Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote in his book ‘The Physiology of Taste’ (1825), reputed to be one of the most famous books on food ever written, that ”The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they feed themselves.”
This simple statement brilliantly captures the importance of our food system, and the impact of how we produce our food, the food we eat, and everything that comes before, between and after.
The industrialisation and globalisation of our food system has increased the susceptibility of our societies to shocks and disruptions to the production and supply of food, and the degree to which they impact food security.
With anthropogenic climate change increasing the vulnerability of the food system even further, and the likelihood of shocks and disruptions occurring, we urgently need to address the flaws in the current system, or better still, build an entirely new, more sustainable, egalitarian system.
We cannot rely on techno-fixes to address all the current failings and threats to the system – we must reduce consumption, particularly of animal products, nurture regenerative, agro-ecological production practices, and waste less. Otherwise our destiny is to repeat the sam mistakes as societies that are now consigned to the history books.