Humanity Urged to Rethink Molding Nature According to Its Needs
The Indian presidency of the G20 received 320 papers in 2023, of which 27 were chosen to form a book with a synthesis of articles on the most important contemporary problems ( Diversity in Agriculture and Consumption: The Basis for Healthy and Sustainable Eating ). Among the articles selected is the work prepared by the Josué de Castro Chair, from the Faculty of Public Health (FSP) at USP, and that of the Instituto Comida do Ajante.
Professor Ricardo Abramovay, holder of the Josué de Castro Chair, explains the work developed and the problems currently faced in agri-food production. In addition to him, the other members of the Chair who participated in the project are Ana Paula Bortoletto Martins, Nadine Marques Nunes-Galbes, Estela Catunda Sanseverino, Luisa Gazola Lage and Juliana Tangari.
The expert says that India, as president of the G20, placed a lot of emphasis on issues related to the digital revolution, which were not well received. However, the summit is debating topics relating to types of economic growth and energy transition. Brazil, according to him, is playing a fundamental role in trying to equate the transition to sustainable development and in the fight against inequalities, based on the proposal to tax large fortunes.
According to the professor, one of the objectives of the work is to reorient the agri-food industries and the consumption patterns of the global population. He explains that it is necessary to recognize the complexity of natural evolutionary processes and, therefore, renounce the idea that humanity has to shape nature according to its needs, as occurred during much of the 20th century.
According to the expert, this movement was driven by the Green Revolution, when the agriculture industry started to use genetically modified seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, in addition to promoting greater investment in agricultural machinery. This simplification of rural processes is the opposite of the complexity of nature and leads to monotony in agricultural landscapes, as well as the impoverishment of soil and biodiversity.
“Some published research shows an exhaustion of water reserves, including aquifers, as is the case in the Brazilian Cerrado and this monotony of agricultural landscapes is correlated with the monotony of food. This monotony in food shows that people eat a smaller variety of products”, he explains.
Food
According to Abramovay, humanity has already known 25 thousand edible products in nature, of which 7 thousand have already been cultivated or collected, but, of this number, only 400 are cultivable. Furthermore, he explains that 75% of the world’s food is made up of just six basic foods: potatoes, rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and sugar cane.
In the context of animal production, the professor highlights that genetic monotony also affects animals, which become easier targets for viruses and bacteria and, therefore, around 70% of the antibiotics produced are destined for animals. He highlights that this practice creates a serious problem for healthcare organizations, as these medicines are leaked into the environment and cause greater resistance to antimicrobials.
“All these systems are interconnected, when we destroy water or land, this will influence the type of food, which will generate health problems or an epidemiological issue. In other words, people have to understand once and for all the paths of science, pointing out that these issues have been interconnected for a long time”, he says.