Abstract
Healthy and tasty nutrition in sufficient quantities is a basic human need. The ways in which we eat and drink are part of human culture. At the same time, the production of food is closely linked with the natural environment and ecological cycles, demonstrating our dependence on nature. Altogether, food production and consumption form a complex system that is an integral part of our daily life.
Agriculture and food production are integrated into a multi-level system of markets, flows and actor networks. On a global scale, they have changed considerably over the last 50 years. Agricultural production and yields have been increasing due to the expansion of arable and irrigated land and the intensification, even industrialisation, of farming. International competition demands low prices, large volumes, standardisation, specialisation and high production efficiency from agricultural systems (Morgan et al. 2006). The globalisation of food markets has intensified long distance trade, resulting in complex commodity-flow and division of labour systems (cf. the shrimp industry, Chapter 7 in this volume).
As a consequence of these developments, many countries have increased their food security. In industrialised countries especially, an outstanding variety of food is available at low prices. On the other hand, agricultural intensification causes overexploitation and negative effects, such as soil degradation, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, climate change, and reduced standards of animal welfare (Knudsen et al. 2006). In 2009, about one billion people, mainly in developing countries, suffer from malnutrition, whereas in richer social sectors over-consumption and unhealthy diets are contributing to an increase of endemic illnesses, such as obesity or cardiovascular diseases. Food production and consumption are being exposed to structural changes, but these are not necessarily sustainable.
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Notes
- 1.
The project “Regional Wealth Reconsidered“ was funded under the Social–Ecological Research Programme by the German Ministry of Education and Research, from 2002 until 2007 (see: www. regionalerwohlstand.de).
- 2.
For a detailed overview of the measures of the EU see Häring et al. 2004.
- 3.
Organic farming can be more favorable than land set-aside and succession, in particular on the poor soils in Brandenburg, because of its contribution to a diversified cultural landscape, with open fields benefiting both humanity and biodiversity.
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Nölting, B. (2009). The Contribution of Organic Food Production to Sustainable Nutrition: A Case Study on the Organic Niche Market in Eastern Germany. In: Lebel, L., Lorek, S., Daniel, R. (eds) Sustainable Production Consumption Systems. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3090-0_8
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