المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

On behalf of Global Dairy Platform:

In response to the request for feedback on V0 draft of the HLPE report on Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition, we respectfully submit the following:

This report will make an important contribution to the work of the CFS. It is good that the report recognizes that food security and Nutrition (FSN) is context-specific and requires diverse solutions operating at a range of scales. The report examines agri-food systems generally, which assumes uniformity of impact across all forms of agriculture. However, specific agricultural systems may have very different impacts than others (i.e., dairy, soybean, chickens, lamb, corn, etc.). Although an in-depth discussion on differing effects of various foods and food production systems on FSN in the context of inequalities and inequities may not be suitable for this report, it should at least be recognized with some discussion or examples. There is some recognition of the impact that livestock may have on improving FSN and reducing some inequities. The role of dairying in providing FSN and reducing inequalities may provide a good example to highlight. Dairy is relevant, according to the FAO (http://www.fao.org/3/cb2992en/cb2992en.pdf), there are approximately 133 million dairy farms globally, with 600 million people living on these farms deriving their livelihood from dairying. The livelihood of an additional 400 million people are supported by the jobs created up and downstream from the farm. There are approximately 240 million jobs created by the dairy sector. Of the 133 million farms, 37 million are female headed, with 80 million women engaged in dairy farming to some extent. An FAO report on Dairy Developments Impact on Poverty Reduction (https://www.fao.org/3/ca2185en/CA2185EN.pdf) provides evidence of the relationship between dairy development and improvements in human welfare. This report showed that dairy provides a pathway out of poverty for individuals, families, and communities. Women empowered by dairy have increased income and influence.

Another FAO report, Dairy’s Impact on Reducing Global Hunger: research summary (https://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/CB1198EN/), provides quantitative evidence on the positive impact dairying can have on eradicating hunger globally. It was found that increasing household production of dairy increased dairy consumption which was associated with child linear growth and reduced stunting.

Dairy foods are nutrient rich and intake has been associated with reduced risk of several chronic diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoporosis/fractures, over weight). It has been shown that adequate dairy intake as part of a healthy diet can reduce health care costs (Scrafford et al. Nutrients 2020, 12, 233; doi:10.3390/nu12010233).

The impact of dairying is a good example of how production and consumption of a specific food type can impact FSN and improve inequalities.

Additional Comments on the report:

In this report, it seems some inequality issues (i.e., gender) may have a larger impact in LMIC, I believe it would strengthen this report if it was made clearer when the impact of this issue (or others) is occurring mainly in LMIC or HIC as was done with stigma related to obesity (mainly wealthy countries)

In chapter 2 it would be good to reference Ty Beal paper recently published in Lancet (Micronutrient deficiencies among preschool-aged children and women of reproductive age worldwide: a pooled analysis of individual-level data from population-representative surveys https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00367-9/fulltext#.Y7XuwoJe6bs.twitter), as it provides the most recent data on micronutrient deficiencies globally and shows HICs have more deficiencies than previously thought.

In chapter 3, pg. 62., it states: “A high proportion of such challenges in the health and nutrition arena related to aspects such as labelling, and regulatory chill compromises nutritional quality of diets and the utilization dimension of food security.” However, it should be recognized that the data on the value of nutrition and FOP labeling in changing dietary patterns seems to be small and the data is inconsistent ( Are Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels Influencing Food Choices and Purchases, Diet Quality, and Modeled Health Outcomes? A Narrative Review of Four Systems https://www.mdpi.com/2043952 #mdpinutrients via @Nutrients_MDPI Dec. 2022).

Gregory D. Miller, Ph.D., F.A.S.N.

Global Chief Science Officer, National Dairy Council

Executive Vice President, Dairy Management, Inc.

Nutritional Security, Sector Lead, Global Dairy Platform

Solutions from the Land is pleased to provide the following response to the invitation to review, comment and make recommendations for strengthening CFS HLPE Vo Draft Report on reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition. The mission of Solutions from the Land, a farmer-led organization, is to inspire, mobilize and equip agricultural, forestry and fishery leaders to advance pragmatic, proven and innovative agricultural solutions that benefit producers, the public and the planet in a new era where sustainably managed farms, ranches, fisheries and forests are at the forefront of resolving food system, food and nutrition security, energy, environmental and climate challenges to concurrently achieve global sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Ernie Shea, President

Solutions from the Land

Dear Drafting Team,

The European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD)1 specialist Public Health group recognizes the huge amount of work of the  HLPE FSN team for the draft Report on Reducing inequalities for Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) and welcome the opportunity to participate in this consultation. 

We offer the following comments and suggestions, which we hope will contribute to an even stronger version of the report.

