To meet the 2050 challenges for quality protein and some of the most problematic micronutrients worldwide, animal-source foods remain fundamental. But livestock also plays a critical role in reducing poverty, increasing gender equality, and improving livelihoods. Animal husbandry cannot be taken out of the equation in many parts of the world where plant agriculture involves manure, traction, and waste recycling – that is, if the land allows sustainable crop growth in the first place. Traditional livestock gets people through difficult seasons, prevents malnutrition in impoverished communities, and provides economic security. FOLLOW THE MONEY Often, those championing vegan diets in the West are unaware of such nuances. In April 2019, for example, Canadian conservation scientist, Brent Loken, addressed India’s Food Standards Authority on behalf of EAT-Lancet’s “Great Food Transformation” campaign, describing India as “a great example” because “a lot of the protein sources come from plants.” Yet such talk in India is far from uncontroversial. The country ranks 102 out of 117 qualifying countries on the Global Hunger Index, and only 10% of infants between 6–23 months are adequately fed. While the World Health Organization recommends animal-source foods as sources of high-quality nutrients for infants, food policy there spearheads an aggressive new Hindu nationalism that has led to many of India’s minority communities being treated as outsiders. Even eggs in school meals have become politicised. Here, calls to
consume less animal products are part of a deeply vexed political context. Likewise, in Africa, food wars are seen in sharp relief as industrial-scale farming by transnationals for crops and vegetables takes fertile land away from mixed family farms (including cattle and dairy), and exacerbates social inequality. The result is that today, private interest and political prejudices often hide behind the grandest talk of “ethical” diets and planetary sustainability even as the consequences may be nutritional deficiencies, biodiversity- destroying monocultures and the erosion of food sovereignty. For all the warm talk, global food policy is really an alliance of industry and capital intent on both controlling and distorting food production. We should recall Marx’s warnings against allowing the interests of corporations and private profit to decide what we should eat. © The Conversation.
Martin Cohen is a visiting research fellow in philosophy at University of Hertfordshire Frédéric Leroy is a professor of food science and biotechnology at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
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