World Earth Day 2024 | Sustain the Earth and Nourish Your Body

TWomen from a self-help group in Kamdolgi village, Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, are saving ten decimal units of land for multi-layer farming to alleviate land degradation and malnutrition and ensure year-round income. . They created her four layers. This is the root layer that grows radishes and beets. The surface layer of leafy vegetables. The surface layer of eggplant. and vines (gourds and long beans). They also planted two papaya trees that have not yet produced fruit. The initiative will begin to generate income for the group within two months with minimal input costs, while ensuring nutrient security in addition to minimal disruption to the soil ecosystem. Did.

Complex relationship

The complex relationship between climate change, nutrition and food security highlights the urgent need to address this intersection at both global and local levels.

The Rome Declaration on Nutrition highlights the challenges faced by existing food systems in providing adequate, safe, diverse and nutritious food for all. Approximately 800 million people around the world do not have reliable access to food. Two billion people suffer from iron and zinc deficiencies. Today’s food system is also responsible for a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change impacts food value chains, affecting agricultural yields, nutritional quality, food access, and energy-intensive processes. Although a balanced diet is recommended, differences in production systems and individual dietary choices often prevent a balanced diet.

India itself suffers from various forms of malnutrition, with 32% of children under the age of five being underweight and 74% of the population unable to afford a healthy diet. Unhealthy diets have led to a sharp increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

However, it is also true that India has made significant progress over the years in understanding the sustainability and nutritional content of its diets. It is important now for India to consider whether a healthy diet can also help mitigate climate change. Sustainable diets must meet health and nutritional needs, meet cultural expectations, respond to economic need, and be fair.

Despite being key stakeholders in the food system, women are disproportionately affected by climate change and malnutrition. In Chhattisgarh, some communities have adopted a more gender-based food system (one that recognizes women as equal contributors to both the productive and reproductive economy), with equal rights and privileges. with less drudgery, access to infrastructure and technology, and more equal distribution. Of responsibility. Communities in states with more gender-equitable food systems are seen as more resilient to shocks like drought. Involving women groups in livelihood decisions improves their access to financial assets, natural resources, and knowledge. So it’s no surprise that they’re more productive and have better health and nutritional outcomes.

Chhattisgarh’s indigenous food system has sustained communities for thousands of generations. These are obtained primarily from the surrounding natural environment, with minimal human intervention. Many people live in forests and consume edible vegetables, succulent fruits, root vegetables, mushrooms, grains, various forest products, and wild meat. By working with local communities and basing our diets on locally available foods, we were able to improve our nutritional status.

Chhattisgarh’s indigenous women are also known to have established ‘hunger reserves’ of millet, which require far less input than paddy crops, by storing grains in traditional ways. And by increasing access to millet in this way, you can improve your body’s iron content.

Reducing emissions

Diets rich in plant-based foods are more environmentally sustainable than diets rich in animal foods. The latter can be replaced with plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. We also need to move to factories that consume less energy, land and water, resulting in lower emissions. Researchers found that crops grown in environments with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations of 550 ppm had lower levels of protein, iron, and iron, compared to environments with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations of just over 400 ppm. , found that zinc concentrations can be 3-17% lower (Matthew R. Smith and Samuel Myers, 2018). Given this warning, we need to adopt a value chain approach to improve the benefits accruing to communities, including reducing emissions while optimizing dietary choices and needs at the household level.

An example of such an approach is the ‘Miscellaneous Grains Mission Chhattisgarh’ launched by the state government in 2021 to establish Chhattisgarh as India’s leading millet producing region. The state has identified 85 blocks in 20 districts as prime cultivation areas and allocated Rs 170 crore plus input subsidy of Rs 9,000 per hectare. This initiative has the potential to address both nutritional and environmental concerns by demonstrating millet’s nutritional value, low water use, climate resilience, and even its potential to promote gender equality. It’s hidden.

The way forward therefore includes expanding diverse food production systems (not just decentralization), promoting underutilized indigenous foods, and analyzing the intersections of gender, climate, nutrition and food value chains. Framework development must be included. Focusing only on nutritious foods does not reduce the environmental impact of food systems. We need to continuously and extensively monitor emissions associated with food production and distribution and ensure that corresponding assessment tools are more accessible to local communities.

diverse food consumption

In the final analysis, there is strong evidence that diverse food consumption can have a significant impact on nutrition and per capita emissions. Focusing only on nutritious diets does not assess or reduce environmental impacts. It must also be supported by linking diet to emissions. This could make production systems more diverse and nutrient- and emissions-sensitive.

Apart from national and regional policies, food production and consumption is also influenced by cultural values, social norms, public policies, and markets, demonstrating the need to integrate society, government, and markets (Samaj, Sarkar Aur Bazaar).

Neeraja Nitin Kudimotori is a leader (action pilot) in Chhattisgarh, working on the transformation of rural India, rural welfare, promotion of millet, environment and climate, transformation of Adivasis, especially vulnerable tribal groups. is.