• We find that the proposed framework is an effective conceptual device to guide the conversation and action surrounding inequalities and food insecurity, especially when combined with the food systems framework (p.26). The framework and the report adequately discuss the implication of adopting the six-dimension definition of FSN. We agree with the view that addressing inequalities in FSN requires a drastic transformation of the food systems and the whole status quo upon which they exist. While global tendencies, especially market-driven (as the report highlights when discussing the commercial determinants of health and food - p. 66), exist, we celebrate that the report recognizes context-specific realities of and solutions to FSN. 
• In this regard, and while realising the ‘universal development’ approach (Longhurst, 2017) that guides this report, we would like to suggest to also include data about high-income regions, like Europe, in some of the featured tables and figures. Just like the report recognises, inequalities and FSN are also present in those countries, but, when it comes to FSN data, their relevance may end up being blurred by the magnitude of the data in other regions. For instance, epidemiological surveys performed in European countries show that poor iron status affects 10±30% of menstruating women and iron deficiency anaemia, which in the case of adolescents, might increase up to 48%. Likewise, research on healthy diet affordability found that, in 2019, for 16 out of 24 countries at least 10% of the population in (sub)urban areas would be confronted with income-related food insecurity. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis these figures are likely to have grown. Displaying such data along the text and in key elements of the report such as table 2.1. can contribute to appreciating the existence and scope of FSN in high-income countries and regions like Europe. Rising awareness is the first step toward taking action towards the issue in the region.
• We would like to identify three aspects that we find underrepresented in the report. The first one is food literacy. Various definitions of food literacy exist. Vidgen and Gallegos (2014) define it as 'the scaffolding that empowers individuals, households, communities or nations to protect diet quality through change and strengthen dietary resilience over time. It is composed of a collection of inter-related knowledge, skills and behaviours required to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat food to meet needs and determine intake'. Cullen et al (2015) conceptualize food literacy as the interconnection of two spheres: community food security and individual food skills, which lead to a comprehensive understanding of the food system within a society and culture which culminate in food choices that impact health and wellbeing. Several works describe the relation between food literacy and food insecurity. In this regard, while we recognize the structural factors as major drivers of FSN, and while running from individualistic approaches, we do believe that empowering individuals, families and communities about their relation to food can leverage some of the inequities that lead to FSN. Moreover, increased food literacy is directly related to enhancing the autonomy dimension of FSN.
• The second point is the recognition of how the way in which FSN is tackled can create further health inequalities. Food aid is the main mechanism to face FSN in high-income countries, but without proper political involvement and regulation it often ends up acting as a bandaid for hunger instead of an ensurement of the possibility to have adequate nutrition. Dealing with inequalities in FSN cannot be separated from the promotion of diet quality.
• Thirdly, we are delighted that the authors identified the aggressive marketing of infant formulae as an issue, and wondered if there could be an extension of the 'life-course' approach and some mention of the fact that the elderly are also a group at risk. 
• Last, may we draw your attention to the following work on measuring food and nutrition insecurity, which complements the existing reference by Barrett (2010) and can allow to identify further ways of operationalizing and monitoring the elements of the conceptual framework

1. Castetbon K. Measuring food insecurity. In: Biesalski H., Drewnowski A., Dwyer J., Strain J., Weber P., Eggersdorfer M., editors. Sustainable Nutrition in a Changing World. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2017. 
2. Anderson S., editor. Core indicators of nutritional state for difficult-to-sample populations. J. Nutr. 1990;120:1559–1600. doi: 10.1093/jn/120.suppl_11.1555. 
3. Carrillo-Álvarez E, Salinas-Roca B, Costa-Tutusaus L, Milà-Villarroel R, Shankar Krishnan N. The measurement of food insecurity in high-income countries: A scoping review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(18):9829. 
4. Beacom E., Furey S., Hollywood L., Humphreys P. Investigating food insecurity measurement globally to inform practice locally: A rapid evidence review. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 2020 doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1798347.

The European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD) specialist Public Health group reasserts the recognition to the drafting team and wants to express its willingness and availability to be further involved in this activity.

1 Elena Carrillo (Spain), Amanda Avery, (United Kingdom), Teresa Rodrigues (Portugal), Zeynep Begüm Kalyoncu (Turkey) Zoi Toumpakari (United Kingdom), Bernadette Kiss-Toth (Hungary) and Manuel Moñino (Spain). http://www.efad.org/en-us/specialists-networks/public-health/

References

1. Hercberg S, Preziosi P, Galan P. Iron deficiency in Europe. Public Health Nutr. 2001;4(2B):537–45. 
2. Penne T, Goedemé T. Can low-income households afford a healthy diet? Insufficient income as a driver of food insecurity in Europe. Food Policy [Internet]. 2020;99(101978):101978. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919220301822
3. Vidgen HA, Gallegos D. Defining food literacy and its components. Appetite.2014:9;76:50–9. 
4. Cullen T, Hatch J, Martin W, Higgins JW, Sheppard R. Food literacy: Definition and framework for action. Can J Diet Pract Res [Internet]. 2015;76(3):140–5. 
5. Michou M, Panagiotakos DB, Lionis C, Costarelli V. Socioeconomic inequalities in relation to health and nutrition literacy in Greece. Int J Food Sci Nutr [Internet]. 2019;70(8):1007–13. 
6. Begley A, Paynter E, Butcher LM, Dhaliwal SS. Examining the association between food literacy and food insecurity. Nutrients [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2023 Jan 3];11(2):445. 

