Safe, sufficient, nutritious food for all.
A global overview
We all want our families to have enough food to eat that is safe and nutritious. A world with zero hunger can positively impact our economies, health, education, equality and social development. It’s a key piece of building a better future for everyone.
Additionally, with hunger limiting human development, we will not be able to achieve the other sustainable development goals such as education, health and gender equality.
A global perspective on food from the UN Sustainability Development goals
Extreme hunger and malnutrition remains a barrier to sustainable development and creates a trap from which people cannot easily escape. Hunger and malnutrition mean less productive individuals, who are more prone to disease and thus often unable to earn more and improve their livelihoods.
Yet more than 800 million people worldwide are currently undernourished, and this number has been rising in recent years, especially in countries most affected by conflict and by the impacts of climate change.
How is digital tech relevant to food?
Areas of tension
These are the issues, negative impacts and concerns collectively raised by the attendees from our pilot workshops.
For the digital tech workforce
- Culture of some tech teams is to motivate staff with free food and snacks, which are often unhealthy eg cakes, pizza, beer etc.
- Pressure to work long hours to acheive results can result in tech workers eat convenient, fast-food which is often unhealthy.
For the global population
- In many richer countries, tech food delivery platforms have made fast, convenient food, which is often (not always) unhealthy easier to order and have delivered.
- Public pressure for tech firms to be more sustainable can lead to them purchasing offsets. Some offset schemes have been known to push agriculutural, tenant farmers out as offsetting schemes are more profitable to those in power.
How can we nudge these tensions for the better?
Grounds for hope
These are visions and ideas for change collectively raised by the attendees from our pilot workshops.
For the digital tech workforce
- Fresh, nutrious and locally grown food.
For the global population
- Digital tech industry helps combat food waste
Keen to learn more?
If you’d like to explore these issues yourself, either as an individual or with your work colleagues, why not run your own workshop?
Our workshop methodology is open source and available for anyone to use for free. Alternatively you can hire trusted professionals to facilitate the process on your behalf.