Biodiversity, food and nutrition a new agenda for sustainable food systems

335 Pages·2020·14.703 MB·English

by  Hunter, Danny(Editor);Borelli, Teresa(Editor);Gee, Eliot(Editor)

BIODIVERSITY, FOOD AND
NUTRITION
This book examines the challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition from
current food systems and the potential contribution of biodiversity and ecosys­
tem 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 bio­
diversity 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 further­
ing dialogue between the respective countries, it is also meant to connect the individ­
ual 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.
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.
Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity
Series editors: Michael Halewood and Danny Hunter
This series of books is published by Earthscan in association with Bioversity
International. The aim of the series is to review the current state of knowledge
in topical issues associated with agricultural biodiversity, to identify gaps in our
knowledge base, to synthesize lessons learned and to propose future research and
development actions. The overall objective is to increase the sustainable use of
biodiversity in improving people’s well-being and food and nutrition security.
The series’ scope is all aspects of agricultural biodiversity, ranging from conserva­
tion biology of genetic resources through social sciences to policy and legal
aspects. It also covers the fields of research, education, communication and
coordination, information management and knowledge sharing.
Published titles:
Farmers and Plant Breeding
Current Approaches and Perspectives
Edited by Ola T. Westengen and Tone Winge
Agrobiodiversity, School Gardens and Healthy Diets
Promoting Biodiversity, Food and Sustainable Nutrition
Edited by Danny Hunter, Emilita Monville Ora, Bessie Burgos, Carmen Nyhria Roel,
Blesilda M. Calub, Julian Gonsalves and Nina Lauridsen
Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition
A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems
Edited by Danny Hunter, Teresa Borelli and Eliot Gee
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Issues-
in-Agricultural-Biodiversity/book-series/ECIAB
BIODIVERSITY, FOOD
AND NUTRITION
A New Agenda for Sustainable
Food Systems
Edited by Danny Hunter, Teresa Borelli and
Eliot Gee
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Bioversity International
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hunter, Danny, editor. | Borelli, Teresa, editor. | Gee, Eliot,

editor.

Title: Biodiversity, food and nutrition : a new agenda for sustainable

food systems / edited by Danny Hunter, Teresa Borelli and Eliot Gee.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019051493 | ISBN 9780367141509 (hardback) |

ISBN 9780367141516 (paperback) | ISBN 9780429030574 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Agrobiodiversity. | Sustainable agriculture. | Food

security–Environmental aspects. | Food supply–Environmental aspects. |

Nutrition–Environmental aspects.

Classification: LCC S494.5.A43 B548 2020 | DDC 631.5/8–dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051493

ISBN: 978-0-367-14150-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-14151-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-429-03057-4 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK
This book is dedicated to Chef Shantha Mayadunne who passed
away in April 2019 in the Sri Lanka attacks. Ms. Mayadunne, who
was Sri Lanka’s first TV chef and was renowned for her cookbooks
and cooking school, gracefully presided over the BFN Food Festival
and cooking competition held in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in Octo­
ber 2017 as part of celebrations for World Food Day. With our
immense gratitude and admiration for her work.

CONTENTS

List of figures ix
List of tables xi
List of contributors xii
About Bioversity International xxi
Foreword xxii
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias
Acknowledgements xxvii
List of abbreviations xxxiv
PART I
Why biodiversity for food and nutrition? 1
1 Nourishing people, nurturing the environment: Biodiversity for
food systems transformation and healthier diets 3
Danny Hunter, Eliot Gee and Teresa Borelli
2 Challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition 21
Barbara Burlingame
3 Evidence for the role of biodiversity in supporting healthy,
diverse diets and nutrition 40
Libby Hattersley, Bruce Cogill, Danny Hunter and
Gina Kennedy
BIOVERSITY INTERNATIONAL
viii Contents
4 From uniformity to diversity: The potential of agroecology to
transform food systems 64
Nick Jacobs, Chantal Wei-Ying Clément and Emile Frison
PART II
The Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition (BFN) Project 83
5 The ABC of mainstreaming biodiversity for food and nutrition:
Concepts, theory and practice 85
Eliot Gee, Teresa Borelli, Daniela Moura de Oliveira Beltrame,
Camila Neves Soares Oliveira, Lidio Coradin, Victor Wasike, Aurillia
Manjella Ndiwa, Gamini Samarasinghe, Birgül Güner, Ayfer Tan,
Kürşad Özbek, Saadet Tuğrul Ay, Sevinç Karabak, Nurcan Aysar
Güzelsoy and Danny Hunter
PART III
Future opportunities and directions 187
6 Biodiversity, food systems and urban-rural linkages 189
Florence Egal and Thomas Forster
7 Diversifying public food procurement and school feeding 206
Luana F. J. Swensson and Florence Tartanac
8 Food biodiversity, local sourcing and consumers: Gastronomy as
a critical interface 221
Willy Legrand, Clare Hindley and Gabriel C. M. Laeis
9 Linking food biodiversity and food traditions to food tourism in
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 236
Tracy Berno
10 Start me up! Food biodiversity and youth-led innovations 255
Eliot Gee and Hyunju Lee
11 Neglected no more: Reframing the food systems narrative using
agricultural biodiversity 275
Teresa Borelli, Eliot Gee and Danny Hunter
List of project partners 281
Index 290
FIGURES

1.1 Diverse food ingredients during a traditional cooking

demonstration, Sri Lanka, 2012 6

1.2 A traditional food festival draws representatives from groups

across Busia County, Kenya, 2015 6

1.3 The vitamin C content of indigenous Brazilian species,

compared to common introduced species 9

1.4 Alaçatı Wild Herb Festival gathers thousands of people,

with widespread media coverage, to celebrate the tradition of

foraging, cooking and eating nutritious wild edible plants,

Turkey, 2015 11

1.5 Objectives of the BFN Project, including how mainstream­
ing biodiversity for food and nutrition can help achieve mul­
tiple SDGs and Aichi Targets 13

1.6 School gardens represent an opportunity to put mainstream­
ing into practice, such as at Mundika school, Kenya, 2018 14

5.1 An overview of the BFN Project approach 86

5.A1 Timeline: key steps in the development of biodiversity for

food and nutrition 89

5.A2 The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Process 91

5.A3 Overview of the country contexts 96

5.A4 Highlight: selected BFN Brazil species 99

5.A5 Highlight: selected BFN Kenya species 101

5.A6 Highlight: selected BFN Sri Lanka species 102

5.A7 Highlight: selected BFN Turkey species 103

5.B1 Photo of ‘BFN Family’ members during an International

Steering Committee meeting, Turkey, 2018 107

5.B2 Barriers to mainstreaming biodiversity for food and nutrition

identified by the BFN Project 110