ولاية كسلا:

كسلا، القاش، سبل العيش: الاستخدام الفعال والعادل والمستدام للأراضي والموارد المائية إنشاء علاقات مؤسسية تتناسب مع أهداف المجتمع للمشروع وتوفير فرص عمل أخرى مصاحبة للمشروع.تعزيز القدرات التخطيطية لتحسين زراعة المحاصيل وأنظمة تربية الحيوانات لاستعادة سبل العيش المستدامة في القاش تعتبر أراضي نهر القاش بولاية كسلا من أخصب الأراضي، ويعتبر سكان المنطقة من أفقر الأفراد في السودان. سبل عيش أكبر عدد ممكن من الفقراء في دلتا القاش وحولها، بما يتوافق مع الاستخدام الفعال والمستدام لموارد الأراضي والمياه، ويستند إلى رؤية مشتركة للتنمية واستقرار الترتيبات المؤسسية ذات الصلة. يهيمن على المنطقة قبيلة الهدندوة، القبيلة الرئيسية لشعب البجا، والتي تتمتع بتسلسل هرمي قبلي قوي وهيكل سلطة. يعتمد مشروع الري الفيضي في القاش على التقاط الفيضانات السنوية سريعة الزوال التي تحدث في نهر القاش خلال الفترة القصيرة من يوليو إلى سبتمبر. تقلص متوسط ​​مساحة الأرض التي تزرعها العائلات بأكثر من النصف، مع انخفاض متوسط ​​حجم مواشيهم. عدم توفر المياه لسقي الحيوانات ، وإمدادات المياه للاستهلاك المنزلي، والتحكم في مياه الفيضانات على الرغم من النظام القائم على تخصيص الأراضي وتوزيع يانصيب المياه. عدم امتثال إدارة مشروع الري للقواعد الرسمية وغير الرسمية للحصول على الأراضي والمياه. تنبع هذه المشاكل من: التغيرات المناخية ، والاضطرابات المدنية الدورية ، والتدفق المستمر للأشخاص الباحثين عن مأوى في دلتا القاش، مع زيادة عدد السكان في المنطقة. أدى انخفاض مستوى الوعي الفني وسوء إدارة المياه لأغراض الري والشرب واستخدام المراعي إلى ارتفاع نفقات إدارة هذا المشروع وخدماته الاجتماعية مثل المياه والصحة والتعليم ومستوى المعيشة. على الرغم من النظام الذي يبدو عادلاً في توزيع موارد الأراضي المتناقصة ، إلا أن الحالة غير المستقرة لحيازة الأراضي أدت إلى تثبيط الاستثمارات اللازمة في تطوير الأراضي، لا سيما في مجال السيطرة على مياه الفيضانات وضعف وتدهور نظام الري الفيضي، بالإضافة إلى إلى عجز موازنة هيئة مشروع الري بسبب نقص المبالغ المحولة من الدولة والحكومة المركزية، وكذلك انخفاض رسوم مستخدمي المياه مما يقلل من تكاليف التشغيل والصيانة.

الأهداف العامة: هي تجديد سبل عيش الفقراء في المنطقة وتأمين وصولهم إلى الأراضي المروية وإمدادات المياه. تتمثل الأهداف المحددة للمشروع في: إعادة تأهيل نظام الري بالغمر لزيادة توافر الأراضي الصالحة للزراعة، وتحسين إنتاج الغابات وإنتاجية الثروة الحيوانية، وتجديد مرافق المياه الحالية لزيادة وصول المجتمعات المحلية إلى المياه الصالحة للشرب ، وتحسين الوصول إلى الخدمات المالية الريفية للمستأجرين الصغار. يساعد المزارعون والرعاة والمعدمين والنساء المؤسسات على دعم الإدارة المحسنة للموارد المحلية.

الولاية الشمالية:

الولاية الشمالية إجمالي عدد السكان 699065 نسمة منها حوالى 50,6% ذكور و 49,4% اناث والحضر 16,9% من جملة سكان الولاية و الريف حوالى 81% و الرحل حوالى 2,1% من جملة سكان الولاية.تعرف الولاية الشمالية بأنها ولاية زراعية بفضل ما حباها الله بها من موارد زراعية عظيمة تمثلت في اتساع رقعتها الزراعية والتي تقارب 649 الف كم2أي نحو 86 مليون فدان، جزء من أراضيها صالحة للاستثمار الزراعي (14 مليون فدان)، بخلاف أراضي الغابات والمراعي. و يبلغ عدد سكان الولاية الشمالية حسب أخر إحصاء عام 2008م حوالي 800 ألف نسمة. تمثل الزراعة العمود الفقري في حياة معظم أو كل سكان الولاية واهم القطاعات وأبرزها في اقتصاد الولاية، وتستوعب نحو 80% من العمالة إضافة إلى أنها المصدر الرئيسي لإنتاج الغذاء، و يكسب كل سكان الريف والذين يمثلون 86.2% من جملة سكان الولاية عيشهم من الأنشطة الزراعية.

