Post-COVID-19, we need a food systems approach to achieve zero-deforestation diets
By Augusto Castro-Nuñez and Ma. Eliza J. Villarino
The COVID-19 pandemic brings home a point that Jane Goodall recently echoed in a stern warning to the world. In an interview, the celebrated primatologist said humanity will end if we do not change our ways, specifically how and what we eat, which has caused undue damage to forests.
What Goodall noted — the close connection between diets and forests — is not new. Over the years, the clamor for a shift to sustainable diets has grown, catapulted as a global objective under Sustainable Development Goal 12, on responsible production and consumption. Finding an effective approach toward that end has remained elusive, though.
The challenge, in part, lies in the perspective that government and donor policies seeking to promote zero deforestation and sustainable consumption have adopted. Take the example of the European policy on forest-risk agricultural commodities and the growing number of voluntary corporate commitments to green supply chains. They focus on either tempering the appetite of countries to where these agricultural commodities are exported or to encouraging small-scale farmers to shift from slash-and-burn to sustainable agriculture. The literature on sustainable production and consumption unsurprisingly reflects this trend.
It is true that the production of globally traded agricultural commodities has caused significant deforestation. It is, however, also true that it accounts for a small portion of overall production. Agricultural production for the domestic market makes up for the rest, yet very few have explored how to change food consumption toward a more sustainable pattern in-country.
Understanding the links between domestic food consumption and land use patterns, plus developing appropriate policies and incentives, would be crucial to a successful movement toward sustainable agricultural production and diets. This is particularly important in countries plagued by deforestation and forest degradation, such as those in Latin America.
As incomes in Latin American countries have grown, diets have evolved. Consumers are opting for food that suits their modern lifestyles, ergo processed products. Such appetence for processed food mirrors the shifting production systems. One often finds these production systems in the so-called agricultural frontier or that zone that transitions between a forest and an area with extensive land use and cover change which by all accounts used to be part of the forest.
Policies that can effectively nudge consumers to shift their diets and at the same time halt deforestation will need to adopt a food systems lens. The discourse on food systems centers on their failures, which have led to the twin problems of undernutrition and obesity. Severe obesity, as information on COVID-19 tells us, presents a risk factor for a severe infection of the novel coronavirus. Least discussed is how food systems influence land use and forest cover changes.
The sustainable food systems approach, in fact, offers a framework that can allow for a full understanding of the patterns of land use and consumption and subsequently the formulation of instruments that can regulate and incentivize a shift in production practices and consumer behavior, both domestically and in countries importing commodities from forest-rich economies. Undertaking these ambitious steps will require research and support from donors and decision-makers.
Jane Goodall calls for a drastic change in our food systems if we are to avoid another COVID-19-like crisis. If we are to change our food systems, we cannot stop at shifting to sustainable consumption of globally traded commodities. We also need to look at consumption patterns of domestically traded agricultural commodities and understand how they shape trends in forest cover changes in-country. This can form the foundation of future policies that can lead to sustainable diets and forest conservation.
About the authors:
Augusto Castro-Nuñez is a former Peruvian climate negotiator leading the research area on low-emission food systems at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
Ma. Eliza J. Villarino explores the role of institutions in environmental upgrading in agricultural value chains. A veteran science communicator and former journalist, she is a researcher attached to the University of Copenhagen and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture.
This blog was supported by the project “Implementing Sustainable Agricultural and Livestock Systems for Simultaneous Targeting of Forest Conservation for Climate Change Mitigation (REDD+) and Peacebuilding in Colombia” aims to contribute toward reducing land-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, conserving forest, restoring degraded landscapes, and improving rural livelihoods while stimulating peacebuilding in rural Colombia. It is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. The SLUS project is implemented by CIAT, together with the Centre for Research on Sustainable Agriculture (CIPAV), Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, and Thünen-Institut.
