Lecture 12 Flashcards
What is systems thinking?
A vantage point from which you see a web of relationships, rather than focusing only on the detail of any particular piece
What are food systems?
Complex networks that include all the inputs and outputs associated with agricultural and food production and consumption. They vary from place to place and location specific conditions.
Another definition: the sum of actors and interactions along the food value chain–from input supply and production of crops, livestock, fish, and other agricultural commodities to transportation, processing, retailing, wholesaling, and preparation of foods to consumption and disposal.
Why is food a vector?
A contaminant can get into the food
How is food a hazard?
Unhealthy food as a “contaminant” to which person can be exposed
Food production emissions as environmental contaminant
What are some important food system inputs?
land
soil
biodiversity
people
energy (fossil fuels)
water
chemicals
What are some important food system outputs?
waste
greenhouse gas emissions
nutrition and health
How do livestock and land effect the environment?
Their has been an exponential growth of agriculture in the US in the 10th century
livestock alone uses 30% of Earth’s surface
grazing animals are cool but producing their feed represents a net drain on food supply
the demand for land means use of valuable rainforests which leads to land degradation, loss of carbon sequestering forests, loss of biodiversity
What % of biodiversity loss is livestock responsible for?
90%
What % of fresh water use, water pollution, and land use is agriculture responsible for?
70% freshwater use
78% water pollution
50% land use
What are the top 3 climate solutions for food producers?
reduce food waste
shift towards plant rich diets
shifting agricultural practices toward no more overconsumption
What are planetary boundaries?
They’re the nine boundaries we need to keep in safe zone for planetary health. We are currently in the danger zones for nitrogen and phosphorous flows, biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and extinctions), land use change, climate change, and fresh water change.
What are the four main aspects of a sustainable and healthy diet?
What are the consequences of wasted food?
Waste of resources - agricultural land, water, pesticides, fertilizers, and energy
Generation of environmental impacts - including GHG emissions and climate change, consumption and degradation of freshwater resources, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and degradation of soil quality and air quality
Why do consumers discard food?
worries of food poisoning, only wanting super fresh food, claim they compost food, food breaks down in landfill so doesn’t matter, individual actions doesn’t make difference, others in household don’t like leftovers, not enough time to eliminate waste
What are the public health co-benefits of addressing wasted food?