واجه الزراعة تحديات كبيرة في شمال السودان، حيث الأرض خصبة والمناخ بارد نسبياً وملائم لمحاصيل كثيرة، خصوصاً القمح. وينعكس ذلك على الملامح الاقتصادية والاجتماعية لغالبية سكان الإقليم الذين ارتبطوا تاريخياً بالأرض وزراعتها.

لم يفلح الكثير من المزارعين التقليديين، أصحاب المشاريع الصغيرة التي تقل عن 20 فداناً، في توفير الأموال اللازمة لزراعة القمح في الشتاء الماضي. وهذا مؤشر آخر إلى احتمال اندثار الزراعة التقليدية لمصلحة الاستثمارات الزراعية الكبيرة، ما لم تدعم الدولة المزارعين.

ويقول المزارعون إنهم ظلوا لسنوات طويلة يكابدون المصاعب والظروف القاسية للاستمرار في الزراعة، وتحديداً زراعة القمح. لكن تحدي ارتفاع أسعار مقومات الإنتاج صار أكبر من تشبثهم بالزراعة وأحبط هممهم. وهم يناشدون الحكومة كي تخطط لدعم الزراعة في المنطقة نتيجة لارتفاع تكاليفها قياساً على الأقاليم الأخرى في البلاد.

وتستخدم الزراعة التقليدية الوابورات، أي المضخات، لسحب المياه من النيل إلى أعلى لري الأراضي، التي تتكون من حيازات صغيرة ورثها هؤلاء المزارعون عن أسلافهم الذين كانوا يروونها بواسطة السواقى بالثيران. وهم يحرثونها بالثيران التي ما زالت تستخدم جنباً إلى جنب مع الجرارات والماكينات الزراعية الأخرى.

المزارع (عبدالله محمد بيرم) في الثانية والتسعين من العمر، وصف نفسه وهو يقف وسط أرضه في قرية (مراقة كابتود) بأنه أكبر مزارع ما زال يمارس الزراعة في المنطقة كلها، وقد ورثها عن أسلافه منذ كان يافعاً. وقال إن الفدان كان ينتج له 35 جوالاً من القمح بالوسائل التقليدية (الجوال يعادل 100 كيلوغرام)، لكن هذه الكمية تناقصت حتى وصلت إلى خمسة جوالات فقط (نشاهد هنا اثر التغير المناخى واضحا). وأضاف أن الزراعة استعصت عليه إلى حد كبير بعد ارتفاع أسعار كل مدخلاتها، ولم يعد هناك التزام بتوفيرها في وقتها المناسب، حتى صارت مجوبكة أي تتم بفوضى.

ولم يعد المزارع (بيرم) يعاني من كلفة البنزين، لأنه الآن يستخدم الكهرباء بعد توافرها في المنطقة، وقد قلل ذلك من تكاليف الري بأكثر من 60 في المئة. لكنه لا يزال يعاني من ارتفاع كلفة تحضير الأرض وأجرة الآليات والتسميد والبذور. وهو لم يقم بتحضير أرضه في الوقت المناسب هذا الشتاء، إذ لم يتمكن من إيجاد جرار للحراثة نظراً لارتفاع أجرته من ناحية وعدم توافر الجرارات من ناحية أخرى، فالأهالي باتوا يؤجرون جراراتهم للباحثين عن الذهب في المنطقة، بمن فيهم أبناؤه وأحفاده. ولم تعد الجمعيات الزراعية تقدم المساعدة بكفاءة، بل صارت إدارتها للعمليات الزراعية تتسم بالسوء البالغ والإهمال وعدم الالتزام بالجدول الزمني للعمليات الفلاحية. فبات تعرض المزارع للخسارة أمراً حتمياً في كثير من الحالات.

التمويل عن طريق الشيل:

كان سعر جوال الفول المصرى سنة 2020م فقط 17 الف جنيه سبعة عشر الف جنيه سودانى، وسعر جوال الشيل 18 الف جنيه سودانى، والشيل عبار عن تمويل ينم عن طريق التجتر لصغار المزارعين، يطلب المزارع من التاجر مثلا سلفية يقيمة عشر جوالات فول مصرى 18 الف جنيه فى عشرة جوالات تساوى 180 الف جنيه، تسترد عينى اى جوالات فول مصرى عند سعر اول الحصاد، وكان سعر الجوال فى موسم 2020م 35 الف جنيه، يستلم التاجر العشرة جوالات التى اصبح سعرها 350 الف جنيه.

