This mini-season focuses on food choices – and such that are climate-friendly and healthy. We take a close look at what climate-friendly and healthy food actually IS and how it connects to the Chefs’ Manifesto’s thematic areas and the SDGs. And we’ll discuss individual choices and choices along the value chain: how do people choose what to eat, how as chefs can we influence food choices to ensure they are good for both people and planet, and how should we move forward and drive the change the world and its food systems urgently need?
In the second episode, we’ll hear from food systems expert Dr Namukolo Covic and the amazing food system vision prize winner Jian Yi from the Good Food Fund who’ve been developing visions of regenerative and nourishing food systems that they aspire to create by the year 2050. Listen in and find below Dr Covic's beautiful poem.
I am Agriculture for Nutrition and Health
By Namukolo Covic, 7 Dec 2021
I’m Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.
What a long name? Why such a long name?
It is not just a name, there is meaning in the name
You can call me A4NH, my short name
A4NH? There is more meaning in Agriculture for Nutrition and Health
What work do you do, Agriculture for Nutrition and Health?
I use three pathways to impact, policy, programs and value-chains.
That sounds complicated, please explain
I have five teams to deliver nutrition and health from agriculture
Aah now I get the name, nutrition and health from agriculture!
I have a team that produces staple foods, better
Better by increasing micronutrients in these foods
Better, vitamin A maize, cassava and sweet potatoes
Wait, there is more - Iron beans and millets
And more - Zinc millets; it is Biofortification
All nutrients we need more of. We can have more!
I have a team for Food Safety
If it is not safe it can’t be food, they say
Food is supposed to nourish, not make anyone sick
More milk, safe milk; Aflsafe, no aflatoxins
Informal food environments with safe foods, everywhere, is their goal
Human Health, is yet another team
We need to take care, care about health
plant health, animal health environmental health - One Health it is!
Everything is connected and so One Health is what we need
COVID-19 came, what a big lesson for everyone, everywhere
We need good health at every level of food systems, everywhere
Policies and Programs to Enable Action through Research? There they are!
A team worrying about policies everywhere. Policy is what governments do
You want the government to do something? Under which policy?
We must have a policy to tell government what to do
Pass on the evidence please, so better policies can be
Ooh yes better and aligned policies for better nutrition and health
Do all these fit together?
That is the job of another team, Food Systems for Healthier Diets
What do they do? Diet centered they say!
Start with diets to inform food systems transformation
Start with diets to ensure efforts are aligned
Then agriculture will deliver better nutrition and health.
Wait, wait - what about the capacity for multidisciplinary perspectives?
Food Systems Thinking surely needs multidisciplinary perspectives?
I do that too, I teamed up with the ANH Academy!
ANH what? Ooh sorry – Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy
Capacity is their thing – conferences, learning labs, more learning labs
They promote multidisciplinary and, yes food systems thinking!
My name is Agriculture for Nutrition and Health
Listen... One CGIAR is coming! Just remember the lesson in me
And you will do fine and even better!
