This is part 7 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Thijs de Lange, Vincent Linderhof and Stijn Reinhard. In areas with poor water quality, often in the global South, the promotion of nutrient-rich diets with perishable foods like fruits, vegetables and fish, can deteriorate…
This is part 6 of a blog series on food systems. Simply put, if it isn’t safe, it isn’t food. Food security goes hand in hand with food safety. That is why a ‘safe-by-design’ check should be part of every programme aimed at increasing food security. We tend to take…
This is part 5 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Huib Hengsdijk. The population of East Africa is expected to have doubled by the year 2050. The growth is even more rapid in rural areas, many of which already face challenges in providing sufficient…
This is part 4 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Christian Siderius (pictured above), researcher at Uncharted Waters Research in Australia, and Hester Biemans, researcher at Wageningen University & Research. To feed 9 billion people while remaining within critical planetary boundaries, our farmers need…
This is part 3 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Catharien Terwisscha van Scheltinga. Deltas world-wide are increasingly under pressure. They form a dynamic link between land and water, fresh and saline environments, connecting the natural environment with production systems organized by human intervention….
This is part 2 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Dolfi Debrot. By nature, deltas offer enormous wealth. Intensive use has destroyed many deltas. This has resulted – especially in the (sub)tropics – in many problems such as flooding, salinisation, sinking and washing away…
This is part 1 of a blog series on food systems. This article was written by Katrine Soma and Siemen van Berkum. Developing countries are urbanising rapidly. Many urban dwellers are poor and have to deal with malnutrition and limited access to healthy food. How can their food security be…
How to stimulate large groups of people to make healthier and more sustainable food choices? As a scientist, I find this question intriguing. The focus of attention is not on the individual consumer’s behaviour, but on the food system this consumer is part of. This system provides the context in…
The first text processor that I worked with has barely anything in common with those of today. You could type, edit and delete texts and it was possible to save and print files. The developers knew that their product at that point wasn’t complete yet. Yet, it was still a…
Throughout my career in the world of applied research, I have always worked at the interface of various disciplines. In my current job as Food Informatics researcher at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, this situation remains unchanged. With my technical and analytical skills, I have the pleasure of working with…