Deadly diets: geographical reflections on the global food system

ABSTRACT

This article considers the contemporary food system and suggests that it is deadly in several respects. The most blatant failure of the current system is that it fails to feed approximately one billion people adequately each year yet manages to overfeed approximately 800 million people worldwide. This bizzare contradiction, or ‘Our Big Fat Contradiction’ (Patel, 2007, p. 1), is detailed at the outset. The system also fails to protect the environment upon which we all depend for sustainable food production; the second deadly drawback the article considers. The final deadly trend lies at the production and distribution end of the food chain. Here power is being concentrated, poor people are being marginalised and choice is being eroded.

After detailing the most glaring problems the article examines how the food system is organised, and what ideologies and structures help sustain and promote its diffusion across the globe. The core question is, given its multiple failings, why is the contemporary system of food production not challenged more successfully and changed? The answer points to the powerful vested interests that profit from its operations, a few of which are also considered. The article concludes that the system is ethically suspect and unsustainable, and closes with an evaluation of the efforts made by various individuals and communities to implement a more enlightened food system.