CEM: unhealthy food production makes healthy eating impossible

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, killers hidden in food production make healthy eating impossible for all the people of the world.

according to Cities and Circular Economy for
Food,
excessive use of pesticides, antibiotics in livestock and the poor
management of fertilizers could result in 5 million deaths a year worldwide
2050 – double the current number of deaths due to obesity and four
times the number due to road accidents.

The report, launched today at the World Economic Forum annual meeting at
Davos, highlights the enormous environmental damage caused by food
production. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and poorly managed manure exacerbate
air pollution and contaminate soils and water. Food production is currently
responsible for nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Even when trying to make healthy food choices, consumers are exposed to the risk of
the way the food was produced. To ensure that people around the world can eat
in a healthy way, we must not only consider what we eat, but how it is produced. Right here,
the EMF defines a vision for a new system – in which food is grown locally and
in order to regenerate natural resources, waste is eliminated through better
the redistribution and use of by-products, and healthy foods are produced without it being necessary
for harmful practices.

"Our way of producing food today is not only an extreme waste and a detriment to food.
the environment, this causes serious health problems, "said Lady Ellen
MacArthur.
"It can not continue in the long run; we urgently need to rethink the system.

The report finds that waste disposal and health improvement through a circular
the global economy could yield 2.7 billion US dollars a year. Health
the costs badociated with the use of pesticides would decrease by $ 550 billion a year; and
antimicrobial resistance, air pollution, water contamination and food toxicity
the diseases would reduce considerably. Greenhouse gas emissions would be expected
decrease by 4.3 Gt CO2e, which equates to removing one billion cars from the
road permanently. The degradation of 15 million hectares of arable land would be
prevented and 450 trillion liters of fresh water saved each year.

Cities are the key to this food revolution: by 2050, they will consume 80% of the
food, which gives them the power to direct the transition to this healthy system. towns
themselves can unlock 700 billion USD a year by using organic materials to help
produce new foods and products, and by reduce edible foods
waste.

The publication of Cities and Circular Economy for Food follows the launch
yesterday another EMF report that examines how artificial intelligence could
to be applied to create a circular regenerative economy for food and
Agriculture;
as well as last week's publication of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet,
Health.

Dr. Gunhild Stordalen, founder and executive chairman of EAT, said: "We
can not reach a healthy planet and a healthy population without a fundamental
transformation of our entire food system. Cities and Circular Economy for Food
describes an approach that begins with cities and presents a vision of a future
where the way we produce and consume food contributes to the environment and
health benefits, instead of harming human health and the environment. reach
it is urgent, but no quick fix will get us there. We have the knowledge and
tools for action – and the circular economy approach will be essential. "

The report was written with the badytical support of SystemIQ. Founder and
Management partner Martin Stuchtey said: "As pressures on the food system
continue to rise – expanding urbanization, doubling food demand, increasing
food waste and rising costs for health, the environment and the economy – the time has come to
take a step back and reconsider our actions. The concept of circular and regenerator
The food system offers entirely new solutions, motivated by the reconnection of
consumers with food production. Our badysis shows that it is an economic problem.
attractive opportunity that we can not afford to ignore. "

The report was made possible by philanthropic partners Calouste Gulbenkian
Foundation, the players of People's Postcode Lottery and Porticus; in
collaboration with the main partners Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo
Center for Innovation; and main partners Danone, Sitra, Suez, tetra
Pak and Veolia.

Cities and Circular Economy for Food is a project of the world's affiliation
Economic Forum Platform to accelerate the circular economy (RHYTHM).
The report was produced as part of Project Mainstream, a global company headed by a CEO.
initiative created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Economic
Forum, which helps to adapt business-oriented circular economy innovations.

Key facts and examples

For every dollar spent on food, society pays $ 2 in health, environment and
economic costs. These negative impacts cost $ 5,700 billion a year – as much
obesity, malnutrition and other food consumption problems combined. These
the costs are related to:

• Extraction of finite resources: Large amounts of phosphorus, potbadium and
  other finite resources are used in agriculture. From tractors on the ground to
  feed processing plants and distribution truck fleets, most of
  the food system is still dependent on fossil fuels. For each calorie of food
  consumed in the United States, the equivalent energy of 13 calories of oil is burned
  to produce it.

• Waste: Today, apart from our thousands of tons of preventable food waste each year, less than 2% of the valuable nutrients in food by-products and human waste in cities are safely and productively valued. Instead, these nutrients are usually
  intended for landfilling, incinerators or, worse, languishing in open dumps or
  released untreated, where they pose health risks to residents and
  l & # 39; environment.

• Pollution: Pesticides and synthetic fertilizers used in conventional agriculture
  practices, as well as manure mismanagement, can exacerbate air pollution,
  contaminate soils and leachate chemicals in water supplies. Mismanagement
  food waste and by-products generated during food processing,
  distribution and packaging are more polluting for water, especially in emerging countries.
  savings. The agri-food industry is the second largest emitter in the world
  greenhouse gases, responsible for about 25% of all human-caused damage.
  shows.

• Degradation of natural capital: Every year, poor agricultural practices degrade natural capital: 15 million hectares of arable land are lost; about 70% of the world's freshwater demand is used for agriculture; and the industry was responsible for about 73% of deforestation between 2000 and 2010.

If nothing changes?

Air pollution and contamination of water, as well as antimicrobial resistance
exacerbated by the use of antibiotics in breeding and by inadequate treatment
wastewater, could contribute to the above 5 million deaths per year
globally by 2050. The food system alone will have exhausted two-thirds of the
remainder of the global carbon budget remaining to have a reasonable chance of limiting
global warming to 1.5 ° C or less compared to pre-industrial levels.