Food transitions in age of climate crisis should focus on diversifying options

Subject: IR

Section: International conventions

Context:

Despite increased food production aided by technology, global hunger persists, affecting 828 million in 2021 — up by 150 million since 2019.

Details:

A 52 per cent increase in food production is needed by 2050 to meet the requirements of the projected population of 9.9 billion.

Food regimes:

Food regimes explored shifts in power dynamics, from nation-states to global markets and the dominance of neoliberalism.
The first regime (1870-1914) involved colonialism, markets and British hegemony, while the post-war regime (1947-1973) was centred on nation-states, market interventions and the dominance of the United States.
The corporate food regime (1980s-present) led to the emergence of neoliberalism, agro-food corporations and food sovereignty.

A graph showing the global food scenario in terms of the difference in the actual and potential number of people fed.

Scientific study of crops:

The scientific study of food crops started with Linnaeus in the 16th century.
Alphonse de Candoli highlighted key crop origins in Southwest Asia, the Americas and China.
Vavlov’s expeditions (1916-1934) identified primary centres of origin based on gene spread and selection.
Crops are spread from primary to secondary centres, where most diversity is found. Vavlov proposed eight primary centres in the Old World, which was further extended to 12 mega gene centres by Zhukovsky.

Vegetative propagation:

Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or specialized reproductive structures, which are sometimes called vegetative propagules.
Many plants have become seedless and depend on vegetative propagation, altering their reproductive patterns and threatening pollinators.
Vegetative propagation techniques have been used to overcome male sterility in plants like onion.
Regional concentrations of food production create food islands and distribution pathways, as depicted in the figure below.

Nyeleni Declaration on food sovereignty:

It ensures that the rights to use and manage our lands, territories, waters, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are in the hands of those of us who produce food.
- Food sovereignty implies new social relations free of oppression and inequality between men and women, peoples, racial groups, social classes and generations.
It emphasized people’s rights over domestic production, trade and self-reliance on food.
It views power as relational, advocating pluralistic approaches to decision-making for combating hunger and malnutrition.