that my problem rests mostly with this (for one reason or another) rather than my diet, which is quite healthy.
I've personally received the "conventional advice" that 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. TIME goes further in saying, "what has become increasingly clear, however, is that the conventionally accepted advice ... is probably insufficient to spur any real change in a person's body weight." (TIME Jul 28 2008)
The Department of Health launched a national campaign in January 2009 called Change4Life. Its aim is to kick-start, "a lifestyle revolution to help every family eat better and be more active." (JournalLive) The web site - http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/ - is non-threatening and positive in its advice to visitors and provides real, useful information on how to make changes in personal lifestyle.
I myself have benefited from a local council scheme which offers free membership to all of the city's gyms, together with a tailored programme and helpful staff. In two months I managed to lose almost a stone in weight, which has been permanent and resulted in a long-lasting increase in confidence. It's clear to me that schemes like these are working; they just need to reach out and involve more people.
If I lived in a developing country, this would be only too easy to answer. Taking a look at the global hunger map is sobering enough.
But locally? I'm very lucky to live in such a priviledged country. Searching my city and 'food' brings up a multitude of links to restaurants, supermarkets, takeaways, business registrations, even courses; all things you would expect to find in a big city in the UK. We clearly have *lots* of food. Is there really much need to ponder this issue in regards to my locality?
I notice that one of the food security goals is to "promote good nutrition and health". This perhaps hits a little more closer to home.
Being overweight myself, I'm all too aware of one of the most serious problems facing the developed world. Researching the subject, I wasn't surprised to discover that, "obesity rates among adults in the North East are the highest in England, according to new statistics." (JournalLive Feb 26 2009)
I have to swallow my pride and admit we do have a problem. Almost 10% of all adults in my region are obese. I struggle with my weight, and it's an ongoing personal issue for me which is a source of shame and desperation. I know so many others in my region face the same problem. The article goes on to report that, "the information comes a day after research showed a rising tide of obesity in the UK was fuelling an increase in cases of diabetes."
So the answer to the question 'what is the problem?' is obesity. The next questions are 'why?' and 'how to tackle it?'. Common sense tells me that there are two areas that need to be addressed.
Firstly, diet. In 2002 the BBC reported that, "evidence suggests youngsters could be making themselves "pre-ill" with a diet dependent on junk food ... More than two thirds of pre-school children are fed an unhealthy diet of white bread, chips and sweets. A quarter of them are over-weight and 5% are not getting enough vitamin D." (BBC May 30 2002)
Secondly, lifestyle. Some of the figures quoted in the above articles suggest that if the situation continues unchecked we will be looking at a country where over half of the population is obese. The second factor causing it appears to be lack of exercise; which to me is self-explanatory. I know all too well that my problem rests mostly with this (for one reason or another) rather than my diet, which is quite healthy.
I've personally received the "conventional advice" that 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. TIME goes further in saying, "what has become increasingly clear, however, is that the conventionally accepted advice ... is probably insufficient to spur any real change in a person's body weight." (TIME Jul 28 2008)
The Department of Health launched a national campaign in January 2009 called Change4Life. Its aim is to kick-start, "a lifestyle revolution to help every family eat better and be more active." (JournalLive) The web site - http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/ - is non-threatening and positive in its advice to visitors and provides real, useful information on how to make changes in personal lifestyle.
I myself have benefited from a local council scheme which offers free membership to all of the city's gyms, together with a tailored programme and helpful staff. In two months I managed to lose almost a stone in weight, which has been permanent and resulted in a long-lasting increase in confidence. It's clear to me that schemes like these are working; they just need to reach out and involve more people.
Views: 16
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Comment by Riko Kamachi on March 26, 2010 at 11:36am
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If anyone is interested, a friend of mine runs a LiveJournal group which shares healthy meals with a focus on environmental sustainability. It's worth a look if you liked my post. http://community.livejournal.com/healthy_meals/
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Comment by Ternura Rojas on March 26, 2010 at 12:58pm
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Grat post Riko! well done. I am not only convinced but also very concerned about the food security issues in the "first world".
