SNI in spotlight at Primary Industries NZ summit
Representatives from industry, policy and research came together last week to attend presentations on trade, sustainability, consumer science and future trends for the primary sector in New Zealand at the Primary Industries Summit in Wellington. The summit, organised by Federated Farmers of New Zealand, was held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (23rd - 24th November), where delegates heard a selection of world class, global and local experts delivering insights that will support and enable the sector to plan and prepare for its transition and adaptation to a sustainable future (https://primaryindustries.co.nz/).
On the second day of the summit, over 400 delegates heard from the Riddet Institute’s Dr Nick Smith, who discussed the research being undertaken by the Institute’s Sustainable Nutrition Initiative (SNI). SNI focuses on how global food production will need to adapt to adequately and sustainably meet the nutritional requirements of the world’s population, now and in the future.
After the opening keynote from the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, Nick gave an overview of the global food system, which encompasses far more than our common perception of farm, processing, distribution and consumption. Professor Warren McNabb, deputy director of the Institute and leader of SNI, comments “our research investigates many aspects of the global food production system, including food waste, international trade, environmental impacts and governance. We incorporate this into a working model (the DELTA Model) to assess scenarios for delivering sustainable and adequate nutrition for all”.
Nick’s talk struck a chord with the audience as he discussed micronutrient availability (what is often called ‘hidden hunger’) and his contention that a global food production system that fails to nourish people can never be considered sustainable. Although macronutrient production is currently more abundant than many people think, our current global food production system paints a chilling picture when the supply of micronutrients is considered. For example, the world doesn’t produce enough calcium or Vitamin E for its current population, and these deficiencies will grow as the population increases. Other micronutrients, including those sourced predominantly from animal foods, like Vitamin B12, will likely be problematic in the future. Nick reiterated that any proposed changes to food production must consider the nutritional consequences to people, alongside environmental considerations, if our global food production system is to be truly sustainable.
Sustainable nutrition is a key research topic for the Institute, given our vision to support the primary industries with their adaptation to a sustainable future and underpinning their products with world class fundamental science. Nick outlined to the assembly SNI’s key findings in the area and also discussed the work of Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan. Paul and his team recently demonstrated that a US citizen could purchase a nutritionally adequate diet for US$1.98 a day (NZ$2.83). Nutritionally adequate means a diet that is able to supply all the nutrients needed by the consumer. An adequate, but entirely plant-based diet would cost US$3.61 (NZ$5.15). This emphasised the role of nutrient dense animal-sourced foods in a nutritious and affordable diet1.
The DELTA Model allows current and future global food production system scenarios to be analysed for their ability to supply sustainable and adequate nutrition to the world’s population. Our work with DELTA demonstrates that sufficient macronutrients (i.e. energy, protein, fat) are produced today to nourish the world’s population. In fact, from a macronutrient perspective, we already produce enough food to feed the forecast 2030 world population of 8.6 billion. The issues are really around the supply of the aforementioned micronutrients and trace elements. If you want to find out more about our research in this, please visit www.sustainablenutritioninitiative.com.
