University of Michigan: Sustainable Food Systems Initiative

Today’s global food system produces unprecedented quantities of food. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization estimates that over one billion people lack adequate food to satisfy minimum standards of nutrition, despite more than adequate global supplies, a perplexing pattern that has been evident for many years. Even more perplexing is the irony that obesity has become a major health problem for some, even as hunger continues to plague others. Moreover, the industrial agricultural systems that developed during the past century are increasingly recognized as environmentally unsustainable, in many cases causing environmental degradation and substantial losses of biological diversity. For consumers, food safety has emerged as a critical issue and for producers — farmers and farm workers — workplace safety and unfair compensation threaten the sustainability of their livelihoods. A global food system that simultaneously produces hunger and obesity,generates significant collateral environmental degradation, and compromises the well-being of farmers and eaters alike, indicates the need for serious analysis and action.