Planetary Health and Planetary Boundaries: Rethinking Food Systems that Value and Support Planetary Health for the 21st Century and Beyond

Planetary Health and Planetary Boundaries: Rethinking Food Systems that Value and Support Planetary Health for the 21st Century and Beyond
3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. | Independence I |
Moderator: Joanne Burke, PhD, RD, University of New Hampshire, Haas Professor of Sustainable Food Systems
Speakers: Caroline Webber, PhD, RD, Western Michigan University; Joanne Burke, PhD, RD, UNH, Haas Professor of Sustainable Food Systems; Molly D. Anderson, PhD, Middlebury College; Roni Neff, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health
The Rockefeller Foundation Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2015) describes the concept of planetary health as the understanding that human health and human civilization depend on flourishing natural systems and the wise stewardship of those natural systems. This session will review both environmental and social boundaries within which human and natural systems must exist in order that both survive. Using a systems thinking lens, we will explore examples and strategies that food and nutrition educators (and other planetary stewards) can use to design sustainable food systems that promote health, inform policy, and advance social justice for current and future generations.
Learning Objectives:
Explain concepts of planetary health (the Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on Planetary Health), planetary boundaries (Rockstroum, Steffen, et al), and doughnut economics (Raworth)
Describe how systems analysis provides a rich conceptual framework from which to more fully discern food and nutrition challenges and to design more holistic solutions that promote a resilient, sustainable food and water system for current and future generations
Apply a systems approach to a food and nutrition issue, assessing the opportunities and threats to sustainability within ecological, social/ethical, economic, and health parameters.
Session organized by the Sustainable Food Systems Division.