互联网治理难点痛点何在？ 四大观念决定治理前途

Never before has so much food been available worldwide, in terms of both quantity and quality. This “feat” was made possible by the industrialization of our agricultural and food systems, which began in certain regions of the world at the end of the 19^th century.

We have passed from a production system that relied mainly on the sun for energy, to systems based on the massive use of non-renewable mineral resources (first coal, then oil and gas), used for mechanization and the use of synthetic products – fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides.

The supply of foodstuffs has kept pace with technological developments, from refrigerating machines (1858) and food irradiation (1905) to rapid freezing (1929), microwaves (1947) and the ultrafiltration of milk (1969). The automation of labour in agri-food factories has also made it possible to increase rates of production for standardized foods. 

At the end of the 20^th century, a new player gained increasing power – mass retail, which is becoming established almost everywhere in the world with the emergence of the middle classes, favouring access to generally cheap food. But today, the limitations of industrialized food systems are glaringly apparent in the face of the challenges of sustainability, with implications for health, the environment, and social and economic inequalities.

While food is more plentiful worldwide than ever before, it is far from evenly distributed. According to the latest report on the state of food security and nutrition in the world, published by five United Nations agencies, almost 730 million people were still suffering from hunger in 2023, i.e. one person in eleven in the world (one in five in Africa). This situation is linked in particular to continuing poverty, relentless food price inflation and, above all, the multiplication of conflicts and climate crises. At the same time, the growing consumption of products high in fats and carbohydrates, combined with a reduction in physical activity, is leading to an increase in the number of people who are overweight or obese, raising the risk of pathologies such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Projections suggest that, by 2030, more than 1.2 billion of the world’s adult population will be obese.

In environmental terms, the cost of such a food production system is also high. It is estimated that, on a global scale, agriculture and the food industry are responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activities. Added to this are water pollution, the disappearance of pollinators and the decline in soil fertility due to the massive use of chemical products, as well as a sharp erosion of biodiversity under cultivation. 

Finally, on a socio-economic level, the high concentration of companies throughout the food chain has contributed to the creation of groups in dominant positions, undermining the independence and income of farmers. 

At the same time, major societal changes have reshaped our relationships with food. In cities, purchasing power is becoming the main factor determining access to food. What is more, with people often working far from home, alongside fast-paced lifestyles, time-saving and convenience are becoming important criteria – buying “ready” meals and take-aways, outsourcing certain food-related tasks, and so on.

International migration and, more recently, the influence of social media, have enriched eating styles with new products and consumption practices. The cuisines of Mexico, South-East Asia, Japan, and Lebanon, for example, have spread to many countries. “Traditional” dishes such as tacos, tabbouleh, and pizza have been adapted or reinterpreted along the way. 

Lastly, the individualization of lifestyles is leading to new eating habits – special diets, shared meals (but no longer necessarily with the same food), self-improvement through personalized nutrition linked to specific biological needs, etc.

These developments, combined with the industrialization of our farming and food systems, have led to various forms of distancing – economic, with an increase in the number of intermediaries between farmers and consumers; geographical, with more remote areas of production; cognitive, with the loss of contact between city dwellers and farmers, which generates a lack of understanding of the food chain. This distancing is also sensory – whereas we used to gauge the quality of food by tasting, sniffing or feeling it, we increasingly do so by reading the information on packaging. 

Today, we need to reduce these various distances in order to re-establish the connections we have lost with our food. All the more so since, as a “total social fact”, food is an essential means of building our various relationships in the world.

It plays a key role in our relationship with ourselves, as the nourished body raises questions of health, but also of emotions, pleasures and the construction of our individual and collective identities. The act of eating is both objective and symbolic – it influences the health of the eater as well as the way they assert their identity in the world.

Food also plays a decisive role in our relationships with others, through the conviviality of shared meals, the transmission of table manners and culinary skills, the cross-fertilization of food cultures, and so on. Sharing a meal is a way of connecting with others – eating the same food forges common relationships, since incorporating the food of the collective is, symbolically, incorporating oneself into the collective. It also plays a part in our spiritual relationships with the invisible worlds, where food plays a key role, through offerings, for example. 

And, finally, it shapes our relationship with the biosphere, with other non-human living beings, with the animal and plant worlds, with landscapes shaped by agriculture, but also with the whole microbial universe, which not only is part of our make-up (the intestinal microbiota), but also plays a key role in the processing and preservation of our food (in fermentation, for example).

All these relationships connected by food invite us to imagine forms of commitment to change towards more sustainable food systems, which contribute to the health of individuals and ecosystems, as well as to social justice and cohesion. Food is, effectively, political – the way we eat and the way we organize ourselves to eat determine the world we want to live in.