Benefit risk and cost ratios in sustainable food and health policy: Changing and challenging trajectories

• Published in: Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Author: Wahlqvist, Mark L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia HEC Press 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Climate change; Climate Change - economics; Climatic changes; Communication; Cooking; Demographic change and public policy; Demographics; Demography; Diet - trends; Ecosystem biology; Ecosystem health; Environmental economics; Food; Food supply; Food Supply - economics; Geopolitics; Health care policy; Health Policy - economics; Health Policy - trends; Humans; Risk assessment; Risk Assessment - economics; Risk management; Sustainability; Sustainability and the environment; Well-being; Liveability Units; health systems; risk offsets; food systems; climate change
• ISSN: 0964-7058; 1440-6047
• DOI: 10.6133/apjcn.202003_29(1).0001

There is benefit, risk and cost in all that we do, but when it comes to food, we expect that it will benefit our health, be available, safe to eat and affordable. But as climate change and demographic shifts through displacement and ageing gather momentum, the emphases on each of benefit, risk and cost will alter. That we are ecological beings whose health and wellbeing are ecosystem-dependent, must now be the underpinning framework for risk management. Loss of natural environment and biodiversity represents reduced nutritional and health resilience, which will need to be factored in to risk assessment and management with climate change. This is proving a problematic risk communication challenge. Previously desirable food and food pattern recommendations will be tempered by substantial sustainability, availability, safety, affordability, equity and ethical considerations. Future workforces will need to ensure basic livelihoods (food, water, shelter, clothing, healthcare, education, communication, essential transport, resource management and effective governance) and with risk minimisation. Cost appraisal will have less to do with monetisation and more to do with resource management in accordance with equity and ethical principles. Communities could adopt Liveability Units (LU) for traceability and community-based transactions, as a currency for a more sustainable future, encouraging and enabling food and health system viability. Open source food and health systems, supported by LU matrix (bar code or QR) scanning with smartphones could be widely available for individual, household and community benefit, risk and cost management. The risk is remoteness from food's origins and megadata commercialisation.