Overcoming Food Security Challenges within an Energy/Water/Food Nexus (EWFN) Approach

Valeria De Laurentiis, Dexter V.L. Hunt and Christopher D.F. Rogers
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Valeria De Laurentiis: Civil Engineering/College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B152TT, UK
Dexter V.L. Hunt: Civil Engineering/College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B152TT, UK
Christopher D.F. Rogers: Civil Engineering/College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B152TT, UK

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-23

Abstract: The challenge of feeding nine billion people by 2050, in a context of constrained resources and growing environmental pressures posed by current food production methods on one side, and changing lifestyles and consequent shifts in dietary patterns on the other, exacerbated by the effects of climate change, has been defined as one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The first step to achieve food security is to find a balance between the growing demand for food, and the limited production capacity. In order to do this three main pathways have been identified: employing sustainable production methods in agriculture, changing diets, and reducing waste in all stages of the food chain. The application of an energy, water and food nexus (EWFN) approach, which takes into account the interactions and connections between these three resources, and the synergies and trade-offs that arise from the way they are managed, is a prerequisite for the correct application of these pathways. This work discusses how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) might be applicable for creating the evidence-base to foster such desired shifts in food production and consumption patterns.

Keywords: food security; energy/water/food nexus; LCA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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