فى موسم 2021م اصبح سعر الفول المصرى 80 الف جنيه سودانى فى مواعيد زراعة الفول المصرى، اى سعره نقدا ب 80 الف جنيه، وسعره عن طريق الشيل وصل الى 150 الف جنيه، وكان سعر الجوال عند الحصاد فى موسم 2021م 50 الف جنه، فاذا اخذ المزارع ما قيمته عشرة جوالات من التاجر فى مواعيد الزراعة سوف ياخذ مليون وخمسمائة الف جنيه، فى اول حصاد الموسم يصبح الميلغ يعادل ما قيمته 30 جوال فول مصرى.

هذا الموسم  2022م  سعر جوال الفول المصرى قبل اسبوعين فقط 40 الف جنيه حاليا 12 اكتوبر 2022م ما بين 35 - 36 الف جنيه، لم يظهر اى سعر عن طريق الشيل لان زراعة الفول تتاخر الى اول شهر سبتمبر.

يقوم المزارع باخذ عدد اكثر من ما يريد ان يزرعه، واضعا فى الاعتبار تكاليف الزراعة كلها، من تحضير الارض ورى المحصول وتكاليف اخرى من مصاريف المنزل.

التمويل عن طريق الشيل ادخل الكثيرين السجون، وتعرف هذه الطريقة فى كثير من الولايات الاخرى مثل ولاية القضارف، ولاية النيل الازرق، ولاايات دارفور وكردفانن ولاية النيل الابيض. فى مواعيد الزراعة يقوم الكثير من التجار ببيع عرباتهم واشياء اخرى استعدادا لموسم تمويل الشيل.

تقوم الولاية الشمالية بجانب انتاج التمور والفول المصرى والقمح، تنتج كثير من البوهارات مثل الشمار والكذبرة والشطة، والكثير من الثوم والبصل واللوبا والعدس والموالح والمانجو وغيرها. نجد ان التغير المناخى اثر كثيرا فى انتاج كثير من هذه المحاصيل بالاخص انتاج محصول القمح وكذلك التمور تاثرت كثيرا، فبعد ان كان الكثيرين بالولاية ينتجون مابين 100 - 130  جوال من التمور اصبح الانتاج ما بي 6 – 15    جوالات. والكثيرين من المهندسين الزراعيين يرجعون ذلك لوجود بحيرة سد مروى، وفى ايام الصيف ترتفع الحرارة بالنهار، ياتى بالليل تيار بارد جدا.

Dear HLPE Secretariat and Experts, 

Thank you once again for this second opportunity to engage on this important topic and to help shape what will surely be a high-impact report. 

EDF was pleased to see the incorporation of some of the comments we submitted on the Scope of Report, and we attach here some additional suggestions to further strengthen and and value to the forthcoming report.

Please contact Willow Battista for any follow up questions or for additional support ([email protected]).

-Willow Battista, Senior Manager, Climate Resilient Food Systems, Environmental Defense Fund

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is appreciative of this opportunity to provide a response to the VO Draft for e-consultation. EDF recognizes the importance of the HLPE reports in driving ongoing research and policy advancements. As such, we have prepared comments below that acknowledge strengths of the current draft, as well as areas that can be expanded or deepened. We believe that the forthcoming HLPE report has the opportunity to elevate these critical topics and increase support for addressing food and nutrition insecurity in an equitable and comprehensive way. We hope that our suggestions will be of value.

EDF looks forward to the development of the following forthcoming sections:

