
White House’s Hunger Strategy Must Address Sustainability
- foodfightadmin
- October 22, 2022
- Agriculture, Climate Change, Federal
- ads pages
- 0 Comments
During the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, President Joe Biden and thought leaders from across the nation addressed various issues. While the unpacking of complex topics was commendable, one essential aspect was notably absent: sustainable food systems. Despite this element being critical for achieving our national objectives, including nutrition, health, and combating climate change, it was surprisingly under-emphasized. Consequently, there is a pressing need for the Biden administration to focus more on integrating sustainability into future food and agriculture strategies.
Sustainable food systems are not only eco-friendly but also have several societal and economic advantages. In such setups, farmers typically own and operate their businesses locally, catering to the community’s dietary needs while ensuring fair wages for workers. These systems have a lower pollution footprint, can help counter climate change, are profitable and have shown greater resilience than industrial food systems with far-reaching global supply chains.
To aid the Biden administration’s fight against hunger, sustainable food systems should play a vital role. The current strategy emphasizes nutrition in health and ensures consumers have access to healthy food choices, shifting focus from the quantity of food to its quality. This is significant considering the harmful impact of ultra-processed food and lack of healthy options in underprivileged areas. Hence, increasing the accessibility and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables, which requires more local growers, becomes essential.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted approximately $72 million for specialty crops but also awarded over $4.2 billion in subsidies for crops like corn, wheat, and soy. This disparity reveals why ultra-processed foods are often cheaper than fresh produce, a result of government policy rather than market inevitability. Hence, it is crucial to support local, sustainable growers of fruits and vegetables, linking sustainability to hunger alleviation.
Corporate interests have often blocked sustainability efforts under the guise of addressing hunger. Meat-processing companies and multinational corporations dominating our food system benefit from the status quo, meanwhile the current food system poses serious threats to global health and ecosystem fragility.
Climate change-driven disasters are already harming our ability to produce necessary food. Sustainable agriculture could play a significant role in mitigating these risks. According to Project Drawdown, promoting local, plant-based diets and reducing food waste are the most effective solutions to climate change, exceeding even the impact of transitioning to electric cars. The report also states that food, agriculture, and land use sectors contribute nearly 24% of current greenhouse gas emissions. Given this data, it is critical for the Biden administration to address both sustainability and hunger in tandem in their forthcoming plans.