Youth in Action: Better Nutrition

In this episode, we are joined by Chiara Cresta, a member of the Young Scientists Group, to explore how biodiversity shapes our diets and supports more sustainable agrifood systems. We discuss how these connections influence what we eat and why they matter for both people and the planet.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Hello and welcome to the World Food Forum Podcast. In Youth in Action series where we explore how young people are contributing to agri-food systems transformation. My name is Alexandra, and I will be your host. In this series, in the next couple of episodes, we will focus on one of the FAO4 meters: better production, better nutrition, better environment, and better life. A framework that guides global efforts for more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cyber food systems. Throughout this series, we will highlight the work of First Food Forum Young Scientists Group, a global network of early career researchers who bring forward innovative science-based solutions to help bridge the gap between research, policy, and action. In this episode, we are focusing on better nutrition, exploring how biodiversity shapes the foods we eat, why it matters for our health and the planet, and how young people are driving more sustainable, diverse, and resilient agri-food systems. Today we will be joined by Chiara, a nutrition specialist with expertise in agri-food systems and public health research. Her work focuses on nutrition, food choices, and sustainable agri food systems, particularly among young people and communities facing resource challenges. Without further ado, let's dive in.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Thank you. It's my pleasure. So, Kana, before we start, I'd like to ask you if you can shortly introduce yourself, tell us a bit more about you. Of course.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

So my name is Chiara and I'm from Italy. I'm a PhD student in nutritional epidemiology, trying to derive dietary patterns and measure the environmental impact of these uh diets. And I'm also a member of the Younger Scientist Group.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Oh, that's great to hear. And uh your article actually uh connects uh biodiversity with diets, right? So could you tell us a bit more about that and what is actually how it impacts people in their everyday lives?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Sure. So um ensuring that everyone has access to safe nutrition food, produced in an environmentally uh sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges of our time. And this challenge is becoming even more complex because of the multiple crises that our planet is facing, right? Like from climate change to environmental degradation, economic shocks, um, urbanization and more. At the same time, biodiversity itself is under threat. It's being lost for many reasons, more direct uh reasons and more indirect. So, from the overviews of land and water, pollution, um, to changes in demographics, trade, and consumer preferences. It's estimated that over the past 50 years, more than one million plant and animal species are now threatened by extinctions. And all these pressures are interconnecting and they're reshaping how food is produced and consumed. So, in our article, we really try to highlight um this direct relationship between biodiversity and diets and how the loss of biodiversity worsens foods and nutrition insecurity. Uh, it reduces the diversity of foods that are available, affordable, and accessible, and so limits people's ability to eat a healthy diet. Our global agri-food system today produces large quantities of foods, but not enough of the right kinds of food. Um, for example, just three crops like rice, wheat, and maize, make up around 91% of the total cereal production, and only a handful of livestock and agricultural aquacultural species dominate what we eat. Um, so this lack of diversity in what we produce and consume has serious consequences. Um it narrows our nutrients intake and weakens the resilience of our agri-food systems. On the other hand, conserving biodiversity, including wild, domesticated or semi-domesticated plants, often cold, neglected, and underutilized species, can really make a real difference. Um these species have uh are often much richer in nutrients like iron, zinc, zinc, vitamin A, C, um, compared to commonly consumed crops. So including them in our diets can really improve nutrition and strengthen uh food security. Um, obviously, uh biodiversity uh conservation alone is not sufficient to guarantee healthy diet because it needs to be paired with equitable assets and sustainable production practices, but is a key pathway to resilient and nutrition-sensitive agri-food systems. So, in our article, we didn't just um uh stress the um interconnections, interlinkages between biodiversity and diet, but we also look at the role of young people that in all of these um have. Um, we are living through the largest youth generation in history, and many, my many young people are already involved in agri food systems, um, and have a critical role to play in advancing an agenda that recognizes uh biodiversity and healthy diets as the two key levels for transforming agri-food systems toward greater sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

And what are some of the biggest uh misconceptions about biodiversity and diets that you would like to challenge?