• Chapter 7 on prioritized recommendations
  • The inclusion of a strong list of recommendations within this HLPE report will push this current draft into an operational domain. We highly encourage the HLPE report to highlight best practices and linkages to existing resources and frameworks throughout this section.
  • We strongly appreciate that the current HLPE draft does have emphasis on climate change and nutrition. As the HLPE works towards finalizing the recommendations section, we would like to reiterate comments from our prior submission related to four key priority recommendations: connecting climate change to food and nutrition policy; centering the need for nutrition security; elevating the value of aquatic foods; and the importance of data-limited impact assessments. We hope that these points also are centered in this final chapter.
    • There is an important opportunity with this report to draw an explicit connection between climate change and inequity in food and nutrition security. We believe a priority recommendation in chapter 7 should be the need to create climate-informed food and nutrition policies and interventions because climate change is worsening existing inequities in food and nutrition insecurity while at the same time our food systems are a major driver of climate change. It is thus critical that these issues be addressed in tandem.
    • Second, we strongly suggest that the focus should be on nutrition security, not just food security, and an important priority recommendation to flow from this report should be a drive to re-value our food resources based on their nutritional content, rather than on traditional economic factors. Doing so will incentivize the production of highly nutritious foods, as well as the channeling of these foods to the groups and people who need them most. This is in contrast to the current value system, which drives the most nutritious food resources away from the most vulnerable groups and into the hands of the wealthiest people while simultaneously incentivizing the overproduction of unsustainable and under-nutritious foods, which are then consumed in high quantities by the world’s poor because they are the most affordable and available foods.
    • Third, we were pleased to see that the report draft contains a short section on fisheries, but we urge the authors to elevate this dialogue into the priority recommendations as well. Aquatic resources, which are a critical and climate-friendly source of both protein and micronutrients for billions of people, have been chronically overlooked by entities seeking to address food and nutrition security, and the result has been detrimental to both the sustainability of our aquatic food systems and the achievement of our global food and nutrition security goals. The sustainable production of aquatic foods, and the improved affordability and accessibility of these resources, should be key goals of funders, policy makers, and development organizations.
    • Finally, we believe a fourth priority recommendation for this report should be a call to action for further focus on accounting for small-scale, data-limited food systems and not just large scale. Otherwise, policies may continue to focus on and favor only the large-scale food systems. For example, food resources that are foraged, gathered, or gleaned by individuals who are not members of the formal food production sector will not be considered or valued in policy or management decision-making, and will therefore not benefit from any efforts to protect or restore those resources. To this end, new information streams such as the Illuminating Hidden Harvests data on unassessed fisheries would be appropriate to reference as an example for this recommendation.
• Sections in Chapter 4 on the political economy and fragility and conflict
  • EDF applauds the inclusion of this forthcoming section. Narrative on the implications of politics and conflict on our fragile food systems are needed. Further, a call to action for researchers, practitioners, governments, and the public, to engage in the development of strategies towards bolstering our food systems against such shocks is opportune.
• Forthcoming report on “Revitalizing climate policies for food security and nutrition”
  • EDF is encouraged by the creation of a dedicated report connecting climate policies with food security and nutrition. That said, we do want to reiterate how integral climate change is in relation to issues of equity, equality, and food and nutrition security. As mentioned at length in our prior submitted comments, we believe that there is scope within this current report to further strengthen that argument.

In addition to these suggestions for forthcoming sections, we provide one important comment on the text already presented in this draft:

Genetically Modified Organisms and the connection to colonial approaches (pages 48, 88-89)

“Indigenous peoples have long been concerned that colonial approaches to land for growing food rooted in agribusiness and industrial agriculture characterised by large-scale farming and the adoption of scientific-technological systems such as the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) disregards their rights to self-determination and spiritual, cultural and physical relationships to ancestral lands (Bernstein 2013; Collier 2008; Pimbert 2009).” (pg. 48)

EDF encourages the forthcoming HLPE report to consider a more nuanced approach to the connection of GMOs to the colonization of agriculture (Sahai, 2004, Pal et al., 2007). Linking GMOs ubiquitously with a negative stigma, rather than constructively critiquing the policies that surrounded their debut, limits adaptation strategies (including climate change adaptation strategies) and impacts our ability to support small-holder farmers. See below example:

• Pest resistant transgenic crops developed with the insertion of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) such Bt Brinjal, or eggplant, received public opposition across Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines as a result of anti-GMO criticism. This led to smear campaigns in Bangladesh, it was placed under a moratorium in India, and Bt Brinjal field trials were vandalized out of protest in the Philippines (Shelton, 2021). At the same time, the introduction of BT Brinjal in Northern Bangladesh has shown to significantly reduced harmful pesticide use which has decreased farmer input cost, decreased pest related food loss plus increased available nutritious products for sale, and resulted in improved health outcomes due to reduced exposure to noxious chemicals (Shelton et al., 2020; Shelton, 2021; Ahmed et al., 2019; Ahmed et al., 2021; Haque et al., 2020). The Bangladeshi Minister of Agriculture Begum Matia Chowdhury has noted her support for the genetically modified Bt Bringal as a tool to support in feeding the nation’s 160 million people and protecting the environment (Shelton, 2021).

EDF therefore suggests that the narrative within the HLPE report should examine and critique existing governance and intellectual property rights, which are undeniably connected to colonial practices, rather than targeting GMOs directly and explicitly – it should be made clear that GMOs should be treated carefully and the governance that regulates them should be modified according to the needs and perspectives of impacted farmers, and especially of historically marginalized food system actors, but that GMOs can have a place within adaptation strategies and can support small-holders.

Citations:

Ahmed, A. U., Hoddinott, J., Abedin, N., & Hossain, N. (2021). The Impacts of GM Foods: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial of Bt Eggplant in Bangladesh. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 103(4), 1186–1206. link

Ahmed, A. U., Hoddinott, J. F., Islam, K. S., Ghostlaw, J., Parvin, A., Quabili, W., Rahaman, S. M. T., Rahman, W., & Zubaid, S. (2019). IMPACTS OF BT BRINJAL (EGGPLANT) TECHNOLOGY IN BANGLADESH. United States Agency for International Development, 1-184. Link

Castañera, P., Farinós, G. P., Ortego, F., & Andow, D. A. (2016). Sixteen Years of Bt Maize in the EU Hotspot: Why Has Resistance Not Evolved? PLoS ONE, 11(5), e0154200. Link

Haque, M. S., & Saha, N. R. (2020). Biosafety Measures, Socio-Economic Impacts and Challenges of Bt-brinjal Cultivation in Bangladesh. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8. Link

Pal, S., Tripp, R., & Louwaars, N. P. (2007). Intellectual Property Rights in Plant Breeding and Biotechnology: Assessing Impact on the Indian Seed Industry. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(3), 231–240.

