Feeding the world

Remarks from The Economist conference today on The 9 Billion People Question.

Graziano da Silva, Director General, FAO
1 billion under-nourished, 1 billion overweight.
We waste one third of food produced. Reduced waste would feed 500 million.

David Nabarro, Special Representative, UN
It’s not just about production, it’s also about nutrition.
Cereals have many production incentives. More are needed for fruit and vegetables.
What do you put first? Enough to eat? Or the right stuff to eat? The right stuff is particularly important for the young. Traditional diets are some of the best. There is enough energy in the world today.

Howarth Bouis, Director, HarvestPlus
It’s not about famine, it’s about dietary quality – vitamins and minerals to the poor. Agriculture is not yet part of the toolbox but needs to be.
Nutrient content needs to be the new priority.

Patrick Webb, Dean, Tufts University
There’s a complete disconnect between dietary guidelines and agricultural production.

Paul Bulcke, Chief Executive Officer, Nestle
We’re going to run out of water faster than we’re going to run out of fuel.
41% of corn is now used for biofuels. That’s enough to feed 370 million. We say no food for fuel.
Smallholder farmers are vital. We have organised milk districts in 30 countries. In Pakistan, 100,000 deliver milk to one factory.

Andrea Illy, Chairman and CEO, illycaffe
25 million families involved in coffee, $105 billion roasted coffee market, $26 billion coffee production value.
We had to create our own responsible supply chain scheme, because there is no global sustainability standard.