Feeding the World. Security and Sostenibility in Global Food Production

In recent decades, food production has evolved into a complex system of industrial processes as a result of both the need to supply an ever-growing population and because of the business opportunities offered by the new globalised markets. Accordingly, the distance between producer and consumer has steadily been increasing and we know less and less about the products we are eating. The false abundance of a market that offers products from all around the world tends to conceal processes that often give rise to doubts about the chemical substances used in food conservation or to enhance flavour or appearance. The consumer’s knowledge of, and decision-making capacities about food are undermined by a barrage of contradictory information and difficulties in understanding the complex technological aspects of food production. In addition, many aspects of industrial food production endanger the environment and agricultural diversity while also bringing about great social inequality. This situation always brings us back to the same question: what should we eat? How much can we trust the food products we buy on a daily basis? Can biotechnology contribute towards healthier eating and a more just world food system?

With the aim of contributing towards the debate about the way we eat, B·Debate and CCCB offer this approximation to the ways in which the food we consume is produced and its impact on our health and the environment.