{"id":2675,"date":"2020-06-09T10:52:49","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T10:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/?p=2675"},"modified":"2020-06-09T10:53:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T10:53:13","slug":"food-security-in-a-post-covid-19-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/health-nutrition\/food-security-in-a-post-covid-19-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Security in a Post-COVID-19 World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Food Security in a Post-COVID-19 World\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/08i17_3dAW8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With all the excess time we\u2019ve had in quarantine, there is no time like the present to reconsider the kind of world we want to live in after Corona. This holds true for the environment and food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne does not have to wait for the post-crisis\nera in order to change. Changes can be made now, not after,\u201d says Gideon Behar,\nAmbassador and Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability for Israel\u2019s\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With COVID-19 shaking up the economy, those\nin the food industry realize to a certain degree that the status-quo of the\nchain of supply is not safe anymore. \u201cAt some point, countries might block\ncertain exports, for example, grains, in an effort to protect their own\npopulation and supply their own people with their food needs,\u201d says Behar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This brings into question the stability of the global supply chain of food &#8211; could the corona pandemic create a collapse in this system? To what degree is Israel prepared to sustain itself during a possible movement towards isolationism within the world\u2019s economy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2686\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/john-cameron-JyA9zH6SOro-unsplash-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>With COVID-19 shaking up the economy, those in the food industry realize to a certain degree that the status-quo of the chain of supply is not safe anymore. Photo by\u00a0John Cameron\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Food Security with Holistic Base<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Behar, Israel has the means to\nchange its paradigm and policies, but those who are a part of the food system\nhave to prepare themselves as well as Israeli consumers in advance. But the\nquestion is, how?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michal Bitterman, CEO &amp; Co-founder at The\nNatural Step Israel, a non-profit organization that helps individuals and\ncompanies work towards sustainability, says that we \u201cneed to put an emphasis on\ndifferent priorities and handle the food system differently. We need to focus\non food security on a local scale that has a holistic base. This will give us\nresiliency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Behar suggests to stop building on\nagricultural lands. \u201cWe are losing 10,000 dunams per year to construction.\nTherefore, we need to maintain, support, and protect agricultural production,\u201d\nhe says. \u201cWe must understand that we cannot touch this land, especially\nagriculture located in the center of Israel, which is vital to the agricultural\nsector.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting localities, as Bitterman mentioned\nbefore, in terms of farmers and local suppliers in the food chain, is also of\nextreme importance. These entities \u201calmost shut down when the epidemic started.\u201d\nTherefore, she suggests cutting out the middleman and creating a system of\ndirectly purchasing from farmers. Not only is it cheaper, she explains, but it\ngives consumers an appreciation for food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Behar mentions giving local farmers incentives to continue growing crops. Currently, farmers feel pressure to compete with products imported from abroad. \u201cThese local farmers need incentives,\u201d says Behar. \u201cIn the future, foreign countries supplying food and agricultural products to Israel may not be able to continue doing so at the current rate, and we will find ourselves in a broken system. Therefore, we need to buy from Israeli farmers and maintain a system that supports them.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/no-one-cares-l_5MJnbrmrs-unsplash-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>\u201cWe are losing 10,000 dunams per year to construction. Therefore, we need to maintain, support, and protect agricultural production.\u201d Photo by\u00a0no one cares\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Imports vs. Local<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, Israel is part of the global\nfood chain. But, when COVID-19 started, the country wanted to close its borders\nregarding imports and exports. \u201cThis doesn\u2019t make sense without thinking about\nwhat your nation has,\u201d explains Bitterman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bitterman adds that we are dealing with\nexporting things that we have and importing things we could grow. \u201cWe are using\nproducts from abroad, but we need to see that we have the ability to support\nour local and national necessities. This is something that decision-makers are\nnot aware of.\u201d In some cases, local farmers even have to refrain from\nharvesting their crops because of excess imports of the same crops from\ndifferent countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From a sustainability point of view,\nBitterman explains that the average person does not think about the costs of\nimports and exports. There are numerous resources used in order to get products\nto Israel, including marketing the product and the greenhouse gases attributed\nto moving the product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to keep Israeli farmers\ncompetitive with the standards and quantities of oversees farmers, they either\nneed direct support from the government, such as that in the EU, which includes environmental guidelines\nor protection through the taxation of imported goods.\nIn addition, the safety net for events such as bad weather or disease should be\nreinforced to assure the livelihood of these farmers as well as the safety of\nthe population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another topic of concern in a post-corona\nworld is our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/en\/health-nutrition\/sustainable-food-for-the-future\/\">source\nof protein<\/a>. Only 15% of the protein we consume comes from the sea, while\n85% comes from land-based sources. Terrestrial protein supplies are difficult in\nterms of upkeep. For example, feed such as grains needs to be imported in order\nto sustain the livestock and resources such as water and fertilizer are heavily\nused in order to maintain farmland for these animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn times of a global crisis, we might find ourselves in a situation where we cannot supply enough protein to the people of Israel,\u201d says Behar. \u201cThis means that we need to rely on other protein sources such as legumes, beans, and sea-based sources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.zavit.org.il\/intl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/elaine-casap-qgHGDbbSNm8-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>In order to keep Israeli farmers competitive with the standards and quantities of oversees farmers, they either need direct support from the government or protection through the taxation of imported goods. Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Mitigating Food Waste<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, food waste, now more than ever, is an\nimportant aspect of the food system that needs to be changed. \u201cFood waste makes\nup a third of our food system,\u201d says Bitterman. \u201cA quarter of what we buy goes\nto the garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is part of our daily routines, whether\nwe realize it or not. How much food we buy, how it is stored, and what we do\nwith our leftovers all contribute to the era of food waste that we are in. This,\nin the context of a global pandemic, is exacerbated because consumers are\nbuying more in a shorter period of time, explains Bitterman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To mitigate food waste from a management perspective,\nlegislation should be enacted that either mandates stores to donate food that\nis left over at the end of the workday or puts a price on garbage. Bitterman\nexplains that \u201cif prices increase, stores will be more sensitive to the amount\nthey throw away. When supermarkets in Italy had to pay to throw their garbage\naway, they started to be more conservative.\u201d She exclaims, \u201cwe need to act on\nthis. We are throwing a lot of food out, and it is of good quality!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Israel, in particular, has been trying to\npromote dynamic pricing at supermarkets to mitigate its food waste. \u201cThis is a\nwin-win situation. Supermarkets are selling at lower prices instead of not\nselling at all, the government doesn\u2019t need to treat as much waste, and\nconsumers are buying at a cheaper price.\u201d Currently, dynamic pricing has been\nshelved because of COVID-19, but Bitterman is confident that it will pick up\nafterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need to make sure we have enough food,\nthat it is healthy, and that it is priced accordingly so that it is available\nfor everyone,\u201d concludes Bitterman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery crisis is an opportunity. We must savor this opportunity and not let it slip away,\u201d concludes Behar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This ZAVIT article was also published in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/israel-news\/where-is-israeli-food-security-headed-629802\">The Jerusalem Post\u00a0<\/a>on 05\/31\/2020.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With all the excess time we\u2019ve had in quarantine, there is no time like the present to reconsider the kind &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":2682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,13,9],"tags":[],"acf":[],"post-meta-fields":{"_edit_lock":["1591699993:11"],"_thumbnail_id":["2682"],"_edit_last":["11"],"subtitle":[" Are food imports and exports a thing of the past? What will food security in a post-COVID-19 world look like? 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