Unpacking “Environmental Nutrition” – Two buzzwords or something more?

I wrote the following in response to the Loma Linda video (linked here) that first introduced me to the name of this focus area. At the time, my passion to work in the field which I only knew how to refer to as “the role of diet and nutrition in sustainable food systems” had already been sparked, yet this structured academic and policy area was new.

A constant assessment of efficiency influences many of my perspectives and decisions in life, and perhaps you can relate. A big reason motivating me to work in the field intersecting sustainable food systems and global nutrition is the efficiency and impact potential of focusing on food. What else holds such a central role in our daily lives, sources of enjoyment, and also the major social and environmental challenges racking the brains of people all around the world? Anyone who eats to stay alive has a role to play on how food is produced and consumed.

38% of global land is used for agriculture, and 65% of that land is run by large farms (FAO, 2020, UNEP); Large farms are often industrial producers toxic to soil, ecosystem, and human health. About 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the food system (IPCC, 2019); and 20% of all deaths are attributed to poor diet (Lancet, 2019). These numbers are just a mere capture of food’s role in planetary emergencies as seen through agriculture, diet, and their infinite points of interaction within food systems of all sizes.

It can be extremely discouraging to learn about trends and scenarios outlining the present and future of Earth’s ecosystems, the role that human populations have had on extractive and imbalanced systems, and also what this has simultaneously done for the rise in chronic disease impairing human health.

With this lens on food, climate, and public health, feelings of despair should indeed be accompanied by hope. At a fundamental level, the characteristics that describe a health-promoting diet for humans nearly mimic the practices leading to healthy, fertile soils and vivacious ecosystems. So once it became clear just how much our social and environmental well-being revolves around the food on our plates, I knew these issues and solutions would drive my career path forward.

Environmental Nutrition is a study and practice area that brings together multiple disciplines and professions as it reveals the inevitable connections among public health, nutrition, regenerative agriculture, environmentalism, social justice and more. Education also plays a key role in raising awareness and equality as well as individual and collective action towards more balanced and health-promoting systems. Diet doesn’t just mean individual food choice, as it’s heavily influenced by the food environment we’re each immersed in- the food practices our parents modeled, what’s available and affordable in the local grocery store, and especially the policies affecting how food is produced, marketed, priced, and wasted.

As outlined in this video from Loma Linda University, Environmental Nutrition positions societal demands as one of two inputs to the food system. There are infinite variations of food system maps, so this is just one angle that puts a dynamic series of systems into a simplified diagram. While too simple to accurately represent all the moving actors and processes within food systems, it helps paint the picture of the importance of society’s (aka you and me) role in influencing the outputs and their knock-on effects.

How impactful do you feel our dietary practices are on food production and food systems as a whole? Share your thoughts, questions and feedback in the Environmental Nutrition discussion group here on REGAIN.