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Wicked problems: the challenge of food safety versus food security—working towards the SDG goals?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 1091–1094 (2019)Cite this article

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I was brought up on a dairy farm and then a poultry farm, and we always had a vegetable garden for our own meals. Therefore, I understood the reality of where our food came from and also the importance of caring for and feeding well the animals and the plants that were part of our food and also livelihood. When I left school at the end of 1968 at the age of 17 years I did not know what I “wanted to do”, but I knew that I wanted to work with people and be helpful in some way; help save the world! At that time women had had the vote in New Zealand for 76 years, but equality did not and still does not exist in many ways. For instance, even though I took maths, physics, biology, and chemistry classes and did well, it was not expected that I would go to University. The main options for women to go on to further training were nursing or teaching, but stop when children were born. Instead, I searched the vocational guidance files and joined the Physiology team at the Greenlane Hospital and trained as a cardiopulmonary technologist. This included part-time and after-work study at the local technical institute for a New Zealand Certificate in Science. This work and study laid the foundation for understanding the importance of accurate and precise measurement to provide evidence for diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. With the advent of children I left this work. Maternity leave, unpaid, had just been introduced but childcare was not easily available. As time evolved, I taught, part-time, anatomy and physiology to nurses in the technical institute training programmes, but I always wanted to know and understand more about how the amazing human body worked and health. In my 30s without an undergraduate degree I gained a Master of Science in physiology exploring the interaction of exercise and immunity in rats and humans. Then, before I turned 50 I completed a PhD in physiology investigating differences in energy expenditure, metabolism, and body composition in young Māori, Pacific, and European women. This investigation used stable isotopes to measure total energy expenditure (the doubly labelled water technique) [1] and metabolic fuel mix [2]. I boldly (for me) approached Andy Coward at the Dunn Nutrition Research Centre for help with the doubly labelled water calculations. He kindly agreed for me to visit the Dunn, and one of the outcomes is that I have been involved with the International Atomic Energy Agency Human Health and Nutrition section starting with cooperative research projects. I met people from all over the world at IAEA meetings, which were held in Guatemala, Bangalore, Vienna, and Kingston Jamaica, and, more recently, have hosted in New Zealand researchers from Mauritius, Seychelles, India, Mexico, Uganda, and South Africa. After completing the PhD, my academic career expanded into eclectic research interests spanning ethnic differences in body composition across the lifecycle, growth trajectories of children, energy expenditure at rest, diet, and physical activity, and finally evolving and morphing, over the past 20 years, into interventions to improve health, from randomised controlled trials to service delivery in the real world. A diabetes prevention programme with the indigenous people of New Zealand, Te Wai o Rona [3], Project Energize, and Under 5 Energize are the best examples of this journey [4]. The Energize physical activity and nutrition health service, started in 2004, is now reaching over 800 primary schools and early childhood centres and 70,000 children in New Zealand. Supported by research, Energize is funded by the public health system as a health service, and has showed benefit in time to run 550 m [5] and dental health [6]. Opportunities to be involved in these large-scale nutrition and physical activity interventions I accepted enthusiastically as I wanted to be “doing something” rather than just talking about it. Through these experiences I feel I am able to better see the big picture and the wicked problems and challenges related to nutrition that we all face.

We know that the best way to health is to breathe clean air, that is, not smoke, undertake daily physical activity, eat wholesome food, drink clean water, and to have less stress. Less stress is related to fellowship and socialisation, being loved, and sleeping well. These are the four Fs—fingers, feet, food, and fellowship. This ideal “lifestyle” can only happen if the environment is supportive. Examples of supportive environments are found in the Blue Zones [7] where life is long and well-being sustained across the lifecycle. This is not the reality in the majority of the world including New Zealand. It is not as easy as saying eat of variety of wholesome foods, in sensible quantities and mainly plants, nor it is a lifestyle choice—or even a community choice.

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Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to Isaac Amoah for help with the first ideas and the sustainable development goal figure.

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  1. School of Sport and Recreation, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Elaine Rush

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Correspondence to Elaine Rush.

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Rush, E. Wicked problems: the challenge of food safety versus food security—working towards the SDG goals?. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1091–1094 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0352-2

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