Calcium deficiency at the global, national, and individual levels Posted in: Diet , Food Systems , Health , Nutrition , Vegetable Food Sources This Thought for Food is part of a series on key nutrients identified as global challenges by the SNi DELTA Model®. Calcium is an essential dietary nutrient: a trace element that is vital for healthy bodily function. However, a recent report composed by the Calcium Task Force (created by New York Academy of Sciences in partnership… read more... Comparing the environmental cost of foods: Nutritional LCAs Posted in: Climate , Diet , Energy Consumption , Food Systems , Health , Mortality , Nutrition , Sustainability The environmental impact of a food, be that carbon footprint, water use, land use or some other factor, can be estimated by life cycle analysis (LCA). With the environmental impact of food an increasingly important consideration for many consumers, industry and policymakers, the FAO have recently published a report on the challenges and opportunities of… read more... What if all the world’s countries closed their borders to food trade? Posted in: Food Systems , Nutrition , Production Food security is often accepted in wealthy parts of the world today. But with widespread concerns about trade disruption, what would it actually mean for global nutrition if food trade stopped tomorrow? Could most, some, or any countries adequately feed their populations? What does this mean for how we should think about food production? The… read more... Evidence for Sustainable Food Systems at Three Scales Posted in: Affordability , Animal Food Sources , Climate , Cost , Diet , Food Sourcers , Food Systems , Health , Livestock , Nutrition , Production , Sustainability , Vegetable Food Sources The future of the food system is a major topic of conversation with various voices advocating the need for a range of changes, with some being quite radical. Historically the focus on the global food system was on providing enough nutrition for those in most need. This has transitioned to many advocating a need for… read more... Need or Greed? Posted in: Affordability , Animal Food Sources , Climate , Diet , Food Sourcers , Food Systems , Livestock , Nutrition , Production , Sustainability , Vegetable Food Sources , Waste Adjunct Professor of Massey University and the Riddet Institute and Fonterra Chief Science and Technology Officer, Jeremy Hill, last week contributed to COP26 on the future of sustainable food systems. SNi research featured heavily in this contribution. Prof Hill outlines some important aspects of today’s food system that are poorly understood, and examines the role… read more... Cropland requirement in DELTA Model® scenarios Posted in: Food Systems , Nutrition , Production , Sustainability , Vegetable Food Sources How much land will we need to feed the global population in the future? And what should be grown on it? The SNi team are currently working on modelling the required cropland under different future food production scenarios. This will feature in the upcoming DELTA Model® version 2.0 and an accompanying scientific publication. Agricultural crops… read more... The role of processed foods in a sustainable food system Posted in: Affordability , Diet , Food Sourcers , Food Systems , Nutrition , Sustainability , Waste There exist negative consumer perceptions on processed and ultra-processed foods, however such foods are commonly misunderstood. Here, we explore some of the reasons behind this, the varied definitions and types of processed foods, and how they are essential to the sustainability of the global food system. Food processing is defined as making changes to a… read more... Changes to diet can be a win-win for nutrition and environment, but not all changes Posted in: Affordability , Animal Food Sources , Cost , Diet , Energy Consumption , Food Systems , Health , Nutrition , Sustainability , Vegetable Food Sources Individuals are increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of their food choices. A recent paper in Sustainability quantifies the global warming impact of several NZ diets over the entire lifetime of the consumer, providing context for the role of diet in an individual’s overall contribution to global warming. How can we eat healthier diets that… read more... DELTA Model® published in Journal of Nutrition Posted in: Animal Food Sources , Food Systems , Livestock , Nutrition , Production , Sustainability , Vegetable Food Sources Read the article Results of the SNi DELTA Model® have this week been published in the Journal of Nutrition. The paper details the construction of the model, the scope of its use, and some key results that challenge widely repeated ideas in the food system. As detailed in the paper, the DELTA Model® is an… read more... Waste and losses in the global food system Posted in: Food Systems , Sustainability , Waste This Thought for Food article examines the loss of nutrients as a result of food waste. Not all foods are wasted to the same extent, and thus neither are all nutrients. Aggregate numbers for global waste or waste reduction targets mask these important variations. When considering the impact of changes in the food system, we… read more...
Calcium deficiency at the global, national, and individual levels Posted in: Diet, Food Systems, Health, Nutrition, Vegetable Food Sources This Thought for Food is part of a series on key nutrients identified as global challenges by the SNi DELTA Model®. Calcium is an essential dietary nutrient: a trace element that is vital for healthy bodily function. However, a recent report composed by the Calcium Task Force (created by New York Academy of Sciences in partnership… read more...
