Feeding the global population as it heads towards 10 billion while also protecting the environment is one of the great challenges of our time. The world’s food sector is a huge contributor to global heating, emitting about 30% of the greenhouse gases created by human activities. But at the same time there is a crisis in food availability as undernutrition and dietary deficiencies coexist with obesity and excessive consumption.
Creating a rational food system that minimises environmental damage while providing a healthy diet for all requires a coordinated approach, says Prof Aedín Cassidy, an expert in nutrition and preventive medicine who is director of interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security, at Queen’s University Belfast. “Food production, what we eat, and the environment are all very closely interconnected, and they are key for optimising human health. So how do we transition to a healthy diet from sustainable food systems?” she asks.
Reducing the environmental impact of food production is a fraught issue. The recent backlash over the use of the chemical additive Bovaer in cattle feed to reduce the methane burped by cows – a significant contributor to global heating – highlights the potential for controversy.
Feeding the world in a sustainable way that is acceptable to the public requires wide-ranging policymaking that draws from environmental research, nutritional analysis and agricultural innovation. Public information and education are also vital.
There is a growing understanding of the need for a holistic approach linking all these factors together. The school of biological sciences at Queen’s University Belfast and the Institute for Global Food Security conduct research across the chain of food production from soil to fork. Their cross-disciplinary work analyses ways to improve soil health, planetary health and public health.
Cassidy sums up the challenge: “How can we become more resilient and sustainable, given the problems of nutrition and safety that we have in the food system?” she says, concluding that more centralised global governance is necessary. “There needs to be multi-stakeholder involvement to make it really clear how we can change the food system,” she says.
Cassidy’s nutritional research has looked at the impact of diet on health conditions such as diabetes and dementia. A newly published study led by Cassidy shows that consuming food and drink rich in natural compounds known as flavonoids significantly reduces the risks of dementia.
A separate study she supervised found that a plant-based diet high in fruit, vegetables and wholegrains greatly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with a plant-based diet high in refined grains, snack foods and desserts.
Reflecting the university’s integrated approach, its biology and agriculture departments also conduct extensive analysis of soil health and dairy, beef and lamb production.
Sharon Huws, professor in animal science and microbiology in the school of biological sciences, has led several significant studies. One of the latest involves research into reducing methane emissions from sheep, beef and dairy animals by adding locally sourced seaweed to cattle feed. Researchers are also studying the nutritional value of a variety of seaweeds and their effects on meat quality.
“We’ve shown that feeding cattle some of our local seaweeds enhances the iodine level in milk substantially and reduces methane a little,” says Huws. But she adds that the greatest impact is from adding red seaweed known as asparagopsis to cattle feed, which can reduce emissions by up to 80%. “It is the most substantial methane reduction that we’ve ever seen with any dietary intervention we’ve tried,” she says.
Huws commented widely in the media on the Bovaer controversy in December, pointing out that 150 studies have shown that no trace of the chemical additive is found in any milk produced by cows who have been fed it, so it poses no risk to humans.
As part of its work analysing issues concerned with food production and distribution, the Institute of Global Food Security has conducted extensive research into the role of soil health in sustainable agriculture. Not only does healthy soil act as a carbon sink locking in greenhouse gases, but it also promotes biodiversity.
Regenerative farming, which prioritises soil health through promoting biodiversity and reducing tillage and disturbance of the soil, will be vital in addressing the many challenges of sustainable food production. “Regenerative farming is going to be part of any future solution,” Huws says.
She adds that the university’s food research is geared mainly towards innovation and working closely with stakeholders, including the food industry, government and farmers on the ground. Huws comes from a farming background and says: “There are so many of us who are really pushing frontiers, and I think many of the scientists who are doing this are also farmers themselves.”
The biological sciences department and the Institute for Global Food Security have a vital role in creating a multidisciplinary approach to human, planetary and food health, she believes. “For many years, science has been siloed, looking at one problem at a time,” she says. “And that’s not a good approach, because the consequences of that on other factors are never investigated.
“At Queen’s University Belfast, we look at ways that we can enhance the sustainability of the food production system with the environment and human health in mind. We take a holistic, system-based view.”
Creating productive, environmentally sustainable methods of food cultivation and production will be critical to tackling the double challenge of promoting human and planetary health. “Our job is to provide the tools to make that happen,” says Huws. “We are involved in a lot of innovation and my message is positive – the future looks good.”
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