Food for Thought

As millions of Americans prepare to sit down to a feast this Thursday in celebration of the national Thanksgiving holiday, two of our graduate-fellows, explore how U.S. food consumption patterns impact the rest of the world.

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is traditionally a time of reflection and family gathering. As a harvest holiday, it is also a celebration of bounty and atime of massive food consumption --tables are covered with glazed turkeys, savory sauces and delicious desserts.

But what ifit also becametradition to reflect on where our food comes fromand to ask how consumerchoices affect the world? Could we remember to give thanks to the farmers who raise the resources that make our cornucopia of choices possible and whose efforts put the food on our tables? And could werealize how much influence our purchasing power has on the global South?

At current levels, there is enough food produced to feed all of the world’s inhabitants. However, unequal distribution of this food means that a few people are found consuming too much, while the majority of the global population is not getting enough.

The average daily caloric intake for Americans has increased 78percent since 1978, putting the average American diet at three times more than that of the average person in Ghana[1].This increase inUS food consumption directly reflects the choices made by Americans regarding their diet.

Since women are traditionally left with the task of shopping and cooking for their families, it is important to highlight the major role played by women in both local and global food security levels.Women's input to food security is vital because they understand both the day-to-day requirements of feeding a family and, therefore,can relate to the realities of women farmers in the developing world who are spending hours to provide food for their households.

In the U.S.consumption patterns are contributing to a cycle that is destroying forests and harming critical ecosystems that are needed for healthy and sustainable agricultural production.

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture released in October 2008, 21 percent of beef production areas in about 26 states in the U.S.are experiencing severe drought, causing major areas for livestock production to shrink. The result is that U.S. food imports from developing countries have grown.

Rural women are the main producers of the world's staple crops, which provide up to 50 percent of global food production. In the livestock sector, women feed and milk the larger animals, while raising poultry and small animals such as sheep and goats. Also, once the harvest is in, rural women provide most of the labor for post-harvest activities, taking responsibility for storage, handling, stocking, processing and marketing[2].

While these women rely on agricultural resources for income, the reliance is unbalanced because they are economically marginalized within their societies and are forced to give up their resources in order to provide goods to be exported to super consumers abroad.

In many countries, large areas of forest land are being cleared for agriculture or for commercial forestry. This widespread deforestation reduces access to forest products that are required on a daily basis, thereby adding to the drudgery of women who are forced to cover long distances and spend more time in search of much-needed fuel wood and other forest products. This situation is compounded by male migration, which inevitably increases the work and responsibilities that fall on women[3].

In many developing countries, due to the demand for agricultural exports, forests have been lost from ‘slash-and-burn’ agriculture[4]. Over 40 percent of forests have been lost, most of it just over the last 40-50 years. As a result, in Latin America, deforestation accounts for 53 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Although forests are supposed to act as “carbon sinks”, they have instead become sources of greenhouses gas emissions; deforestation contributes to 21 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions released through deforestation and other human activities contribute to global warming, which causes climate change that has dangerous consequences for the future of the planet. In addition, deforestation for agricultural production has, ironically, contributed to the decline in food production and the essential ecosystem services they provide.

Because agriculture depends on healthy ecosystems that provide the best conditions to produce food, the destruction of these ecosystems through deforestation only reinforces a cycle of destruction thateventually leads to loss of food from their tables and ours.

Women and men have a stake in the preservation of the environment and in environmentally sustainable development. Land and water resources form the basis of all farming systems, and their preservation is crucial to sustained and improved food production.

If current trends continue, the Earth’s biological interaction in its diverse ecosystems will cease to function in a way that allows humans and wildlife to benefit from its services. Clean air, food, potable water, wildlife and plant species survival, temperature ranges and atmospheric conditions, which are conducive for human life, represent a “web of life” of which humanity is an intricate part. Species extinction, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and degradation of forests through human activities, would lead to a break in the structure and functioning of ecosystems and the services they provide.

During this holiday of nostalgic gratitude, many Americans extend a generoushand to those who make do with less. Many people volunteer their time, donate food supplies and offer services to vulnerable communities. But what of the vulnerable communities that supply the resources used to produce the food we place on our table? And what of our responsibilities to the future holidays of this and other countries?

We can use our power as consumers to show our gratitude to the global community by consuming wisely and being informed about the consequences of our purchasing choices. The effects of our choices reach both within these shores and abroad. So this Thanksgiving season remember to not only give thanksfor the abundance of food you are able to provide for your familiesbut to also remember those who have had to sacrifice food on their plates to put food on yours.

Amanda Dentler and Besa Vormatu-Dzelumadzekpo are both pursuing Master’s degrees in Sustainable International Development at the HellerSchool for Social Policy and Management at BrandeisUniversity.

[1]

[2] Gender and Food Security: Agriculture, 2008. FAO.

[3] Gender and Food Security: Forestry, 2008. FAO

[4] Refers to cutting and burning forests to expand land used for agricultural production and cattle grazing