Young people today step into the world at a critical crossroads for our food systems. At present, the production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of our food does not work for people or our planet.
Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, causing one in three to suffer from malnutrition. The consequences of environmental degradation and climate change are threatening our ability to even grow enough food to nourish our increasing global population. Global inequalities, already steep before the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to deepen, as youth unemployment and under-employment rates remain stubbornly high.
While food systems remain the largest employer of youth, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, they have, so far, failed to deliver economically rewarding, intellectually stimulating, and meaningful careers that young people aspire to engage in.
Aquatic food systems, both fisheries and aquaculture, contribute to the livelihoods of 800 million people around the world. However, many of these opportunities are concentrated in segments of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sectors that are poorly paid and frequently exploitative. Youth typically do not own boats and nets for fisheries or land for aquaculture, which are often transferred intergenerationally. In situations where youth do have rights to appropriate resources, they may have to negotiate power structures to gain access. These challenges are often amplified by gender, class, and other intersectional identities.
It is clear that food systems must change fundamentally, in order to provide equitable livelihood opportunities for young people. But how can we achieve this radical re-thinking?
A newly released report by the United Nations Committee on World Food Security’s (CFS) High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition makes the case for the urgent re-adjustment of social and economic life towards an economy of well-being. This will transform food systems to become more inclusive of young people.
This approach envisions re-balancing relations between human and nature towards food sovereignty and the right to food, dignified and rewarding livelihoods, and relationships based on cooperation and solidarity. Young people are central to this shift, with youth engagement and employment in sustainable food systems both a goal to be realized, and the means for the radical transformation of food systems, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and economies of wellbeing.