New Book Points to Food, Farming as Key to Improving Health, Environment, and Equality Worldwide
Worldwide, 30% of food is wasted, 1 billion people go to bed hungry each
night while another 1 billion suffer from health problems related to
obesity, and agriculture contributes one third of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Meanwhile, young people are increasingly disconnected from
how their food is grown, making solutions to the global agricultural
system seem even further out of reach. In response to these problems,
the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is releasing a report,
Eating Planet, highlighting the challenges facing today's food and
agricultural system, as well as the myriad benefits that reform could
bring. "Access to food is one of the first and most fundamental of all human rights," says Guido Barilla, Chairman of the Barilla Group.
"Where food is lacking, it becomes impossible to live with dignity, and
the rights to a healthy life and peaceful coexistence are undermined."
The Worldwatch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project, an evaluation
of environmentally sustainable solutions to alleviate hunger and
poverty, collaborated with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition
to produce the report. "The study's conclusions represent a major
step toward ensuring that agriculture contributes to health,
environmental sustainability, income generation, and food security," said Nourishing the Planet project director Danielle Nierenberg. "The
ingredients will vary by country and region, but there are some key
components that will lead to healthier food systems everywhere."
The report is divided into four sections: Food for All, Food for
Sustainable Growth, Food for Health, and Food for Culture. Each of these
sections ends with concrete recommendations, proposals, and actions
that need to be taken to solve the global food crisis. The book features
contributions from leading international experts, including Nobel Peace
Prize winner Shimon Peres, world renowned economist and Italian Prime
Minister Mario Monti, philosopher and environmental activist Vandana
Shiva and Carlo Petrini, founder of the International "Slow Food"
Movement. It suggests specific reforms to the food and agricultural
systems. These include: Healthy eating and lifestyles; Fair food prices;
Transparent and responsible food trade.
Eating Planet is a collaboration between BCFN and the Worldwatch
Institute's Nourishing the Planet project, an evaluation of
environmentally sustainable solutions to alleviate hunger and poverty.
Worldwatch commends initiatives like these that are working to improve
nutrition and draw awareness to the importance of food in everyday life.
These and other efforts need more attention, more research, and more
investment to help build a more just and sustainable food system. Eating
Planet will be available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes starting
April 26th.
Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition
