Food challenges 2030: Goals, recommendations... alternatives, realities

Abstract

For centuries, the great food challenge was to cope with the insecurity caused by scarcity and, for this, food production and productivity had to be increased. The so-called Green Revolution was the culmination of that process. But, with its "success", the problems shifted to excess insecurities: obesity, "junk food", waste, globalized food crises ... The responses to these new problems have been numerous and varied: labeling, traceability, standardization, health controls, food recommendations ... However, in 2020, the great challenges continue to be to reduce hunger, obesity and, also, waste and the unsustainability of the food system. In this regard, recommendations to overcome them abound. Complying with the recommendations constitutes a huge challenge and foreseeing the barriers to their compliance, another. Not all citizens of the world enjoy the same type and degree of freedom in their food choices. Can impoverished people and those who live in big cities and need long periods of time to commute, meet the recommendations to follow a healthy diet for themselves and the planet? On the other hand, are there consensus and possibilities of collaboration among all the actors involved (citizens, governments, economic agents, political parties, scientists, social movements, pressure groups ...) or controversy and concurrence? It seems that we are facing a squaring of the circle. According to the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Soil, to achieve more sustainable land management and eradicate poverty, it is necessary to design appropriate policies (improve access to markets, ensure land tenure, factor environmental costs in food, improve collective action ...). Designing those policies is not difficult, but what about implementing them? At the moment, poverty, hunger, obesity, desertification ... as well as the wealth of the rich continue to increase. Are there causal relationships? In addition to recommending reducing the consumption of meat, shouldn't we also recommend a certain redistribution of wealth?