1st Edition
Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems
This book examines the challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition from current food systems and the potential contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services in addressing these problems.
There is a strong need for a multi-level, cross-sectoral approach that connects food biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to address critical problems in our current food systems, including malnutrition. Building on research from the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project (BFN), which aims to better link biodiversity, diets and nutrition, the book presents a multi-country, cross-sectoral analysis of initiatives that have promoted local food biodiversity in four countries: Brazil, Kenya, Turkey and Sri Lanka. This book offers a comprehensive summary of the BFN Project results in each of the four countries along with lessons learned and how this work could be upscaled or applied in other regions. It argues that the strategic promotion and use of food biodiversity is critical in uniting attempts to address conservation, nutrition and livelihood concerns. The book is structured around chapters and case studies encompassing the BFN Project with specific experiences related by partners who played key roles in the work being done in each country. By offering a comparative view capable of furthering dialogue between the respective countries, it is also meant to connect the individual cases for a “greater than the sum of its parts” effect. This means consideration of how localized activities can be adapted to more countries and regions. Therefore, the book addresses global issues with a foot planted firmly in the grounded case study locations.
This book will be of great interest to policymakers, practitioners and NGOs working on food and nutrition, as well as students and scholars of agriculture, food systems and sustainable development.
Part I: Why biodiversity for food and nutrition?
Chapter 1: Nourishing people, nurturing the environment: biodiversity for food systems transformation and healthier diets
Danny Hunter, Eliot Gee, Teresa Borelli
Chapter 2: Challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition
Barbara Burlingame
Chapter 3: Evidence for the role of biodiversity in supporting healthy, diverse diets and nutrition
Libby Hattersley, Bruce Cogill, Danny Hunter, and Gina Kennedy; Bioversity International
Chapter 4: From uniformity to diversity: the potential of agroecology to transform food systems
Nick Jacobs, Chantal Clément, and Emile Frison
Part II: The Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN) Project
Chapter 5: The ABC of mainstreaming biodiversity for food and nutrition: concepts, theory and practice
Eliot Gee, Teresa Borelli, Daniela Moura de Oliveira Beltrame, Camila Neves Soares Oliveira, Lidio Coradin, Victor Wasike, Aurillia Manjella, Gamini Samarasinghe, Birgül Güner, Ayfer Tan, Kürşad Özbek, Saadet Tuğrul Ay, Sevinç Karabak and Nurcan Aysar Güzelsoy and Danny Hunter.
Part III: Future opportunities and directions
Chapter 6: Biodiversity, food systems and urban-rural linkages
Florence Egal and Thomas Forster
Chapter 7: Diversifying public food procurement and school feeding
Luana F. J. Swensson and Florence Tartanac
Chapter 8: Food biodiversity, local sourcing and consumers: gastronomy as a critical interface
Willy Legrand, Clare Hindley, and Gabriel Laeis
Chapter 9: Linking food biodiversity and food traditions to food tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
Tracy Berno
Chapter 10: Start me up! Food biodiversity and youth-led innovations
Eliot Gee and Hyunju Lee
Chapter 11: Neglected no more: reframing the food systems narrative using agricultural biodiversity
Teresa Borelli, Eliot Gee and Danny Hunter
Biography
Danny Hunter is Senior Scientist at Bioversity International and the Global Project Coordinator for the BFN Project.
Teresa Borelli is a Programme Specialist at Bioversity International, providing research and communication support to the BFN Project.
Eliot Gee is a Research Fellow at Bioversity International, providing research and communication support to the BFN Project.