HealthyPath’s Mira El Ghaziri on Food Sustainability And Renewed Interest In The Interlinkage of Food Systems with Public Health After COP26

Q: When you talk about food sustainability and public health and well-being, what does that really encompass? And how do help maintain the precarious balance between profitability for the companies you work with, global SGDs, and the anticipated needs of the people living in the Middle East over the next couple of decades in mind?

A: Food sustainability encompasses sustainability across the whole food value chain from production until consumption and disposal of foods. Current food systems and patterns of consumption are unsustainable for human and planetary health: food is a key contributor to climate change, responsible for more than 30% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, and is the leading predictor of deaths due to its association with obesity since most of the food we consume is high in sugar, fat, and salt. Interesting enough, healthy food (fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts/seeds, and alternative protein sources) tends to be good for both our health and the planet is given the lower environmental impact, when compared to processed and animal-based foods.

Unfortunately, our food system today produces hunger, obesity, and wastes a third of the food produced, which impacts our ability to achieve most SDGs. And the big dilemma remains how to feed the growing population a healthy and sustainable diet all while preserving our planet and taking into account the implications of climate change on food security.

Hence, there is an urgent need to recreate our food system through more resilient agro-food systems given the inter-linkage between our health and the planet’s health; and to transition to a healthy sustainable diet that is culturally sensitive and economically viable. 

When working with organizations to incorporate food sustainability into their strategies, it is crucial to look into the local culture and social norms to ensure local adaptation of the initiatives and to assess current capabilities within the organization. This will enable tailoring a stepwise approach to address food system sustainability across the food value chain and help meet SDG goals. It is important to keep in mind that behavioral change in populations is a complex process since changing diet goes beyond just food to encompass religion and rituals. Therefore, careful planning is needed to nudge consumers to better-eating habits.

Q: How did you get involved in the sustainability industry and become a Nutrition Scientist? And please tell us about your journey of starting HealthyPath? Where do you see it 10 years from now?

A: As a Nutritionist by background, I’ve been always intrigued about people’s dietary habits and their link with health. My focus has been to educate about the right nutrition for better health. While working as a Nutrition Scientist at one of the top multinational food companies, I was responsible for integrating food system sustainability into business strategies and brands by focusing on agricultural practices, creating a positive water impact, and improving the nutritional profile of the food portfolio. And this is where I really developed a passion for food sustainability. Hence, I pursued a certificate in food sustainability and a master’s degree in Global Health Policy with a current thesis revolving around the enablers to transition to a healthier and sustainable diet in the UAE.

And this is where I also ventured into opening my own health policy and nutrition consultancy firm, HealthyPath, that supports organizations in both public and private sectors to address nutrition and food system challenges to be on the right and sustained path.

We help identify healthier and more sustainable innovations, create partnerships in health and food sustainability and address pertinent policies and regulations.

This comes at a time when food sustainability and public health are becoming increasingly high on the political agenda. Hence, I believe HealthyPath will have a lot to address in the coming years.

Q: How have the new agreements signed at COP26 affected the regions Food and Public Health policies? 

A: Previously, the food system and its interlinkage with public health did not receive the deserved attention from governments compared to other sectors such as energy and transportation. However, pledges made at COP26 suggested some changes. 

With world leaders making a series of climate pledges at COP26, there were new agreements to protect nature and accelerate the shift to sustainable agriculture among 45 countries and 100 high-profile companies. However, these agreements were not adopted by all governments with still limited well-defined short-term plans to meet these commitments. Moreover, addressing food system sustainability beyond agriculture and the interlinkage between climate change and health was not well flushed.

There is still an opportunity for countries aiming to achieve net-zero to seriously address the food system across the whole food chain. Transforming the world’s food systems is necessary to meet countries’ climate objectives and achieve SDGs. 

As we look to COP27 in Egypt, serious effort needs to be made on addressing the agro-food system sustainability. That includes putting strategies for more sustainable farming; promoting a healthier and more sustainable diet that takes into consideration local culture and local nutritional challenges; and reducing food loss and waste. Basically, to meet climate targets and avoid more hunger and reduce obesity, we need to change fundamentally the way we produce and consume our food. 

Q: With WenChow investing over US$200m in a food manufacturing facility in the UAE, many are sure to follow. Where do you see the public health and nutrition agenda intersecting with large food manufacturing companies? 

A: Multinational and local food manufacturers play a critical role in innovating food that is good for health and the planet. They have a responsibility to improve the nutritional profile of their food portfolio, all while adopting sustainable agricultural and production practices, improving water-use efficiency, and adopting circular packaging solutions. They also play a key role to nudge consumers towards healthier and more sustainable food choices. All this is possible through innovation in alternative protein sources, agriculture, waste management and marketing.

The pandemic showed how food supply can be easily disrupted and the role of food manufacturers to ensure food security. The food industry is an enabler to achieve “Good Health and Well-being” (SDG 3) through healthier food; “Ending hunger, achieving food security and ending all forms of malnutrition” (SDG 2) by delivering foods to disadvantaged groups and addressing local public health challenges such as iron deficiency through food fortification.

Today, most multinational food companies have their own global and regional targets across all pillars of the food system with a monitoring system in place. Eventually, we would like to see more synergy across the companies’ targets with a unified and transparent monitoring system to track progress in a consistent manner.

Q: There are many investors and investment funds interested in the agritech industry globally. As a trickle-down effect do you expect to see more investments in public food and healthcare as well as health and nutrition industries in the near future?

A: Indeed, most of the investments today are geared towards the agritech industry. We have seen the recent USA-UAE Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIMS) for increased global agricultural innovation to meet the growing population needs; as well as the UAE Food tech valley focused on agricultural technology and engineering, to achieve food self-sufficiency while ensuring sustainability and conservation of resources.

As climate change is associated with extreme weather events, disruption of food supply, worsened water and air quality, and increased diseases transmission, it is expected that rates of undernutrition, infectious diseases, respiratory allergies, and mental health effects, to all, exacerbate. Hence climate change has a direct impact on health. This is coupled with the persistent alarming rates of obesity and associated diseases (e.g., diabetes, heart diseases, and blood pressure) across the world due to consumption of High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) foods and sedentary lifestyle; all of which aggravate people’s health and add up to the dire financial bills.

Unfortunately, current investment in healthcare and public health does not reflect yet the level of urgency and the expected rise in public health issues. There is a need to invest more in that sector globally and regionally. In UAE, improving the population’s nutrition is a key pillar of the National Food Security Strategy 2051, with UAE recently committing to promote healthy foods from sustainable food systems, which is a step in the right direction. 

However, more needs to be done in the health sector while acknowledging the link between people’s health and planets’ health.