A new research centre for public health

The crisis has highlighted the fragility of food systems which, for sixty years, have been oriented towards the concern to increase production and meet the expectations of international markets. Economies of scale, the use of monocultures favouring the mechanisation of production and regional specialisation, and the choice of high-yield animal and plant varieties have been favoured. In doing so, it was forgotten that diversity can be a source of resilience, that the nutritional quality of food is at least as important as the amount of calories available, and that agriculture is not only a way of producing our food, but also serves other functions: soil maintenance and agrobiodiversity, job creation, and health. This is a time for self-examination.

Never before, except perhaps during the agricultural price crisis in 2008, has there been so much interest in rebuilding food systems: The time has come to make bold proposals, based on the realization that long supply chains – based on deepening the international division of labor and liberalizing agricultural trade – and the use of foreign seasonal labor, are not viable strategies when states are barricading themselves behind their borders and people favour short channels and local production. It is to this refoundation that a new research centre can contribute, now more than ever.

For a long time, the issue of hunger – that is, undernourishment, a deficit of calories – has mobilized people’s efforts. Today, the question of malnutrition is being posed more widely and with greater emphasis. It’s multifaceted, covering not only undernourishment, but also the lack of essential micronutrients – notably iron, zinc and certain vitamins – and the risks of being overweight or obese associated with a processed diet that has become too rich in added sugars, salts and saturated fats. Our ways of producing and our eating habits, both of which are linked, are at the heart of the response we must make to this challenge.