Miller Magazine Issue: 140 August 2021

36 MILLER / august 2021 NEWS being fed exclusively on breast milk - the world is not on track to achieve targets for any nutrition indicators by 2030. Other hunger and malnutrition drivers In many parts of the world, the pandemic has triggered brutal recessions and jeopardized access to food. Yet even before the pandemic, hunger was spreading; progress on mal- nutrition lagged. This was all the more so in nations affected by conflict, climate extremes or other economic downturns, or battling high inequality - all of which the report identifies as major drivers of food insecurity, which in turn interact. On current trends, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World estimates that Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger by 2030) will be missed by a margin of nearly 660 million people. Of these 660 million, some 30 million may be linked to the pandemic's lasting effects. What can be done As outlined in last year's report, transforming food systems is essential to achieve food security, improve nutrition and put healthy diets within reach of all. This year's edition goes further to outline six "transformation pathways". These, the authors say, rely on a "coherent set of policy and investment portfolios" to counteract the hunger and malnutrition drivers. Depending on the particular driver (or combination of drivers) confronting each country, the report urges policymakers to: • Integrate humanitarian, development and peacebuilding policies in conflict areas - for example, through social protec- tion measures to prevent families from selling meagre assets in exchange for food; • Scale up climate resilience across food systems - for ex- ample, by offering smallholder farmers wide access to climate risk insurance and forecast-based financing; • Strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable to eco- nomic adversity - for example, through in-kind or cash support programmes to lessen the impact of pandemic-style shocks or food price volatility; • Intervene along supply chains to lower the cost of nu- tritious foods - for example, by encouraging the planting of biofortified crops or making it easier for fruit and vegetable growers to access markets; • Tackle poverty and structural inequalities - for example, by boosting food value chains in poor communities through technology transfers and certification programmes; • Strengthen food environments and changing consum- er behaviour - for example, by eliminating industrial trans fats and reducing the salt and sugar content in the food supply, or protecting children from the negative impact of food marketing. The report also calls for an "enabling environment of gov- ernance mechanisms and institutions" to make transformation possible. It enjoins policymakers to consult widely; to empow- er women and youth; and to expand the availability of data and new technologies. Above all, the authors urge, the world must act now - or watch the drivers of hunger and malnutrition recur with growing intensity in coming years, long after the shock of the pandemic has passed. China's use of wheat in feed is expected to stay high as the grain retains a price advantage over corn, agriculture ministry official Song Danyang said. China's 11 outbreaks of African swine fever this year prompted it to cull 2,216 pigs, said Xin Guo- chang, of the husbandry bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. There was a risk of the virus spreading from overseas, he added. "The control and prevention situation is still severe and complicated," Xin said of the disease that reached China in August 2018, and warning that the risk of its rebound persisted. China's herd of 439 million pigs at the end of June was 99.4% of the level at the end of 2017, said minis- try official Zeng Yande, who heads development and planning, as the country rebuilds the herd decimated by the African swine fever. The sow herd of 456.4 mil- lion at June-end was up 102% on the end-2017 figure. China's use of wheat in feed seen to stay high