Agricultural intensification, dietary diversity, and markets in the global food security narrative

Ickowitz, Amy; Powell, Bronwen; Rowland, Dominic; Jones, Andrew D.; Sunderland, Terry

doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2018.11.002

Cited by 146 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…This is the case in recent years for different superfoods, which could easily lead to an intensification in their production within their countries of origin, with implications for food security, local livelihoods and the environment. Yet, making informed decisions about the production of these crops requires that the context of the local food system be taken into account, given the critical role that many of these crops play for local communities (Ickowitz, Powell, Rowland, Jones, & Sunderland, 2019). Indeed, superfoods originate in most cases within complex and diverse crop agricultural systems.…”

Section: Towards a Sustainable Superfood Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and social consequences of the increase in the demand for ‘superfoods’ world‐wide

Magrach

Sanz

2020

People and Nature

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The search for healthy diets has led to a surge in the demand for functional foods or ‘superfoods’, which have now become popular among the middle‐ and high‐income fractions of the society in developed regions of the world. ‘Superfoods’ are predominantly consumed far from their centres of origin and out of their cultural context with different environmental and social effects. Here, we present a series of case studies to provide an overview of the different environmental impacts driven by superfood expansion. We show that if these crops are to follow the path of other global commodities, then strong environmental impacts and large carbon footprints are expected in terms of land clearing, use of agrochemicals and transportation during times of high prices (boom) and social problems as farmers have to abandon their livelihoods when prices sink below the cost of production (bust). We also showcase how a combination of management practices, consumer choices and policy changes could help in alleviating the ecological footprint of these crops. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Section: Towards a Sustainable Superfood Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and social consequences of the increase in the demand for ‘superfoods’ world‐wide

Magrach

Sanz

2020

People and Nature

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“…While the recognition of rights-based approaches to conservation and rights to food will help alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition, it is but one strategy to ensure a more sustainable and equitable future. Likewise, increasingly loud calls for a more ecologically friendly agriculture suggest there is developing interest in promoting long-term sustainability in the agricultural sector over production alone (DeClerck et al, 2011;Campanhola and Pandey, 2019;Ickowitz et al, 2019). Extensive evidence is emerging that breaking down the barriers between agriculture and forest conservation at the landscape scale could have significant potential both conserve biodiversity and ensure a more sustainable agricultural production; indeed, taking the "whole earth" approach advocated by (Büscher and Fletcher, 2019).…”

Section: In Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contemporary agriculture currently focuses on the production of large quantities of a limited number of crops; i.e., the main thrust of global food security remains an emphasis on the production of calories (Vandermeer et al, 2018;Ickowitz et al, 2019). Monocultures of grains and other high-intensity crops require land and much of the historical and contemporary expansion of agriculture has come at the expense of natural habitats, notably forests (Gibbs et al, 2010) with a significant proportion of this forest conversion, primarily for commodity crops, being permanent (Curtis et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Conservation, Rights, and Diets: Untangling the Issues

Sunderland

Vasquez

2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Recent research has highlighted the contributions of forests and tree-based systems to both dietary diversity and nutrition as well as agricultural production in the form of tree-based ecosystem services. Wild foods provide a significant nutritional contribution to the diets of rural dwellers, the majority of whom would be classified as some of the world's poorest. Yet, despite the important human-forest interactions and relative degrees of forest dependency, access to much of the global forest estate is increasingly regulated under the guise of biodiversity conservation. How this restricted access plays out when the "right to food" is a deeply enshrined human right has been deeply contested, particularly with regard to land annexation. This paper outlines the critical issues related to dietary diversity and nutrition in the context of the availability of wild foods juxtaposed with the growing call for the annexation of land for conservation. We suggest that a more integrated and equitable approach to land management that embraces both biodiversity conservation and broader food security and nutrition goals can provide multiple benefits, while mitigating local conflicts. As such, a rights-based approach to conservation and an embracing of broader landscape perspectives are possible strategies to achieve these seemingly conflicting agendas.

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“…A study conducted in Ghana by Anderman et al (2014) also obtained a negative relationship between cash crop production and household food security. The variation in the relationship between agricultural production and food security can emanate from local context (Ickowitz et al 2019). In the current study households produce various crops and keep livestock as a major livelihood activity.…”

Section: Household Sanitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality and food security among smallholder rural households in eastern Ethiopia: evidence from panel data analysis

Aweke¹,

Sassi²,

Lahiff³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Food insecurity remains one of the major challenges in Ethiopia. There is scanty empirical evidence regarding the contribution of seasonality to household food and nutrition security. This study was conducted in eastern Ethiopia with the aim of examining seasonal household food and nutrition security and factors influencing this seasonal variation. Data was gathered from randomly selected households during pre- and post-harvest seasons. A Random Effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression was employed for analysis. The result indicated considerable variation between the two seasons in terms of dietary diversity and food security. Households producing more food groups, cultivating larger size of land, having higher household income, keeping more livestock, owning cell phone, having access to cooperatives, and having access to improved drinking water as well as education were more likely to be more food secure across seasons. However, households keeping livestock in their dwelling units and households who had access to credit were negatively associated with seasonal food insecurity. Future interventions aiming at ensuring food security should pay attention to seasonality and mechanisms of improving diversified food production and household income as well as expanding education opportunities and access to cooperatives, infrastructure (mobile telephone) and sanitation.

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Agricultural intensification, dietary diversity, and markets in the global food security narrative

Cited by 146 publications

References 66 publications

Environmental and social consequences of the increase in the demand for ‘superfoods’ world‐wide

Environmental and social consequences of the increase in the demand for ‘superfoods’ world‐wide

Forest Conservation, Rights, and Diets: Untangling the Issues

Seasonality and food security among smallholder rural households in eastern Ethiopia: evidence from panel data analysis

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