Built Environment
Projects & Industry Impact
In order to have a suitable and healthy food system for the future, integrated and innovative methods and approaches from a range of disciplines have to be implemented, as well as effective intersocial policy analysis and multi-stakeholder engagement.
A food system can be defined as a complex web of activities involving production, processing, transportation, and consumption. Most prominent issues regarding the food system include governance and economic food production. In order to have a suitable and healthy food system for the future, integrated and innovative methods and approaches from a range of disciplines have to be implemented, as well as effective intersocial policy analysis and multi-stakeholder engagement. This is why the food system doesn’t only involve the basic elements you would think of e.i. farm work but also all the processes and infrastructure involved in the feeding population like economic, social,policy and water systems.
Scarcity of Resources
Urbanization and increased economic growth have drastically changed our water use, increasing demands on already scarce resources.
The growing scarcity of land, water, and energy for food production is affecting our ability to produce food. 3.2 billion people live in agricultural areas with high to very high water shortages or scarcity, of whom 1.2 billion people – live in severely water-constrained agricultural areas. Many of these areas are found in developing countries, with serious implications for food security.
Two-thirds of the world’s population is already affected by water shortages. In the future, these problems will only become more serious.
Projections suggest that there is enough water available globally to sustain the world in 2050, but since the water is not equally distributed, an increasing number of countries will face growing water scarcity, impacting rural livelihoods and food security (Towards World Agriculture 2030/2050)
Growing Population
An increasing number of a growing population drives the demand for food, which in result drives more pressure on the use of already limited land and water resources. Critical food insecurity leads to endangering people's lives and livelihoods indirect risk.
This makes tackling the root of the issue of the food crisis more urgent than ever.
It is estimated that, by 2050, the world food system will have to provide food for more than 9 billion people, for this an increase of 50% of global food production needs to be done by 2050 in order to feed the growing population.
After the tragic events of the Ukrainian war. Food prices increased drastically due to a surge of prices that are combined with transportation costs, trade disruptions, and rising import taxes after the Ukrainian war. This change of event is primarily affecting the poor and developing countries around the world, where food prices exceed the country's overall inflation
Overconsumption & Food waste
Overconsumption and food waste put unnecessary pressure on the food system.
663 million people are globally undernourished, and one in four people globally are moderately or severely food insecure, while in a drastic contrast in 2020, more than 2 billion adults (39% of the adult global population) were overweight. Of these, over 600 million were obese.
In the EU, around 88 million tonnes of food waste are generated annually with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros (FUSIONS, 2016). While an estimated 20% of the total food produced is lost or wasted, 36.2 million people cannot afford a quality meal every second day.Globally, approximately a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted (FAO, 2011).
