Beyond the Surface: harnessing aquatic food systems in the battle against hidden hunger
Source: Mike Bergmann, Unsplash.
In a world grappling with the complex challenges of malnutrition, food insecurity, and unsustainable agriculture, there arises a lighthouse of hope: aquatic foods. Christopher Golden, a nutrition and planetary health researcher from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, is one person attempting to tackle hidden hunger. In a podcast with Nature Careers, he sheds light on the potential of aquatic foods in combating these global obstacles.
Hidden hunger is defined by persistent deficiencies in micronutrients, most commonly iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A. In 2014, it was estimated that at least 2 billion people worldwide were affected, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with this number now expected to be much higher. Micronutrient deficiencies weaken the immune system, restrict children’s growth and development, and, on a global scale, diminish human potential through reduced energy levels and poor mental clarity. Developing strategies to enhance the nutritional value of diets among the most impoverished is essential to achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on Sustainable Development Goal 2: eradicating hunger, ensuring food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture by 2030.
Aquatic, or blue foods, span an array of marine and freshwater delicacies, including fish, molluscs such as mussels and clams, and even aquatic plants such as seaweed. Christopher discusses how they could be key in working towards healthier and more sustainable diets by simultaneously tackling under-nourishment and over-nourishment. In the podcast, he states that “blue foods have been neglected in overall food system dialogues” due to a historical emphasis on land-based food production systems. He goes on to say that as populations increase and climate change results in more frequent and widely distributed droughts, soil nutrient depletion, and limited arable landmass, we must turn towards more sustainable food pathways.
Recent research carried out by Golden and colleagues analysed the nutritional profile of over 3,000 different taxa from marine and freshwater environments that are currently consumed as food. They found that when looking across the nutrient spectrum, these blue foods had much greater nutritional merit, especially when compared to their ‘terrestrial-based food’ counterparts, while also displaying a greater potential for low environmental impact harvesting. Aquaculture, however, still faces environmental challenges, including waste accumulation, eutrophication, habitat destruction, and the use of liming materials, and chemical fertilisers. Discussions still need to be held around which blue foods can be most sustainably produced to ensure maximum nutritional benefit and minimal environmental cost, but the evidence so far is compelling.
These blue foods could be key in curbing micronutrient deficiencies while also acting to reduce the overconsumption of less healthy meats, which are more strongly associated with high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer. By innovating interventions such as marine protected areas to rehabilitate fish stocks, and ensuring sustainable farming and wild capture practices, we can perhaps look towards filling these global gaps in nutrition.
However, this journey is not immune to the challenges presented by climate change, as factors such as ocean acidification, escalating sea temperatures, and habitat degradation hinder access to aquatic foods. Nevertheless, Christopher remains optimistic that a multifaceted approach encompassing initiatives like ecosystem rehabilitation through artificial coral reefs and mangrove conservation, alongside policy interventions to prevent the wholesale exportation of fish from nutritionally vulnerable to nutritionally secure nations, can navigate these complexities. In his view, with a collective effort, there is hope that blue foods can indeed lead us towards a healthier and more sustainable future.