The Effects Of The Covid 19 Outbreak On Food Supply Dietary Patterns Nutrition And Health Volume 1

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has affected populations across the world. In a short time we were exposed to a critical situation, faced with numerous medical, social and economic challenges. While the medical community has focused on developing successful diagnostic and medical treatments, many countries.

The current international scenario with the war in Ukraine will have potential impacts on agri-food systems across the world. This scenario will change the balance of power among actors in the agri-food sector. High margins of uncertainty are common across supply chains in the face of uncontrolled increases in raw material prices and an uncertain guarantee of supply. This uncertainty is compounded by rising energy prices, putting the entire agrifood supply chain, which is highly energy-intensive, in crisis. In addition, the current war scenario could impact the demand for agricultural and food products by changing consumers' purchasing habits. Increasing the resilience of agri-food systems may need to become a priority for many national economic systems. In this scenario, the routes to achieve resilient agrifood systems are numerous and include reducing agriculture's dependence on energy, energy-intensive imports and raw material imports. Resilience also requires diversified import sources and market outlets through sound multilateral and bilateral trade policy.

The global coronavirus pandemic is revealing major weaknesses, inequities and system-wide risks in global food systems, giving renewed urgency to foster pathways to greater food system sustainability and resilience. Due to rising unemployment, supply chain disruptions and other responses to the pandemic, such as disruptions to social assistance programs in some countries, predictions suggest a near doubling of food insecurity globally. Nutritional changes are also occurring, as food availability and access changes, leading to substitution of dry, canned or processed foods for healthier, fresh ingredients, for some communities, and the reverse for others. These food security and nutritional changes are likely to be as impactful on human health as the virus itself. As a system-wide shock, the pandemic reveals weaknesses of global supply chains. The media highlighted empty supermarket shelves alongside food dumping in situations where producers locked into disappearing food service outlets were unable to access new markets. Farmers with long-standing reliance on migrant agricultural labor that can no longer travel across international borders under lockdown struggle to access support for the upcoming harvest season. The pandemic highlights well-known inequities for marginalized food systems employees; as essential workers are exposed to greater risks of contracting the virus in food-processing, agricultural and grocery store settings, but have little choice in accepting these conditions in order to keep these low-paying jobs. The pandemic reinforces another well-known food system inequity: marginalized and impoverished minorities often suffer from diet-related diseases (i.e. cardiovascular diseases, diabetes) and/or malnutrition that place them at greater risk of morbidity and mortality from the coronavirus. Lockdowns and border closures are reducing economic opportunities such as day labor and agricultural markets in some regions, such as much of Africa; ensuing risks of food and nutrition insecurity for vast segments of the population threaten to set back development, increase social conflict, and catalyze migration. Finally, the current pandemic shines a spotlight on the systemic risk of infectious diseases to emerge and become globalized through local bushmeat markets and international wildlife trade, and how wildlife hunting and trade is influenced by land use changes, including by industrial agriculture. At the same time, adaptive responses to the coronavirus illustrate how more resilient and sustainable food systems could evolve going forward. To avoid supply chain disruptions, communities are increasing their reliance on local food systems, including an increase in urban gardening and community-supported agriculture programs. Small-scale farmers are innovating to connect with buyers and with each other, including through new online marketing initiatives. Entrepreneurs are identifying foods that would otherwise be wasted and directing them to food banks. Retailers and wholesalers are re-configuring their distribution networks to shift food to where it is needed most. Food pantries, local producers and food businesses are also collaborating with municipal governments to address food security gaps arising from COVID-19 impacts.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2021-540/ Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, consumer eating patterns and habits have changed. Before the pandemic, most countries in the Nordic-Baltic region had been collecting food consumption data to monitor the region’s health and food safety situation, but during these unusual times, no data on consumer behaviour exists. It’s important to examine changes in food consumption in the Nordic-Baltic region during the pandemic not only to understand the local situation and trends but also global trends and their effect on food supply chains, regional food availability, and food waste. Comparing regional data with those in Asia, the USA, and elsewhere offers the opportunity to see which practices are effective in each region and provides more information to help predict trends in consumer behaviour during the post-pandemic recovery period.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended local, national, and global food systems, and put the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach. But lessons from the world’s response to the pandemic can help address future shocks and contribute to food system change. In the 2021 Global Food Policy Report, IFPRI researchers and other food policy experts explore the impacts of the pandemic and government policy responses, particularly for the poor and disadvantaged, and consider what this means for transforming our food systems to be healthy, resilient, efficient, sustainable, and inclusive. Chapters in the report look at balancing health and economic policies, promoting healthy diets and nutrition, strengthening social protection policies and inclusion, integrating natural resource protection into food sector policies, and enhancing the contribution of the private sector. Regional sections look at the diverse experiences around the world, and a special section on finance looks at innovative ways of funding food system transformation. Critical questions addressed include: - Who felt the greatest impact from falling incomes and food system disruptions caused by the pandemic? - How can countries find an effective balance among health, economic, and social policies in the face of crisis? - How did lockdowns affect diet quality and quantity in rural and urban areas? - Do national social protection systems such as cash transfers have the capacity to protect poor and vulnerable groups in a global crisis? - Can better integration of agricultural and ecosystem polices help prevent the next pandemic? - How did companies accelerate ongoing trends in digitalization and integration to keep food supply chains moving? - What different challenges did the pandemic spark in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and how did these regions respond?