Abstract
Food and agriculture professionals strive to feed the growing population diets that maintain human health and minimize environmental impacts. Recently, global organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization have set goals related to the sustainable production of nutritious foods. In this vein, the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, and Health has set dietary recommendations for human and planetary health. These recommendations, based on a wide body of evidence, suggest that plant-based diets are essential for the persistence of the population and the environment. This article briefly reviews the influence of diets on health and environmental outcomes in the context of the EAT-Lancet recommendations. Then the brief discusses the role of land grant universities in developing nutrition sensitive, environmentally resilient food systems. Then the article discusses local food system initiatives in Minnesota and offers insight into how the University of Minnesota may play a role in developing nutrition sensitive value chains by coordinating and supporting local food efforts. Ultimately, this brief suggests that land grant universities can help local communities equitably collaborate with upstream and downstream value chain actors to develop nutrition sensitive, environmentally resilient value chains.
Highlights
Food system professionals must feed a growing global population healthful, environmentally resilient diets (Clark et al, 2018).The global food system contributes to the triple burden of hunger, micronutrient deficiency, and obesity (Gomez and Barrett, 2013)
The report recommends a diet low in animalderived foods like red meat and dairy and encourages increased vegetable, fruit, legume, and whole grain consumption (Willett et al, 2019). This is similar to the DASH and Mediterranean diets, which purportedly have lower environmental impacts compared to Western diets (Nelson et al, 2016)
Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP), Grow North MN, and Forever Green Initiative (FGI) develop new crop enterprises and cultivate local food entrepreneurship. These groups may benefit from coordinating with groups that work downstream in the value chain like Second Harvest and the Good Acre, who traditionally focus on supplying foods to citizens
Summary
Food system professionals must feed a growing global population healthful, environmentally resilient diets (Clark et al, 2018).The global food system contributes to the triple burden of hunger, micronutrient deficiency, and obesity (Gomez and Barrett, 2013). The negative implications of this system may exacerbate as the population surpasses 9 billion by 2,050, and food production increases to meet demand (Tilman et al, 2011). Recognizing this wicked challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed 17 cross-cutting Sustainable Development Goals that promote human and environmental health (FAO., 2017a). These goals provide orientation and direction for local food systems to achieve diets that support human and environmental health
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