Food Sustainability

Four Conversations is an annual signature programme by the National Library where thought leaders share new possibilities for the future, while inspiring lifelong learning and the creation of new knowledge.

This resource guide has been produced to complement the conversation on Food Sustainability.

The speakers for the topic “Food Sustainability” are:

Oscar Ekponimo
Founder & CEO,
Chowberry Inc (Nigeria)

Bjorn Low
Executive Director and Co-founder
Edible Garden City (Singapore)

This session was moderated by Kelvin Wong, Co-Founder of Terra SG.

Food plays a major role in our lives and food sustainability has gained greater traction in recent years. Food systems account for over one-third of greenhouse gas emissions per year, and while two-thirds of food system emissions stem from agriculture and land use, this growing figure also includes emissions from retail, packaging, transport, and processing. ¹ Food waste also plays a major role in filling up landfills and releasing greenhouse gases. In Singapore alone, food waste accounts for 11 percent of the total waste generated per year. ² Several factors including an increased demand for food due to a growing global population, overexploitation of natural resources, adverse climate change effects, and food waste, undermine global food security and food sustainability. ³ However, consumers are also paying more attention to food that is sustainably produced. This is becoming more evident through the rise of sustainable cuisine, local food supply, and even urban farming in Singapore. ⁴

This guide provides supplementary resources for those who are keen to further explore this topic. You can also visit to search for more resources.

This resource guide was prepared in September 2021 by Winnie Tan, an Associate Librarian at the National Library, Singapore.

Websites

Changing trends in food: discovering and utilising alternative crops.
Changing trends in food: discovering and utilising alternative crops. (n.d.). Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition. Retrieved 2021, August 26

Videos

Bloomberg Green: Food of the Future - (02/05/21)
Bloomberg Green: Food of the Future - (02/05/21) (2021, February 6). Bloomberg Markets and Finance. Retrieved September 13, 2021

Future of Food - Feeding the World in a Sustainable Way Chiara Cecchini TEDxKlagenfurt
Future of Food - Feeding the World in a Sustainable Way | Chiara Cecchini | TEDxKlagenfurt (2019, October 8). TEDx Talks. Retrieved August 26, 2021

Journal articles

Food sustainability in the age of complex, global supply chains
Tai, S. (2018). Food sustainability in the age of complex, global supply chains. Arkansas Law Review, 71(2), 465-480.

Retrieved from EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete via NLB’s eResources website (myLibrary ID is required to access this article.)

Specialization in food production affects global food security and food systems sustainability
Campi, M., Dueñas, M., & Fagiolo, G. (2021). Specialization in food production affects global food security and food systems sustainability. World Development, 141(1).

Retrieved from ProQuest Central via NLB’s eResources website (myLibrary ID is required to access this article.)

eBooks

Purposely profitable: Embedding Sustainability into the DNA of Food Processing and other Businesses
Wills, B. (2016). Purposely profitable: Embedding Sustainability into the DNA of Food Processing and other Businesses. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

Retrieved from OverDrive. (myLibrary ID is required to access the eBook)

The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
Little, A. (2019). The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World. New York: Harmony.

Retrieved from OverDrive. (myLibrary ID is required to access the eBook)

Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Justice and the Global Food Supply Chain: Towards an Ethical Food Policy for Sustainable Supermarkets
Shaw, H. (2019). Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Justice and the Global Food Supply Chain: Towards an Ethical Food Policy for Sustainable Supermarkets. Abingdon: Routledge.

Retrieved from OverDrive. (myLibrary ID is required to access the eBook)

Books

Food
Parasecoli, F. (2019). Food. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. (Call no.: 641.3 PAR)

Foodwise: a whole systems guide to sustainable and delicious food choices
Berardi, G. (2020). Foodwise: a whole systems guide to sustainable and delicious food choices. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books. (Call no.: 338.19 BER -[BIZ])

Food & nutrition: sustainable food and health systems
Wahlqvist, M. L. & Gallegos, D. (eds.). (2020). Food & nutrition: sustainable food and health systems. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. (Call no.: 641.3 FOO)

All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2021.