Sahai, S. (2004). TRIPS and Biodiversity: A Gender Perspective. Gender and Development, 12(2), 58–65.

Shelton, A. M. (2021). Bt Eggplant: A Personal Account of Using Biotechnology to Improve the Lives of Resource-Poor Farmers. American Entomologist. 52-59.  Link

Shelton, A. M., Sarwer, S. H., Hossain, Md. J., Brookes, G., & Paranjape, V. (2020). Impact of Bt Brinjal Cultivation in the Market Value Chain in Five Districts of Bangladesh. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8, 498. Link

Many thanks for your report and your skill.

Our feedback:

The inequality of nutrition and obesity re-focuses concern on who in society is consuming the worst diet. Identification of individuals with the worst of dietary habits permits for targeting interventions to assuage obesity among the population segment where it is most prevalent. We argue that the use of fiscal interventions does not appropriately take into account the economic, social and health circumstances of the intended beneficiaries of the policy.

The effects of a fat tax on diet are found to be small and while other studies show that fat taxes saves lives, we show that average levels of disease risk do not change much: those consuming particularly bad diets continue to do so. 

Our results also suggest that the regressivity of the policy increases as the tax becomes focused on products with high saturated fat contents. A fiscally neutral policy that combines the fat tax with a subsidy on fruit and vegetables is actually more regressive because consumption of these foods tends to be concentrated in socially undeserving households. We argue that when inequality is of concern, population-based measures must reflect this and approaches that target vulnerable populations which have a shared propensity to adopt unhealthy behaviours are appropriate.

*Inequalities in diet and health

Differences in diet between socio-demographic groups are well rehearsed. Although the overall dietary patterns of low-income individuals tend to be very similar to the general population, there are certain aspects of the low-income diet that are less healthy. In general, individuals on low incomes are less likely to consume wholemeal bread and vegetables, but are more likely to consume fat spreads and oils, non-diet soft drinks, pizza, processed meats and table sugar. Within the low-income group, older children (aged 11–18 years) appeared to have worse diets than younger children (aged 2–10 years) or adults as they consume less fruit and consume more energy-dense foods including burgers, kebabs, meat pies, pastries and chips. 

Please visit our website to find our article about "Counsels on Diet and Foods"

Counsels on Diet and Foods (afronutri-online-angola.blogspot.com)

https://afronutri-online-angola.blogspot.com/2023/01/counsels-on-diet-a…

Comments from: Bronwen Powell, PhD Student Lilly Zeitler

Broad feedback:

• Congratulations on an excellent V0. We were very excited to read it!
• Legacy is an idea from social ecological systems theory, and refers to the ways past relationships impact and constrain current options. The ways that the legacies of colonialism impact equity in food systems has been discussed by a number of scholars (Michael Watts, Bill Moseley, Blakie and Brookfield, Kyle Whyte). We haven’t seen the legacies of colonialism addressed in the report and think the report might benefit from considering this scholarship.
• While this is a report on Food security and nutrition, food has importance beyond  nutrition in that it is central to identity and this is linked to cultural well-being. The accepted definition of Food Security includes access to “culturally appropriate food”. The report might benefit from at least touching on this topic (which we didn’t see on our quick read). For example, Indigenous communities tie Food Sovereignty to access to culturally important foods (asking questions like how can we be “healthy” is we “the people of the salmon” have no salmon) (e.g. Coté, 2016; Whyte, 2016). Many Indigenous scholars are writing on the ways revitalization of food culture is repairing identity and healing Indigenous communities in North America (Chantelle Richmond, Hannah Tait Neufeld, Leigh Joseph, and others). 
• We hope the report authors will take every opportunity to highlight the need for regulation of marketing / the food industry given the growing body of evidence on the harm done by ultra-processed foods. Perhaps this might fit in the section on “Food Environmental Governance” (Page 107). As much as minority / disempowered groups need better access to healthy foods, they also need protection from uneven targeting by advertising for ultra processed junk food.
  • Yates, J., Gillespie, S., Savona, N., Deeney, M., & Kadiyala, S. (2021). Trust and responsibility in food systems transformation. Engaging with Big Food: marriage or mirage?. BMJ Global Health, 6(11), e007350.
  • https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/11/junk-food-marketing…

More specific feedback:

