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Since 2023, it has become quite common to catch the scent of freshly made granola wafting through the halls of student dormitories at the George Washington University. You might even see undergraduates in a culinary medicine course taught by the medical school or international relations students debating the concept of culinary diplomacy. This shift can be attributed to the establishment of the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University (GW), founded nearly three years ago by the renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés.
The Global Food Institute at GW operates across multiple colleges on the belief that food is embedded in many of our world’s issues; the hardships we experience through food are expressions of conflict, health, equity, economic justice, and climate. Yet food is a powerful connector that can transcend some of those complicated issues.
“Show me what you’re eating, and I can tell you where you’re from or what you’re about. We can look at the world coming through on the plate,” often says José Andrés. Through his humanitarian organization, World Central Kitchen, he has seen the ugly face of conflict and natural disasters that disrupt the food system and leave people without food. Where governments respond more slowly, World Central Kitchen has shown up right away, quickly hiring local people and using local foods. Once regular trade channels are restored and some normalcy returns, the organization turns it over and leaves.
“José Andrés is a doer, and he’s seeking to change the world through the power of food,” says Stacy Dean, the Carbonell Family Executive Director of the Global Food Institute, as we meet over Zoom. A logical next step for José Andrés to drive the future of food was in the arena of education. The George Washington University, located in the nation’s capital, is distinctive for its connection to the world of public policy. José’s goal is that in 10 years, we will have key congressional staffers, members of Congress, heads of agencies, and even a future President who graduated from George Washington and was educated in food leadership.” Dean adds, “We want our future leaders to be aware of the problems they inherit in our food system as well as have the commitment and passion to tackle these issues.” The students, together with the people in the field they are trying to assist, identify the problems and seek solutions to accelerate it all the way up to policy.
Every community has people and resources it can leverage. But policy helps us address, as Dean points out, the gap between where we are and where we want to be. And she adds that we need students to think about the whole system rather than silos. You can’t learn the entire thing in one college—trade, humanitarian work, or food packaging. Having visibility across the whole system is essential. For example, a food product’s packaging design may contribute to climate change, influence affordability, or depend on supplies from another country, creating vulnerabilities. Dean concludes, “I believe that raising students’ awareness of all these issues will equip them to be more effective food leaders in the future, driving the urgent change we need.”
The urgency is significant. “It’s time to start eating real food again,” the health secretary stated during a speech in Pennsylvania two weeks ago. The new U.S. administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has released new Dietary Guidelines for Americans that address processed foods and introduce new rules. For instance, they now require convenience stores to carry specific items. However, countries such as Sweden and the UK are pulling together food system frameworks and national food policies that encompass the entire food system, rather than focusing on the Department of Health or Agriculture. “There’s a bit of a reckoning going on that the proper function of the food ecosystem can’t all be market-driven. We all need a reset on what we are trying to achieve. We must ensure that our values are correctly reflected in our food systems and policies,” says Dean.
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Dean shares that she did not eat a fresh cherry until she was 19. Until then, the only cherries she had tasted were maraschino cherries, which her parents would buy for cocktails. They would allow the children to enjoy them straight from the jar. When Dean turned 18, she moved to Michigan, and one summer, she visited a cherry farm with a friend and tried her first fresh cherry. “It was magical,” she recalls with a smile. She appreciates that in today’s food system, people can now buy and enjoy cherries across the country. Food is an essential part of life’s joy, but she poses an important question: “How do we find a balance so that we don’t feel the need to have fresh cherries every day of the year?” According to Dean, this is partly the conundrum that leads to distortions in the food system.
Yet Dean acknowledges that our current food system is incredibly efficient. We have access to a wide variety of foods from around the world—something that wasn’t the case for many people in their childhoods—and prices have historically been low. However, Dean argues that this focus on efficiency and productivity has come at the expense of other important values. One of these values is equity, specifically in terms of shared access to affordable food. Another is the availability of healthy food. Additionally, the food system significantly contributes to climate change, and we still lack solutions for how to increase food production as the population grows and available land decreases without further harming the planet.
I mention that many grassroots food initiatives in cities are working to reclaim the food system from excessive industrialization. Dean also believes that concentration in production and processes is a result of a system that prioritizes efficiency. The COVID pandemic, she asserts, revealed vulnerabilities in our distribution system when it faced disruption. A system that connects local farmers and markets may be better able to adapt to shocks and disruptions.
“I’m not suggesting that we need to revert completely to a system where everything is local,” she explains, as snow blankets the ground outside her window, which perfectly illustrates her point. Dean believes that a more vibrant marketplace with diverse options for producers would provide consumers with greater choices and ensure fair compensation for farmers. She emphasizes that the intermediaries between farmers and consumers have significantly influenced our food system.
“It seems to me that we must address several issues in order for consumers to access affordable, healthy food while ensuring that farmers receive fair compensation for their efforts in growing and producing that food.”
Dean worked at the Department of Agriculture and has spent a great deal of time with farmers. She admires them greatly, stating, “They do extraordinary work for very low margins, and their efforts are fundamental to our well-being.” However, she explains that many farmers struggle to make a profit; they often have to earn off-farm income to get by. They continue farming out of love or as part of a family tradition, but it poses the question of whether they are producing what people want.
This past summer, farmers across Europe, particularly in Germany, experienced a bumper potato harvest. In fact, some farmers even handed out free potatoes on street corners in Berlin. According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the national yield totaled 13.4 million tonnes—over two million tonnes above the average and the highest harvest in 25 years.
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Overproduction is not uncommon in agriculture. In addition to favorable weather conditions, farmers in Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands collectively expanded potato planting by approximately 40,000 hectares compared to the previous year. They were encouraged by traders who overlooked the fact that demand for deep-fried chips and crisps—previously booming—was starting to flatten in Europe, as noted by a potato industry analyst at DCA Market Intelligence. While the shift towards healthier food choices is positive for consumers, it poses challenges for farmers unless they adapt by switching to different products.
The world is constantly changing, and consequently, markets change as well. Dean emphasizes, “We want our farmers to be able to farm and contribute. However, this raises a larger question about the entire system. Being a farmer doesn’t guarantee that you can continue to do things the way you always have.” This may mean that farmers need to reconsider and change what they grow or diversify how they earn income on the farm.
It also means that the government can support farmers by the way we buy food from them. The government purchases a significant amount of food for schools, hospitals, and military bases, all of which is subsidized by taxpayers’ money. Dean suggests that one way to increase farmers’ incomes and build resilience into the local food system would be for the government to allocate a portion of its food purchases to local suppliers. While buying from individual local farmers can be more complicated than purchasing from big companies that supply food from distant locations, it can make a big difference to local farmers and businesses. Michigan provides an example where schools receive incentive funds to buy food from local farmers. Students get fresh, delicious, locally grown foods, and government funds stay in the community supporting local farmers.
Dean emphasizes the importance of voters reflecting on their values and encouraging policymakers to align spending decisions with those values. She argues that the lowest price does not always equate to the highest quality or best value for communities. “Farmers should be able to make a decent living for their contribution to society’s well-being,” she says.
