Aspects of world nutrition

On the supply side, the agriculture and fishing industries are responsible for food production. In agriculture, the main factors for a successful harvest are the availability of water, seeds, fertilisers, fodder, capital, and the corresponding know-how, in addition to the land itself. Correct storage, transport, and processing play a role after harvesting. After all, the wholesalers and retailers, importers and exporters, as well as local and international markets, have to bring the food to the consumers themselves. In the fishing industry, a primary aim is to avoid overfishing and the depletion of stock, particularly in the ocean; thus, the focus is on stock preservation in connection with sustainable fishing methods and good water quality. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), global fishing yields have been stagnant since 1990 and are now on the decline.

Appropriate measures to increase production, such as fertilisers and irrigation systems, help to optimise harvests. Besides resources, new technologies and general know-how are required.

Undernutrition and malnutrition

On the demand side, the world’s population is expected to increase from currently around 7.9 billion to about ten billion people by 2050. The average income in developing countries is improving and, as a result, billions of people are joining the middle class and changing their eating habits. In 2019, the World Resources Institute estimated that the demand for food would increase by more than 50% between 2010 and 2050. In the case of animal products, the increase is expected to be as high as 70%.

Several hundred million people are still affected by undernutrition. This is due to local agricultural systems producing too little and to the manner in which the current structures distribute available food around the world. Critical factors in this context are storage and infrastructure.

In contrast to this, the number of people who are overweight has reached almost two billion. For many years, the main focus of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was on undernutrition and malnutrition, but now the pendulum is swinging back in the other direction. In the past, the debate around nutrition problems was almost always limited to fighting hunger. In the meantime, however, overnutrition is an almost equally significant global problem as undernutrition. OECD Health Policy Studies conducted in 2016 found that 24% of adults in OECD countries were obese.

The food quality and dietary composition play a major role in this. The so-called food pyramid provides information on the type and quantity of food and beverages that one should consume from a nutritional point of view. It is based on a modular principle. Thanks to the relatively low emphasis placed on eating meat and fish, a healthy diet as outlined by the pyramid would also have a positive impact on resources.

40% of the food produced worldwide is never eaten, according to WWF estimates

In theory, sufficient quantities of food are being produced at present, but food losses and injustices during production, distribution, and consumption are leading to shortages. The WWF estimates that 40% of food produced globally is never eaten. According to the WWF study "Driven to Waste" from 2021, an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of edible food are wasted before, during, and after harvesting every year. In addition, around 930 million tonnes (FAO, 2021) are lost along supply chains and finally about 400 million tonnes are lost during the consumption phase. Altogether, 2.5 billion tonnes of food originally destined to be eaten end up as food waste instead. According to a WWF estimate, about one-fifth of Austria’s carbon footprint is caused by the production and consumption of food and beverages. The cultivation, harvesting, transport, storage, and processing of food requires a great deal of resources and energy. In Austria, one-third of food ends up in the bin.

To close the present existing gap in food production, one could increase the area of land used for agriculture, but this would further damage ecosystems and accelerate the loss of biodiversity. Expanding agricultural production could also potentially have a negative impact on climate change. Today, the agricultural sector’s share of global carbon emissions already amounts to 25% (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, 2020). Every increase in food production will negatively affect climate change, while changes in climate have a negative impact on crop yields.

Therefore, a combination of increased production – without increasing agricultural land use, if possible – and sustainable food consumption are necessary in order to cover the predicted rising demand for food. According to the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, around 12 million hectares of agricultural land are lost globally every year as a result of overgrazing, unsuitable farming methods, erosion, and the construction of roads and urban spaces. If this trend continues unabated, the world’s harvests could be up to 12% smaller within the next 25 years.

Genetic engineering

So-called green genetic engineering, which is intended to enable bigger harvests thanks to genetically modified seeds, is a widely discussed possibility to increase crop yields. Already in 2018, genetically modified crops were cultivated on around 14% of the world’s agricultural land. The main focus is on plants that tolerate pesticides or are poisonous for certain harmful insects as a result of their genetic modifications. At present, crops such as soya, maize, cotton, and canola are at the centre of attention when it comes to the subject of genetically modified seeds. In the case of soya, currently about two-thirds of total production is genetically modified, while in the case of maize, this is around one-third.

The environmental risks associated with genetically modified plants are, on the one hand, that their cultivation could influence large parts of the environment, with consequences that can hardly be predicted. It is practically impossible to avoid “contamination” of conventional farming land by neighbouring acres of genetically modified plants as a result of airborne pollen. On the other hand, the insect world will certainly be affected by such plants; besides the target insects, other organisms could also be harmed by genetically produced toxins. Besides these factors, potential allergic reactions arising from genetic transfer between organisms is another main cause for concern among critics of green genetic engineering.

A more sustainable consumption of food could reduce strain on the production side, which in turn would positively impact climatic developments. The worldwide increase in the consumption of meat is a burden on resources and on the climate. A vegetarian diet requires less land, energy, and water resources than a meat-based one. Furthermore, livestock farming emits far more greenhouses gases than crop production. Considering the low fodder conversion ratios in livestock farming, it can be assumed that a vegetarian diet would significantly improve the global food situation.

Extensive livestock farming leads to deforestation; moreover, digestive products such as dung and methane, in the case of ruminants, contribute towards global warming. The amount of global greenhouse gas emissions could be massively reduced if everyone stopped eating meat. Every head of cattle emits as much greenhouse gas as a car per year – based on 18,000 kilometres driven.

In summary, food supply and avoiding shortages can be achieved through measures on the supply side and on the demand side.

The goal to further increase productivity in relation to food production now seems unachievable. Depleted soils, increasing aridity in many agricultural areas, and low crop yields on organic farms limit productivity. Animal welfare standards are also increasingly an issue in livestock farming; in this regard, the transition to more sustainable production – such as that of meat substitutes and cultured meat – could deliver positive aspects.

On the demand side, a reduction in food requirements by avoiding food waste and losses in the production chain – for example, by improving storage processes – should be pursued. At least partially switching to a meat-free diet would help preserve existing agricultural resources.

Mag. Wolfgang Pinner
Head of Corporate Responsibility at Raiffeisen KAG