4.2: Food System Issues for Nutrition

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Introduction

In module 3.2., we will incorporate some of the basic information about healthy diets presented above in module 3.1 with the exploration of food systems that you have made throughout the course. In particular we want to highlight (1) the challenges of malnutrition and low food access for impoverished populations around the world, which can represent a failure of adaptive capacity of human societies to providing a socially sustainable future; (2) the phenomena of low food access for marginalized areas of the ‘developed’ world, which can take the form of what are called ‘food deserts’ without easily accessible healthy foods; (3) The rise of so-called chronic and nutrition-related ‘diseases of affluence’ related to caloric overconsumption (which in fact also affect poor, urban populations worldwide as well). We also will examine the potential food-system responses to these challenges, and how different food system types contribute to these challenges and their solutions.