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Dr Nick Smith from the Riddet Institute’s Sustainable Nutrition InitiativeTM programme, talking about global food systems and their impact on availability and affordability of nutrients
Plants and animals, not plants vs animals Dr Nick Smith of the Riddet Institute’s Sustainable Nutrition Initiative, and science writer, Glenda Lewis There were some surprising findings and a few reality checks at the Riddet Institute Feed our Future dialogue in Wellington, 9 June.
It's AND, nor OR All the delicious data from international and local speakers seemed to converge on one bottom line. We need plants AND animals to feed the world properly – that is, not just give the expected 10 plus billion people enough to eat in terms of energy and protein, but all the nutrients for optimum health and development. The evidence strongly points to the right balance of plant and animal food being more sustainable, more affordable, and least disruptive to our economies and cultural traditions.
of the drive towards plant-based diets. Everyone accepts that many people in the western world eat more than their fair share, especially of meat, and could benefit from eating a wider range of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.
The DELTA model Riddet Institute Director, Distinguished Professor Harjinder Singh, made no bones about the fact that food technology is the next frontier for disruptive innovation – and that feeding an extra 2 billion, as well as the 2 billion who are currently malnourished (includes those who eat too much), will be a huge challenge for food scientists and technologists.
Our food production system is currently plant based, with plants making up 86% of food biomass leaving the farm gate. As speaker Associate Professor Hannah van Zanten (Wageningen University) pointed out, the right combination of plant and animal production allows for a circular food production system – plant food waste and plant matter that humans can’t eat can be used as animal feed. Conversely plants are fertilised with animal waste and animals utilise land unfit for crops.
He says a dichotomy between nutrition and environmental sustainability is widening. Worried that nutrition is coming a poor second, the Riddet Institute started a computer-based project called DELTA – as part of its Sustainable Nutrition Initiative™ – to model ways of feeding the world well, and then test different scenarios (e.g. reducing sugar production to free land for more nutritious crops, or reducing household waste) to fit sustainability boundaries. The model does not compromise on human nutrition.
The forum was by no means reactionary, but a scientific moderation
Dr Nick Smith is a researcher on the project and recently presented
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Food New Zealand
