Danny Hunter

Teresa Borelli

Eliot Gee

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.

A New Agenda for Sustainable Food Systems

Biodiversity, Food and Nutrition

Nourishing people, nurturing the environment : biodiversity for food systems transformation and healthier diets / Danny Hunter, Eliot Gee, Teresa Borelli -- Challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition / Barbara Burlingame -- Evidence for the role of biodiversity in supporting healthy, diverse diets and nutrition / Libby Hattersley, Bruce Cogill, Danny Hunter, and Gina Kennedy -- From uniformity to diversity : the potential of biodiversity and agroecology to transform food systems / Nick Jacobs, Chantal Clément, and Emile Frison -- 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 -- Biodiversity, food systems and urban-rural linkages / Florence Egal and Thomas Forster -- Diversifying public food procurement and school feeding / Luana F.J. Swensson and Florence Tartanac -- Food biodiversity, local sourcing and consumers : gastronomy as a critical interface / Willy Legrand, Clare Hindley, and Gabriel Laeis -- Linking food biodiversity and food traditions to food tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) / Tracy Berno -- Start me up! Food biodiversity and youth-led innovations / Eliot Gee and HyunJu Lee.

Jessica Fanzo

Federico Mattei

Currently 868 million people are undernourished and 195 million children under five years of age are stunted. At the same time, over 1 billion people are overweight and obese in both the developed and developing world. Diseases previously associated with affluence, such as cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease, are on the rise. Food system-based approaches to addressing these problems that could enhance food availability and diet quality through local production and agricultural biodiversity often fall outside the traditional scope of nutrition, and have been under-researched. As a consequence, there remains insufficient evidence to support well-defined, scalable agricultural biodiversity interventions that can be linked to improvements in nutrition outcomes. Agricultural biodiversity is important for food and nutritional security, as a safeguard against hunger, a source of nutrients for improved dietary diversity and quality, and strengthening local food systems and environmental sustainability. This book explores the current state of knowledge on the role of agricultural biodiversity in improving diets, nutrition and food security. Using examples and case studies from around the globe, the book explores current strategies for improving nutrition and diets and identifies key research and implementation gaps that need to be addressed to successfully promote the better use of agricultural biodiversity for rural and urban populations and societies in transition.

Teresa Borelli

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