Keeping Food Supplies Secure

Worldwatch Live Online Discussion

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : Worldwatch Researchers

October 13, 2005 - 2:00pm EDT

With constant talk of mad cow disease, Nipah virus, and more recently the threat of avian flu, it is clear that food security is an issue of growing concern around the world. While current and emerging farm diseases are a serious threat to global food and health security, the interplay between climate change and agriculture poses an even greater challenge to farmers. How are farmers combating these challenges, and what can consumers do to make our food system more secure?

Join food and agriculture experts†Danielle Nierenberg†and†Brian Halweil,†contributing authors†of State of the World 2005, for a discussion on the current threats and solutions to food security.

Steve Conklin, Worldwatch Institute: Welcome to this week's Worldwatch Live Online Discussion. Worldwatch researchers and food and agriculture experts Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg are joining us today to discuss food security, and their State of the World 2005 chapter, "Cultivating Food Security". Welcome, Danielle and Brian!

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : Thanks Steve. We're happy to be here.

Hermosa Beach, CA: Do any experts worry that the loss of farmland to development is a national security threat particularly if oil gets too expensive to convert into pesticides and fertilizers reducing per acre productivity? Or do the experts think that we will be able to create fertilizers and pesticides from non-oil sources (given future energy supplies.) If the latter is the opinion of most experts, is there concern more for the quality of farmland preserved...and capable of organic farming...rather than the loss of farmland in general?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : Loss of farmland is definitely a national security threat, but I don't think many agricultural and military experts currently see it that way. I hope and think this perspective will change.

Shortages of oil will not only mean that agrochemicals are more scarce, but that it's harder to ship food long distances and supply urban and suburban areas that have lost their capacity to raise food. I think that the issue of quality is secondary, since most farmland can be used productively, whether it's for ranging livestock or raising treecrops or simply green space to catch rainwater--all benefits that developed land doesn't bring. BH

Hilo, Hawaii: How are different societies addressing the issue of ocean dead zones, many of which are associated with over application of fertilizers and with concentration of feed lots?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : I can't point to any one society that is systematically addressing dead zones, but the most basic responses would be limiting fertilizer use and feedlot development near coastlines and waterways. (Residential developments near coastlines can also exacerbate deadzones because of sewage and septic runoff.) Beyond limiting the source of pollution, communities can take steps to restore wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems that help filter and buffer water going into oceans and bays. BH

Allentown, PA: Meat consumption continues to rise exponentially. How long can the meat supply be safe, and is the only alternative organic, in your opinion?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : I think it is one way that we can protect the food supply. In factory farms, which is the fastest growing form of meat production worldwide, thousands of animals are usually confined indoors in unsanitary conditions and fed an unnatural diet of corn and soybeans making it necessary to give them massive doses of antibiotics. Animals often arrive at slaughterhouses covered in feces which can lead to the spread of foodborne pathogens. Smaller livestock producers, who raise their animals on grass, on the other hand, typically have healthier herds. They also tend to treat their animals more humanely and create less air and water pollution than larger farms. BH

Plymouth, MA: It appears that local governments such as cities or states are concerned with numerous issues realted to serving the populace, but food security, even though it is vital for our exisitence is largely ignored. What do you see as the most positive emerging trends in local governmental policies toward food security, or are there any?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : I agree that food security is sorely ignored, particularly in wealthy nations where politicians assume that hunger is not a problem (or do not see widespread obesity and unhealthy eating as a problem), and particularly in city settings where politicians assume that food is a rural issue (even though every one in cities has to eat).

At the same time, there are cases where local governments are declaring "food independence" by taking back control of the food that their community produces, imports, or serves. For instance, there are now roughly 50 local food policy councils around the United States and Canad. These are groups made up of farmers, parents, agribusiness, and local politicians, who come together to advise the local government on food policy in their area. So, a food policy council might see a need for establishing farmers markets in areas of a city without good sources of fresh produce, or giving financial incentives for new farmers on land near the city. These councils are filling the gap that exists in most governments in terms of thinking about food politics.

Part of the reason that it's been hard for local governments to take a leading role in food decisions is because the economic and policy landscape is moving in the opposite direction: taking food decision-making power away from the local level, as trade policy greases the flows of food across borders and makes it illegal for communities to set up any sorts of "barriers" to this trade. BH

Tacoma, WA: I work for county government in a rapidly urbanizing area. Our farmers are being squeezed by residential development and consolidation in the food industry. What can we do in the policy arena, at the local level, to help our farmers compete in the huge market that sits at their doorstep?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : The first step the county government can take is to ensure that there are markets for these nearby farmers. These might include farmers markets, CSAs, and other opportunities for farmers to sell direct to consumers. But the county government might also encourage businesses that buy large amounts of food--from hospitals to schools to prisons to municipal buildings--to buy local and feature this local food on their menus and in their cafeterias.

Local government can play a big role in making it easier for people to buy local, whether by creating a "farm fresh" map that lists local farms, farmers markets, and restaurants that feature local food; by giving tax incentives to food businesses that buy local; by giving financial incentives to farms that remain on the urban fringe.

The irony is that although cities can threaten nearby farmland, cities also provide a fantastic captive market for farmers as well as lots of urban entrepreneurs who might want to partner with farmers to start new food businesses. Check out the work of Farm Folk/City Folk in Vancouver for some other ideas.

I empathize with you. I work from a home office on the eastern end of Long Island, about 100 miles east of New York City. Our remaining farmers and fishers are struggling to stay in business in the face of soaring real estate prices. The local land trust has helped tremendously be buying up development rights and easing the tax strain on farmers. Citizens are helping by buying from these farmers. And farmers are helping themselves by changing their approach to keep more money in their pocket--selling from a farmstand vs. selling wholesale, making cheese vs. selling milk, selling gourmet potato chips vs. selling potatoes. BH

Durango, Colorado: With the recent discovery of avian flu in Romania, and the potential for a global flu pandemic of immense proportions, is it too late to do something to curb the spread of bird-related flu viruses and the like? Clearly viruses of this scale pose a massive security threat worldwide?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : The Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization are concerned that this latest outbreak of avian flu that has spread from Asia and now into Europe may be impossible to control. As demand for meat increases and as more animals are raised in factory farms and backyard farms near densely populated urban areas, the world is likely to see more diseases that can spread from animals to humans. These diseases are a threat to national security and governments need to take steps to ensure that both animals and humans are protected, including training poeple in developing countries to spot and treat animal diseases and requiring better biosecurity measures on large factory farms.

Oakland, CA: I have two questions about the health of meat. One is what you see as changes needed in US inspections to prevent mad cow disease transmission. The other is that I have been buying free range poultry, but now I am concerned that allowing poultry to walk about freely exposes them to wild birds and possibly bird flu. What is your comment about humane treatment of poultry, given bird flu concerns?

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : I think that the U.S. needs to have stricter controls on what cattle and cows can be fed. Current regulations still allow them to be fed cow's blood, beef tallow, chickens, and pigs that could potentially spread mad cow disease and other diseases.

The highly pathogenic form of avian flu that has been spreading in Asia has not yet been found in the U.S., so I think that eating free range poultry in the United States is still safe. When the disease is found here, producers will likely be asked to test all their chickens for the disease before they are slaughtered. Some countries in Asia are banning all backyard and free range poultry production because they feel they can better control the disease from spreading by converting production to factory farms, which may be the only way to control the disease in the short term, but raises concerns about economic security for small producers and the welfare of the birds in factory farms.

Steve Conklin, Worldwatch Institute: Thanks for joining us today, Danielle and Brian. Thanks as well to all of our discussion participants!

Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg : Thanks for having us.