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Comment by Daniel LaLiberte on March 26, 2010 at 2:19pm
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We, among the privileged, don't have as much of a food security issue as impoverished communities do given our current infrastructure, but therein lies the rub. We are much more at risk if our precarious high-level support were to fail, being more dependent on many distant others for our basic food needs. And is it likely to fail? Energy is likely to be the tipping point trigger of food crises, I believe, because it also comes from distant lands, for most of us.
So one way to address all this is to work toward producing more food locally. It is probably difficult for us to produce all the food we need ourselves, but we can share the work and harvest among a community, as we have for thousands of years, and strengthen the community as well.
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@Ternura: Thank you :)
@Daniel: You raise a valid point... and maybe the way forward for ACT2 lies in it? :)
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Comment by Michele Baron on March 28, 2010 at 9:36pm
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Improving the food security of one person could conceivably include yourself, a family member, a neighbor or teacher. As noted, when people are too far removed from the source(s) of their food, then, when supply fails, when a crisis wipes out stockpiles of food, what will people eat? Local food production, even on a small scale, is practice and application of food security principles; in a true crisis (ideally, this will not transpire), part of food security could also include being aware of disaster-relief plans and provisions in your area, and making sure those around you also know/have a plan.
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Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 29, 2010 at 1:11pm
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+1 LI. What about the issue of GM foods and their effect on human health? GMOs are traditionally touted as one way to secure food supply but is it really?
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@Michele: I totally agree, it is a danger which I don't think most people really think about. Having access to so many food sources is something people take for granted. I think people do think about what to do in a nuclear war or accident for example, but I think the idea of 'stockpiling tinned foods' is more of a joke to most people rather than a legitimate back-up plan. I would guess education into how to grow your own food is an avenue that needs exploring, I might look into that myself. There may be some information on it at the library.
@Shakwei: I would say in the short-term, GM crops would solve a food crisis. However, since I'm unconvinced of the effects of GM production on farmland, I'd say it's not going to work in the long-term.
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Comment by Mark Mulkerin on March 29, 2010 at 2:11pm
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I watched a movie recently called Food Inc. in which they profiled an American family choosing between fast food and broccoli and choosing fast food, because they didn't have the money to make the healthy choice. If you then look at the number of Americans on food stamps these days (a government food subsidy) or whose children are getting free meals at school, I'm not at all convinced that we have that much of a buffer.
Once you throw in China and other rapidly developing countries adopting Western diets, I wouldn't be at all optimistic that food will be as inexpensive for the developed world as it currently is. China only recently became a net food importer and it has already had its effects on global food markets. Even if we presume that we will be able to continue at something like our current levels of production (and barring any miracle agricultural breakthroughs), we'd still be looking at paying a significantly higher portion of our income for food.
Of course, if peak oil hits ... if yet more fisheries collapse ... if climate change leads to desertification of current breadbaskets ... if the California drought continues unabated and that farmland is abandoned ... if the US is forced to get its economic house in order (and I assume the same would apply to many countries) and farm subsidies get removed causing a spike in food prices ... and the list goes on.
We are privileged, because we aren't at the front of the line. Cheers.
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Comment by Massive Attack on March 29, 2010 at 2:31pm
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Yes we are. Biking or walking for commute, especially on trips less then five miles. Eating healthy is an option for almost everyone I think. I recieve food stamps which makes it exponentially easier. Anyone on food stamps should be able to eat healthy; it is what they are for.
Social things built around exercise; yoga, basketball, ultimate frisbee etc. I encourage everyone to do yoga & meditate, it is so good. For u in so many ways. Even a relaxing walk around after a meal
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Comment by Lynn Caldwell on March 29, 2010 at 3:00pm
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People that are fat are fat because they have a high supply in carbs (bread and potatoes) and are depressed - hence, feeling like eating a load of fatty carbs...you can't make a person happy BY giving them healthy meals - you need to make them happy and then they will want to eat healthily...sure - you could point to the research that says "People are more happy when they eat healthy food" however, this doesn't explain the causal link.
High expectations and feelings of isolation/neglect (often with kids raised by bystanders in nurseries so that their parents can live their dream of having loads of money and those parents beliveing in the high expectation dream) make people eat, and feel rubbish, which makes them eat a load of carbs. These people need to feel self worth, belong to a group who genuinely love them (when their families are off chasing the money). This is of course a generalisation, but for a lot of peop;le, it is reality....greed for love is huge in western society...which is why we make games like this, with high feedback!
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