Speaker
Description
Abstract
Here we examine the interdependencies between food and water security. We specifically analyze the impact of the food security strategies of an importing country on the water security of its trade partners. The example of Germany highlights the complex and interconnected nature of the system, demonstrating that this limitation extends beyond a single country. Based on our findings, addressing national food security demands developing a system thinking and nexus approach to acknowledge and encompass the existing intricate interdependencies among water and food security.
Keywords: food security, water security, trade and interdependencies, nexus thinking
Introduction
National Food basket, eating local and food diversity
Like many other nations, the German food basket has dramatically changed over the last century. The consumption of lesser proportions of potato (~78%) and bread (~43%) and greater proportions of oil (~1142%), fruit (~66%), vegetable (77%), egg (148%), and meat (34%) from 1900 to 2021 has translated to outsourcing food from trade partners (Figure A-1). Furthermore, the most recent food-based dietary guidelines of Germany encourage a higher diversity of food and consumption of vegetables and fruit for a healthy population (Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) . National dietary guidelines are often based on health principles and economic conditions rather than sustainable management of natural resources (including water).
International trade, technological advancement, and an imbalanced tradeoff between eating local and promoting food diversity, no matter of the origins, potentially lead to extra pressure on water resources, particularly in trade partners. The imported virtual water is mainly through import of the fruits and derived products, followed by Beverage crops and spices (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Virtual water (green and blue) imported by Germany from countries with a water stress index higher than Germany grouped based on the FAO main animal and crop product categories ,
Food security in Germany - It refers to the nutrition circle as Germany’s food guide . The German in-house food basket contains - without beverages and candies - 79 different foods, grouped into eight food categories namely bread and cereals, meat and meat products, fish and fish products, milk and dairy products, fats and oils, fruits, vegetables, and sugar (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2011). However, this food basket has dramatically changed over time (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Consumption of food products in Germany for 1900 and 2021 (per capita) (downloaded from DBV. (December 5, 2022). Per capita consumption of food products in Germany in 1900 and 2021 (in kilograms) .
The DGE (German Nutrition Society) Nutrition Circle reflects the size of the segments as a measure of the quantity of each food (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Modified from percentage of crop and animal products (excluding drinks) for different segments of the nutrient cycle in Germany11.
Methods and Data:
We used descriptive comparative analysis to estimate the amount of the net virtual blue water imported by Germany from countries with higher levels of water stress than Germany (Figure 4) through the import of animal and crop products. The estimated values are categorized into eleven groups based on the FAO main Food groups (Figure 5).
The virtual water trade data used in this paper was extracted from Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2010; Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2011 and Mekonnen and Hoekstra 20125–7. This report quantified the water footprint per ton of crop at national and sub-national levels (m3/ton) between 1996-2005. To identify the water-stressed countries, the SDG 6.4.2 indicator data for 2019 was used . The list of countries with export of animal and crop products (type and quantity) to Germany for 2019 was downloaded from FAOstat . To categorize the estimated data, FAO main Food Groups are used .
Results and discussion
Intertwined Concepts of Water and Food Security
Overlooking the intertwined impacts of water and food security nexus poses a major challenge in measuring the extend of national food security. No quantitative or qualitative scale exists able to account for the simultaneous impacts of achieving or improving the status of water and food security nexus, like in the case of Germany´s food partner trades (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Spain, etc.) which have higher levels of water stress than Germany. Our assessment reveals that one-third of the countries exporting crop and animal products to Germany face levels of water stress higher than Germany (Figure 4). It shows that the importance of externalizing water use (rising virtual water trade) and its adverse effect on trade partners to level up in national food security are indeliberately overlooked.
Figure 4. Level of water stress countries exporting crop and animal products to Germany, 2019 (levels of stress severity: no stress <25%; low 25% - 50%; medium 50% - 75%; high 75-100%; critical >100% .
Blue virtual water trades
To understand the extent of pressure on water resources, we assess blue water resources, individually. Knowing that the blue water is the main concern in water-scarce countries, as it directly affects the availability of water for human use, economic activities, and the majority of ecosystems, about 94% of the blue water exported to Germany from nations having a water stress index higher than Germany is supplied by just ten countries (Figure 5), with approximately 44% of it coming from Spain.
Figure 5. Virtual blue water exported to Germany from countries with a water stress index higher than Germany(>33.5%), 2019 .
Conclusion:
The overlooked assessment of food security from the perspective of water-stressed trade partners highlights the need for a wholesome approach with a global nexus perspective that considers synergies and tradeoffs between water security and food security.
This argument extends beyond one country; it pertains to a global perspective and calls for the adoption of a systemic thinking approach to comprehend the fundamentals of system thinking and its inherent complexity. Overlooking system thinking and the interdependencies between food and water security lead to imbalanced trade and resource distribution, ultimately favoring some at the expense of others. Integrated and coordinated approaches that consider the interconnected nature of the food and water security are essential for effective implementation and progress towards achieving national food security.
