Our food system has helped decrease worldwide undernourishment from 50% in 1945 to less than 10% today, despite the fact that the global population has increased from 2.5 billion to almost 8 billion people in the same time.
This was made possible with the help of fertilizer, improved seeds, irrigation and better machinery, which increased yields massively.
And yet, our food system
is failing …
It’s not nourishing us.
Today, poor diets is the leading risk factor for disease, disability, and premature death -- more than drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use combined. In fact, 11 million people die prematurely every year due to poor diets. The foods that are the cheapest and most readily available are slowly killing us. And people everywhere are under consuming the foods that protect human health; fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, omega-3, nuts and seeds.
It’s not sustainable.
The food system accounts for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of all freshwater use, and 50% of all
vegetated land use. It’s the leading cause of biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and marine ecosystem destruction. And it’s incredibly wasteful; in fact, one-third of all food produced in the world is wasted.