The Future of Taste: Feeding people and planet with Sustainable food practices

As human civilization encroaches further on natural ecosystems, it's imperative to reduce our impact on the environment, including the food we consume. Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) addresses this urgency with its latest release, 'The Future of Taste', part of the 'First Food' series, advocating for sustainable agriculture and food production amidst climate challenges.

The book reflects a paradigm shift towards conscious eating for the health of both individuals and the planet, emphasizing the critical need for environmentally friendly food systems in an era of escalating global environmental crises.

During the official launch event in New Delhi on March 12, 2024, Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today said, "In our climate-risked world, how should we practice agriculture and food production to ensure the security of livelihood, nutrition, and nature? The Future of Taste, part of the First Food series, provides some answers. It brings the colour, essence, and joy of a biodiverse food that is good for nutrition and nature".

In 2018, the food the world produced contributed to about 11 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Narain points out the reality of emissions from agriculture and food systems, highlighting that there are two distinct agricultural worlds.

Reimagining agriculture: sustainability for livelihood, nutrition, nature

She explains: “One, based on an intensive industrial model where food is manufactured in factory farms at a massive scale; and another which is subsistence level, practised by farmers in the developing world with small landholdings, who grow food for their livelihood".

Sunita added, "The agriculture and food production sector, thus, creates a divide between a world that emits for survival and one that emits for luxury. At a time when the survival of farmers is threatened across the world by climate change and other factors, we cannot go ahead with the intensive, luxury-emission-based model of food production.”

Narain remarked, "The 'Future of Taste' and the broader 'First Food' series reveal answers by highlighting the vibrancy, essence, and joy of biodiverse foods. These foods are not only nutritious but also environmentally sustainable. We acknowledge that extreme weather events destroy the livelihood of India's farmers," Narain stated. "Farmers require risk mitigation, and we need to decrease the emissions from the food systems."

“Most importantly,” says Narain, “we must realise that what our farmers grow depends on us – the consumers. The food on our plates has lost the meaning of nutrition. We know we need good food to live healthy, but we continue to eat wrong. If we change our diets, it will provide signals to our farmers to grow differently, to cultivate food that is good as well as climate-resilient.”

Says Narain: “For instance, where there is water shortage, farmers should grow water-prudent crops such as millets. Government must enable policies that will promote the cultivation of these crops.”

Renowned chefs launch sustainable cookbook

A prominent group of culinary experts, including Jatin Mallick, chef and co-owner of Tres Restaurant, New Delhi; Manish Mehrotra, culinary director at Indian Accent, The Lodhi, New Delhi; Manjit S Gill, former corporate chef of ITC Hotels and founder-president of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations; and Rajiv Malhotra, corporate chef at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, released the book.

Vibha Varshney, who initiated CSE’s First Food series, highlights the profound wisdom of local Indian communities regarding nutritious foods like millets, known long before they gained global popularity. These communities possess extensive knowledge of crafting healthy recipes from various locally available resources, including weeds, tree-borne foods, long-shelf-life seeds, plants with short life-cycles, and often overlooked parts of cultivated plants.

The First Food series compiles over 100 such 'non-mainstream' recipes, showcasing the potential of these foods to address global challenges posed by climate change. By emphasizing sustainable and nutritious food practices rooted in local wisdom, the series aims to promote healthier diets and environmental sustainability.

The book states that farms and food from "our world, countries like India," will provide answers to the future in such a scenario. Apart from other recommendations, the book suggests choosing crops that are nutritive and compatible with the local environment.

The Future of Taste recommends measures such as promoting multiple cropping to minimise risk; using non-chemical alternatives to fertilisers and pesticides to improve soil health; and encouraging low-input, cost-effective agriculture.

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