With the advent of globalization, the life of numerous people around the world have changed radically, providing greater comforts. However, at least from a food point of view, these comforts have proven to be somewhat detrimental, considering the significant environmental impact they have caused, consequently damaging people's health.
In 2022, a group of scholars from the University of Sydney conducted a study of 74 countries, titled "Global food-miles account for nearly 20 percent of total food-systems emissions," published by Nature Food and directed Mengyu Li of the School of Physics at the University of Sydney. The article explains that about 30% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the food system. The cost of transportation amounts to about 19% of the total weight of food pollution, thus contributing 6% of global emissions. Surprisingly, most of the transportation costs are attributed to the exchange of fruits and vegetables, as these require specific temperatures and special transport. Obviously, the solution is not to eat fewer fruits and vegetables, but to produce these products locally whenever possible, they in fact have great sustainability margin if produced in the right way. According to the study also, there is no 'homogeneity regarding emissions, countries with higher pro capita income such as the United States, Germany, France, and Japan, despite being demographically inferior to others produce about 46% of the world's emissions.
Overproduction policies have also consistently contributed to the scourge of obesity that harms the lives of millions of people. According to the "Health E-Stats, September 2018," published by the National Center for Health Statistics, about 39.6% of adults and 18.5%, children in America are affected by obesity. It is sadly interesting to compare this figure with the " State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report" compiled by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO: this explains that about 29.6% of the world's population, 2.4 billion people, did not have constant access to food, the situation is particularly dramatic in Africa where 1 in 5 people suffer from malnutrition. These figures should give pause for thought, for while there are countries that can afford excess food, there are others that do not have any to lead a dignified life.
Another problem arising from the current system of food production is related to waste, which has two modes: food loss and food waste. Food loss is the waste of food during the production stages, which affects developing countries, particularly the lack of certain technologies.Unfortunately, sometimes generates problems that damage production. Food waste, on the other hand, affects developed countries, it consists of the intentional waste of food, by consumers.
In my opinion, the role of citizens in counting waste is important, but relative when compared to that of institutions. Article 11 of the European Social Charter expressly mentions that "the parties undertake [...] to remove as far as possible the causes of ill-health”. I believe that, given the consequences both environmental and direct on the person, the current food system can be considered one of the causes of ill-health. This protection is therefore part of the right to health, provided for both in the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights and in most of the internal constitutions of individual states. The necessary contrast to this system is then also reaffirmed by another article of the Fundamental Charter of Human Rights, Article 37, which guarantees the protection of the environment, expressly citing that "A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development."
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