• Page 43. There should likely be a separate subheading for “Indigenous” or “Ethnic minorities” which are currently discussed under ”Gender”
• Page 43. Many groups can also face inequity (and unequal impacts of policy) based on their livelihood strategy. This is most clearly apparent for hunting-and-gathering and pastoral groups where food and nutrition policy is geared towards agriculture (e.g. Gastrocolonialism by Sophie Chao, 2022).
• Page 48. You cite (Kimmerer, 2013) but her work builds on the work of many Indigenous authors. We suggest you might want to cite a broader selection of academic publications here:
  • Todd, Z. (2018). Refracting the state through human-fish relations. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 7(1), 60-75.
  • Coté, C. (2016). “Indigenizing” food sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous food practices and ecological knowledges in Canada and the United States. Humanities, 5(3), 57.
  • Delormier, T., Horn-Miller, K., McComber, A. M., & Marquis, K. (2017). Reclaiming food security in the Mohawk community of Kahnawà: ke through Haudenosaunee responsibilities. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 13, e12556.
  • Lynn, K., Daigle, J., Hoffman, J., Lake, F., Michelle, N., Ranco, D., ... & Williams, P. (2013). The impacts of climate change on tribal traditional foods. In Climate change and indigenous peoples in the United States (pp. 37-48). Springer, Cham.
  • Bartlett, C., Marshall, M., & Marshall, A. (2012). Two-eyed seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together Indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2
• Page 51 to 54 - These sections on inequalities are good to see. There is also a small body if literature looking at the impact of LEGAL ACCESS to forests, bushmeat, wild foods and natural areas (e.g. for grazing livestock) and the ways these impact food security and diet. This work might also fit under sections around page 78?
  • Sylvester, Olivia, Alí García Segura, and Iain J Davidson-Hunt. 2016. The protection of forest biodiversity can conflict with food access for indigenous people. Conservation and Society 14(3):279.
  • McNeeley, S. M. (2012). Examining barriers and opportunities for sustainable adaptation to climate change in Interior Alaska. Climatic Change, 111(3), 835-857.
  • Sunderland, T. C., & Vasquez, W. (2020). Forest conservation, rights, and diets: Untangling the issues. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, 29.
• Page 78 - Very happy to see land grabbing listed, please see these suggested excellent recent publications:
  • Müller, M. F., Penny, G., Niles, M. T., Ricciardi, V., Chiarelli, D. D., Davis, K. F., ... & Mueller, N. D. (2021). Impact of transnational land acquisitions on local food security and dietary diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4), e2020535118. (This important recent paper finds associations between land grabbing and “transitions from local staples (cereals and pulses) to to cash crops (sugars and oils) with a significantly higher likelihood of export.” Palm oil and sugar cane are ‘flex crops’ that can be a source of either food or energy; however, even if used as a food source, they do not offer reliable sources of nutrition. Key recent findings, such as these, would be worth highlighting in the report.)
  • Rulli, M. C., & D’Odorico, P. (2014). Food appropriation through large scale land acquisitions. Environmental Research Letters, 9(6), 064030.
  • Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H., & Bezner Kerr, R. (2017). Land grabbing, social differentiation, intensified migration and food security in northern Ghana. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 44(2), 421-444.
  • Abdallah, A. H., Ayamga, M., & Awuni, J. A. (2022). Impact of land grabbing on food security: evidence from Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-24.
• Page 101 - Happy to see the section on Commitment to Publicly Funded Research, which Jodi Harris and others have strongly argued is necessary for improved production and availability of fruits and vegetables

Je vous transmets, à toutes fins ut utiles, la modeste contribution de l'ADACO relative à l'objet ci-dessus cité.

S'il vous plaît voir le commentaire dans le fichier joint.

Cordialement.

Davy Pouaty Nzembialela

The OECD would like to thank CFS/HPLPE-FSN for the opportunity to provide comments on the V0 draft of the report on Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition: V0 HLPE for econsultation.pdf (fao.org).

An overall comment:

OECD would like to see reference to this food systems report included.

OECD (2021), Making Better Policies for Food Systems, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ddfba4de-en.

Key findings from the report are summarised in these policy briefs:

• food-systems-and-the-triple-challenge.pdf (oecd.org)
• making-coherent-policies-for-food-systems.pdf (oecd.org)
• achieving-better-policies-for-food-systems.pdf (oecd.org)

Attached are specific observations and OECD references which to be cited and drawn on in the analysis.  

Thanks very much and best wishes.

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) would like to thank CFS/HPLPE-FSN for the opportunity to provide comments on this important work.

We would like to make some remarks on the part about diet quality, described on page 34.

We have noticed that the indicators used, i.e., AHEI and Global Diet Quality Project might not be the most suitable to reflect the global diet quality. There might seem to be an oversimplification to categorize ‘(un)healthy diets’ based on adherence to dietary guidelines and particularly when they are based on Western diets and subsequently used to assess diets in other areas of the world. Making a distinction in diet assessments between nutrient (in)sufficiency and dietary risk factors in relation to non-communicable diseases is recommended. The data available from the Global Burden of Disease (https://www.healthdata.org/gbd/2019) on population health and how it varies by different regions, socioeconomic status, or ethnic groups in their country, could improve the content of this section. Moreover, reference to high dietary quality is made in the text, however, it is not clear how high dietary quality is defined.