SPEAKER_00 6:08

So I think one of the biggest misconceptions about biodiversity is that people see it as something quite distant, almost like it only concerns wildlife, forests, or endangered species far away from our everyday life. Um, we tend to separate humans from nature as if the ecosystem is out there and we are uh standing here um observing him from outside. Um, but the truth is that we are part of the ecosystem and everyone's life depends on the function of ecosystems, as it provides critical services like the air we breathe, clean, safe water, and of course food. And ecosystems require a high level of biodiversity to be a healthy ecosystem. So when biodiversity is lost, it's not just a loss of species in a distant rainforest, but it directly affects the human well-being, our health, our agri-food systems, and even our cultural identity. Um when when it comes to diet, um a common misconception is that what we eat is just a matter of personal choice or willpower. Um it's not only about individual responsibility. Diets are shaped by many, many factors: affordability, accessibility, so how easy it is to find uh the food that we want and that we need, uh, how um food is convenient to cook and to eat, and also our cultural habits and personal preferences. Um diets are not just personal but are shaped by systems. And what we eat every day doesn't only affect our health, but our diets have consequences that uh extend far beyond our body. Uh, they affect the environment and they shape food production systems, and they even impact people's livelihood and um uh um and lives. So um what we see today is a strong homogenization of diets worldwide because of an increase in income uh levels and urbanization. A lot of countries have moved um towards very similar food patterns, and diets are are dominated just by a few uh stable commodities. Um, and this shift towards um uniform diets is one of the drivers of biodiversity loss.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

And talking about healthy diets, uh you analyzed youth-led initiatives that promote diverse and healthy diets. So, which one uh actually best shows how young people can make a true difference in their own communities?

SPEAKER_00 9:09

It's honestly very difficult to choose just one example because all the youth-led initiatives that we explore show how much potential young people have to drive real change. But one story that really stayed with me comes from Bikida, uh this district in Zimbabween. Um this is a region that has faced years of drought, um unpredictable weather conditions, and a heavy dependence on costly hybrid uh seeds. And farmers were seeing their uh yields drop, soils were becoming depleted, and many young people felt they had no future there. Uh, unemployment and immigration were becoming the norm. Um, in 2021, a group of young people created a partnership with the school of their districts and launched a movement called Sowing Hope, Youth-led Seed Sovereign in Bikita. And their goal was to rebuild indigenous seed systems, promote agroecology, and empower young farmers to take control of their agri-food systems. Um, they mobilized students from several schools and they created community, managed seed banks to conserve locally adapted varieties that are resilient to climate change, like Pillet, Sorgun Kopi, and Gradnot. Um yeah, and I think this uh example shows that the young people are, if young people are given space and knowledge and trust, they they they lead a transformation.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

So, as you mentioned, climate change and urbanization uh are more reshaping uh how and what we eat, right? So, how can young people actually help make agri food systems more sustainable and resilient? Is there any way young people can do that?

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, I mean it's it's right, climate change urbanization are dramatically reshaping the way we eat. And now, if we ask what young people can uh can do about that and help make agri-food systems more sustainable and resilient, I think it's important to say that young people are already doing a lot. Um around the world, many young researchers, activists, uh entrepreneurs are working at local and national levels to transform agri-food systems. Um, they develop innovative solutions, use new technologies, create new technologies, and uh community-based initiatives that promote sustainability, resilience, and uh inclusion, and advocate and try to use their resources to produce better, uh, distribute better, and consume better. And also try to fight some of the inequalities that um exist in our planet. And even here at the World Food Forum, we can we can clearly see that youth are not just participants, but there are so many amazing young people that come here and participate as speakers, moderators, coordinators, and and and leader leaders. They raise awareness, they bring a new perspective and challenging traditional ways of doing things.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

So it was uh it's a great experience, right? To be here.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

That's great. So five days or even more of uh you know having opportunity to network, meet new people, and uh exchange knowledge. So, but if there could be, if you could just send one message to listeners about how to protect biodiversity through their food choices, what would you tell them?

SPEAKER_00 13:06

I would say know your food and where it comes from. Uh, start by getting curious about the ingredients you eat every day, uh, where they're grown, how they're produced, and what the it's their impact on the environment. Um supporting local and seasonal foods whenever is possible is one of the most effective ways to protect biodiversity because it helps sustain diverse crops and farming systems that are adapted to local environments. And I would also say try to reconnect with the knowledge that already exists around you. So talk to the elderly, maybe in your family or community about what they used to eat, how they cook it, how uh what foods were common before um globalized diets become dominant. Um I think there's there's a lot to learn from that, and um and they used to include a wide range of nutritious food and locally adapted food. They can inspire more diverse and sustainable uh ways of consuming food today. Thank you so much, Cara, for being here with us today. Thank you.