What would it take to achieve a genuinely food-secure world—one without hunger or malnutrition, where everyone gets to consume the right quantity and quality of food to live a healthy, active, and productive life? Bringing about such a future requires transforming how our food is grown, managed, and distributed. From production to consumption, food systems must be sustainable, halting environmental degradation and even repairing the damage we have previously done.
This book provides an accessible guide to making healthy diets from sustainable food systems available to all. Glenn Denning bridges the divisive worlds of science, policy, and practice. He synthesizes the most relevant literature and shares personal perspectives and insights gained over four decades working in more than fifty countries, coupled with the real-world experience of hundreds of leading experts. Universal Food Security lays out key priorities—sustainable intensification, market infrastructure, postharvest stewardship, healthy diets, and social protection—and presents how to achieve food systems transformation.
Denning identifies the education and development of practitioner-leaders as the critical trigger of change. Universal Food Security informs and inspires those leaders—acting on their own and with others through institutions—to achieve a food-secure world. This book is an ideal handbook for students and practitioners looking to transform our food systems at all levels.
Glenn Denning is professor of professional practice and founding director of the Master of Public Administration in Development Practice program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He previously held senior management and research positions at the International Rice Research Institute, the World Agroforestry Centre, and the Earth Institute. Denning has advised governments and international organizations on agriculture, food security, and sustainable development.
Table of Contents
Preface List of Abbreviations Part I. Context 1. Prophets of Doom 2. Green Revolutions Part II. Knowledge 3. Soil and Land 4. Water Resources 5. Seeds of Life 6. Climate Change 7. Human Nutrition 8. Food Systems Transformation Part III. Strategy 9. Sustainable Intensification 10. Market Infrastructure 11. Postharvest Stewardship 12. Healthy Diets 13. Social Protection 14. COVID-19 and Food Security Part IV. Implementation 15. More than a Miracle 16. Learning to Lead Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index
