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By 2030, we will all be eating healthy and sustainably produced food. That is the goal of , a lecturer in Future Food Systems at HAS ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� of Applied Sciences. She leads the ‘Transition to a Sustainable Food System’ research project, in which 30 scientists are working with external parties, such as companies and NGOs. Arjan Stegeman, Professor of Farm Animal Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, is also involved in the project. We spoke to Praasterink and Stegeman about the food of 2030. How do we become more sustainable? What is needed from consumers? And is there a role for animals in the food of the future?

What will be on our plates in 2030?

‘We’ll be eating more plant-based and less animal-based food,’ says Praasterink. ‘More grains, vegetables, fruit and nuts, and less meat, eggs and dairy. To achieve this, we need to charge the proper price for food. At the moment, unhealthy, unsustainable products are the cheapest. That has to change. It makes sense to factor the social costs of production and consumption into the price and to compensate farmers for more sustainable production practices.’ Stegeman backs her up with an example. ‘Cows release ammonia into the environment, but this is not reflected in the price of milk.’ Praasterink: ‘If sustainable products are the cheapest, we’ll no longer have to keep trying to encourage consumers to opt for sustainability, which is very difficult to do. In any case, not everyone can afford to pay for expensive, sustainable products. If we factor in the costs to the planet, sustainable products will be the cheapest and people will automatically consume more of them.’

Millennials seem to be able to inspire those around them to eat more sustainably and waste less

Will we still be eating animals in the future?

‘Yes, we can still eat animals and animal products like eggs and dairy,’ says Stegeman. ‘We certainly need to reduce our consumption of these products substantially, but we definitely don’t need to stop eating them completely. After all, food production creates a lot of waste that is not suitable for human consumption. Animals can play a key role in processing these waste flows. They add value to them. We’ll obviously monitor the health of the animals closely, because changing their diet has a direct impact on their health. We’ll also keep a close eye on the emergence of infectious diseases. As vets, we play a key role in the transition to a sustainable food system.’

So, consumers will have to eat in a radically different way, but we’ve all been eating too much meat, fat, sugar and salt and too little fruit and vegetables for years. This has proved a difficult habit to change. Are you confident that consumers can make such a U-turn?

Praasterink: ‘The statistics say otherwise. Meat consumption is going up rather than down. This is happening particularly in middle- and low-income countries, but in the Netherlands as well. The price mechanism can help adjust people’s behaviour. I also have high hopes of millennials. This generation, which includes our students, is well aware of the challenges that society is facing. They seem to be able to inspire those around them to eat more sustainably and waste less food. They volunteer in sustainable agriculture and forest gardens.’

Stegeman is less optimistic. ‘I suspect getting less environmentally engaged members of the public on board will be a huge challenge. Food is an integral part of our culture. When you meet up with friends, chances are it will involve food in some way. It follows that good vegetarian alternatives, role models and tasty recipes are important.’

How do you eat yourselves?

‘I’m married to a vegetarian, so I don’t eat meat very often,’ says Stegeman. ‘I do eat dairy and eggs, but that’s allowed, isn’t it? A fellow scientist from Wageningen has calculated that 21 grams of animal protein per person per day is best for the environment. That’s far less than we consume at the moment.’

Praasterink has been a vegetarian for 20 years, has her own vegetable garden and is in the process of creating a forest garden. ‘Even in January, we’re still eating several vegetables from the vegetable garden. I started out as a horticulturist, so growing plants is in my blood. There’s always something to grow. We try to be partly self-sufficient, but I also go to the supermarket.’

Besides plant-based food, what else can we expect to see in 2030?

Praasterink: ‘Farming will be more circular and nature-inclusive. Circular means closing the cycle from “farm to fork” and no longer importing animal feed from South America, for example. Nature-inclusive agriculture means making a positive contribution to biodiversity and the quality of soil and water. It’s about not only using nature, but also conserving and caring for it.’

She immediately debunks a myth around the transition to sustainable food systems: ’There probably won’t be a single big-bang transition. In the agricultural sector, for example, there are already many examples of sustainable food systems, short chains between farmers and consumers and pilot schemes such as paying farmers for ecosystem services. We can learn from this, scale up certain projects and adjust regulations.’

‘About 90% of agriculture uses the same production system,’ adds Stegeman. ‘Intensive agriculture focuses on quantity and low price. This needs to be more diverse. New production systems often present new challenges, but as long as the systems are diverse, it doesn’t matter if one particular system doesn’t work. Others will make up for it.‘

Praasterink: ‘Our hope is that everyone gets excited about the transitions and wants to be part of them, and that new forms of agriculture are not based on fear of climate change or nitrogen problems, but on a shared, positive vision of the future.‘

Albert Heijn’s veg pots were brilliant

When is a sustainable system of this kind a success?

Stegeman: ‘Currently, we’re exhausting the earth’s resources. A circular system can be sustained from generation to generation. That’s what makes it successful. Some people think that humanity will end in the same way as the dinosaurs: each species tries to become as big as possible, ultimately leading to its downfall.’ He laughs: ‘Frederike and I are not resigned to that yet.’

Praasterink: ‘We’ve lost the connection with nature, the region and the farmer. Food is a way of reconnecting with it. I thought Albert Heijn’s veg pots, for example, were a brilliant initiative. Whenever I’m invited to speak somewhere, I often ask the audience who has started using them. Almost everyone puts their hand up. If I then ask who has actually been able to eat the produce from them, only a few people say they have. The veg pots highlight the fact that growing food takes a lot of time and effort. That’s something we’ve forgotten.’

What is the biggest barrier to a transition to sustainable food systems?

Praasterink: ‘There will be multiple barriers, and we’ll be investigating those. Earlier research highlighted issues like the lack of role models in the field of nature-inclusive agriculture in the farming sector. Currently, a good farmer is someone who produces a large number of kilos per hectare or litres per cow. We’re focused on productivity and maximising returns. Returns are defined in financial terms only. We must slowly move towards a paradigm that focuses on the health of the planet, people and animals. Clearly, there will be countless barriers, but there are enough initiatives that show there is a viable business model for this. We don’t have to start from scratch. We can start with all the initiatives, all the entrepreneurship and all the innovations that are already there.’

If farmers were paid ten cents more per kilo for their products, they could produce in a responsible way

Do you encourage all existing initiatives?

Praasterink: ‘We’re keen to work with a wide range of partners in the sector, for example to promote biodiversity or healthy food environments. Integrating all these sustainable perspectives and coming up with an ultimate vision for the “perfect” food system, with all its subsystems, will be a challenge for us. Nevertheless, we must have the courage of our convictions and, having weighed up all the arguments, move the discussion in the right direction.’

If readers want to help with the transition to sustainable food systems, what should they do?

Praasterink: ‘Eat more plant-based foods and don’t waste food. Eat food that’s in season and ideally organic. Buy fair-trade products from abroad, such as chocolate or coffee. And value your farmer.’

How do you ‘value’ your farmer?

’Buy regional produce. The farmers deserve it, they work so incredibly hard. Not only that, but they’re trapped in the system. They want to produce more sustainably, but they’re not paid enough for sustainable alternatives.’

Stegeman: ‘Although this wouldn’t be difficult. If farmers were paid ten cents more per kilo for their products, they could produce in a responsible way.’

Praasterink: ‘Many consumers don’t know that their purchasing behaviour can help maintain the natural ecosystem, with biodiversity, clean water and healthy soil. Our buying habits make all the difference!’

This is an article from Vetscience issue 10 (in Dutch).