At the intersection of climate change, nutrition & health
May/June 2023 | Volume 22 Number 3
Image courtesy of RAFTI-USA
Crop diversity has greatly decreased in the last century, as this graphic shows. Preserving agrobiodiversity is an important part of meeting the challenges of global climate change and nutrition insecurity, according to Beatrice Ekesa, a nutrition scientist at Alliance Bioversity International & CIAT in Uganda.
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By Mariah Felipe
Keeping with CUGH's theme of "Global Health at a Crossroads: Equity, Climate Change, and Microbial Threats," Fogarty and the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) organized a session focused on the impact of climate change on nutrition and health. Featuring experts from academia and government, the session aimed to investigate the intersection of global warming, diet, and wellness and their effects on equitable, sustainable, and resilient responses to emerging public health issues.
Dr. William Dietz, director of the Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, opened the discussion by highlighting the "syndemic" of obesity, malnutrition, and climate change, which he defines as three pandemics interacting at biological and biosocial levels having adverse impacts on each other. He noted, "While the U.S. is currently number two in the emission of greenhouse gases globally, the effects are mostly felt in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). That fact gives the U.S. a special responsibility for reversing this syndemic."
But the impact can be felt here too. NIH Climate Scholar Dr. Lauren Clay, an associate professor and department chair at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, discussed the effect natural disasters, as a result of climate change, have had on crop yields, health, and nutrition in the U.S. She reasoned "The U.S. must engage in a global conversation about these issues. Otherwise, the impact of climate disasters here at home threatens to reverse progress on health disparities and nutrition that have been hard fought over the last decades."
Image courtesy of EAT Forum, Summary Report of the EAT-Lancet CommissionThe Planetary Health Diet emphasizes a plant-forward diet where whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes comprise a greater proportion of foods consumed. Diet is one of the most significant contributors to mortality and morbidity around the world, according to Jessica Fanzo, Johns Hopkins University.
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Diet also plays a crucial role in preventing climate change, and maintaining human and planetary health, according to data from the Global Burden of Disease project highlighted by Dr. Jessica Fanzo. "We are at a crisis moment concerning the food system and climate change," said the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agricultural Policy and Ethics at Johns Hopkins University. Diet is one of the most significant contributors to mortality and morbidity around the world, and our current food systems contribute significantly to greenhouse gases. Fanzo added: "Even if we make all of the other proposed changes to help combat climate change, like altering transportation methods and switching to renewable energy, we will not meet the threshold set by the Paris climate agreement if we do not change our diets and global food systems."
Planetary warming and changes to crop yields lead to heat stress and malnutrition, creating a double burden on maternal and child health, per Dr. Kartik Shankar, professor of pediatrics and nutrition at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He showcased how increasing global temperatures not only affect access to nutritious foods but can also impact development in the womb, referring to studies in which women who carried their pregnancies through the summer months or in overall higher temperatures tended to have children with lower birth weights. He noted, "Improving nutrition may prevent the effects of heat stress for expectant mothers."
Interventions—like farm diversification and conservation efforts such as community seed banks—are helpful, but there is still a need for scalability in adopting these practices globally, according to Dr. Beatrice Ekesa. In her talk, Ekesa, a nutrition scientist at Alliance Bioversity International & CIAT in Uganda, focused on the importance of preserving agrobiodiversity to optimize food production, enhance soil health, and reduce the use of fertilizers or pesticides in crop production. She also highlighted the decrease in the diversity of crops over the years. For example, sweet corn had more than 307 varieties at commercial seed houses in 1903; 80 years later the number of varieties had shrunk to just 12.
Dr. Meera Shekar, the global lead for health, nutrition, and population at the World Bank, discussed how her organization addresses these challenges, including supply- and demand-side interventions, analytics, policy dialogues, and investments in various sectors. She suggested that "taxation policies like those we have seen around the world on sugar-sweetened beverages might be a viable option for reducing consumption of beef and ultra-processed foods, which contribute the most to overall food emissions."
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Updated June 14, 2023
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