We Are What We Eatartforthoughts.org/downloads/we-are-what-we-eat.pdf · education systems, social protection, and efforts to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality. Scaling Up Nutrition,

We Are What We Eat

We Are What We Eat

The “We Are What We Eat” exhibition presents the human right to food and the concept that the world is facing

threats from both ends of the spectrum of food security and food safety, from the continuously high populations

suffering from malnutrition, to the toxicity of many populations’ overconsumption of unhealthy foods. The exhibition

showcases artworks, photographs, and installations that convey the concept of food safety and security, reflecting on

how these concepts are linked not only to population health and well-being, but also to economic and social

platforms such as human potential and productivity.

Nearly 30 percent of the world’s population suffers from some form of malnutrition, over 800 million people are still

unable to meet their daily calorie needs and about one in nine people go to bed daily on an empty stomach. Those

who do not get enough energy or key nutrients are unable to sustain healthy, active lives. Malnutrition is not limited

to the poor and over nourishment is not just a luxury of the wealthy. Poor nutrition crosses economic lines and leads

to health problems caused by eating too little, eating too much, or having an unbalanced diet that lacks essential

nutrients for a healthy life. This exhibition is developed to highlight the global necessity for food and agriculture

practices that are adequate, secure, and safe.

"We Are What We Eat” is organized by Jack Brewer, Ambassador for Peace & Sport for the U.S. Federation for

Middle East Peace, in collaboration with Aaron Levi Garvey of Savannah College of Art and Design, with support

from the Permanent Mission of Grenada to the United Nations.

How we choose to grow, process, distribute and consume the food we eat has a profound effect on people, planet,

prosperity and peace.

Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

Secretary-General's message on World Food Day 2015

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 795 million people of the 7.3 billion

people in the world were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2014-2016.

The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) took place in November 2014 in Rome with the theme

“Better Nutrition, Better Lives”. The Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the Framework for Action were established,

aimed to create and strengthen national policies to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms, by transforming food

systems to make diverse and healthy diets available to all. Following, the United Nations Global Nutrition Agenda was

launched and linked to the ICN2 outcomes, alongside the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, and outlined contributions

to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The United Nations Global Nutrition Agenda (UNGNA), launched in June 2015 by the United Nations Standing

Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN), aligns UN agencies in support of global and national nutrition goals. The UNGNA

aims to strengthen overall action towards the goal of ending malnutrition in all its forms. The Agenda highlights the

ten core principles, guiding the United Nation’s work on nutrition, including that good nutrition is important for

education systems, social protection, and efforts to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality.

Scaling Up Nutrition, or SUN, is a unique Movement included in the UNGNA, founded on the principle that all people

have a right to food and good nutrition. It brings people together—from governments, civil society, the United Nations,

donors, businesses, and researchers—in an effort to improve nutrition. Countries are putting the right guidelines in

place, working alongside partners to implement programs with shared nutrition goals, and organizing resources to

effectively scale up nutrition.

September 2015 marked the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda calls in Goal 2

to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. By 2030, the

success of this goal will end hunger and ensure that all people have access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all

year. Delivering on the promise of the 2030 Agenda will not be possible without focused progress towards ending

hunger and undernutrition.

In September 2015, Liu Bolin was selected to create a special artwork by the United Nations-backed Global Goals

campaign to launch an initiative to end world hunger, poverty and other meaningful targets. The United Nations Sustainable

Development Goal 2 aims to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable

agriculture”. This global goal serves as an important step towards zero hunger and ushering in a new era of sustainable

development. Malnutrition imposes high economic and social costs. While 2 billion people do not consume enough vitamins

and minerals, obesity rates have doubled over the past 30 years. Some 1.4 billion people are overweight, and 500 million

obese. Feeding a growing global population while sustaining the planet poses a significant challenge but with the right

partnerships, systems and practices, it can be achieved.

The Future, 2015, Archival pigment print, 53 1/4 x 70 7/8 inches (135 x 180 cm)

Project Everyone, Global Goals | The Future | Liu Bolin (China)

Bolin’s work is often concerned with food safety, an issue that has cropped up in a big way in the past five years in China.

The widespread and growing fast food industry throughout industrialized countries has resulted in the consumption of ultra-

processed foods. Over consumption of processed and fast foods results in weight gain, obesity, various cardiovascular

health problems and heightened risk of Type 2 diabetes. The global prevalence of diabetes in 2014 was estimated to be 9%.

WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030.

Hiding in the City is a photography series that depicts different food issues/topics, 46.5 x 59 inches (118 x 150 cm)

Hiding in the City | Puffed Food | Liu Bolin (China)

Understanding

Hunger and

Malnutrition | FAO

2014

Peking Opera masks are traditional forms of art that are used to depict heroes, legends, and gods found in Chinese

history and culture. They are symbolic reflections of Chinese society and its values. By recreating these masks with labels

of popular food and drink products seen throughout China, Liu Bolin addresses the rapidly changing, highly

commercialized values of Chinese society. By adding a necessary layer to these works—welding masks—Liu Bolin

speaks to the dangers Chinese face in their contemporary society. Currently, many people worldwide do not trust product

labeling and certification because of bad certification processes which directly affect food safety. There are over 200

diseases caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, and chemical substances. With constant

risk of food and drink contamination, eating and drinking can feel as dangerous as working with molten hot metal.

The Mask series includes 100 Masks of plastic and vulcanized fibre, 15 ¾ x 9 ⅞ x 5 ⅞ inches (40 x 25 x 15 cm)

On display 10 Masks from the series (number 37,140, 117, 123, 131, 125, 136, 152, 155, and 156) .

Mask Series | Mask No. 37 | Liu Bolin (China)










Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. Antioxidants are

important nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables shown to have multiple health benefits, such as prevention of

cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Organic agriculture offers an alternative that improves agricultural

performance and provides better access to food, nutritional adequacy, environmental quality, economic efficiency, and

social equity. The Sustainable Development Goal 2 aims to ensure sustainable food production systems and implement

resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, help maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity for

adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and progressively improve land and

soil quality. This is crucial if agricultural production in developing countries is to rise by 56% by 2030 to meet nutritional

needs.

Hiding in the City is a photography series that depicts different food issues/topics, 46.5 x 59 inches (118 x 150 cm)

Hiding in the City | Vegetables | Liu Bolin (China)

Food Loss and Waste

Facts | FAO 2015

The “Sugar Children" series consists of photographs of drawings Vik Muniz made in sugar on black paper, of children whose

parents and grandparents have worked on the sugar plantation on the island of Saint Kitts in the Caribbean Sea. Sugar was

the traditional mainstay of the St. Kitts economy. However, confronted with a sugar industry that was facing difficulty in

earning profits, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis officially closed the sugar industry in 2005 and embarked on a program

to diversify the agricultural sector and stimulate the development of other sectors of the economy. Growth in agriculture is

one of the best ways to spur the kind of economic growth that reduces poverty.

Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, 13 3/8 x 10 1/2 inches (34 x 27 cm)

The Sugar Children Series | Valentine, The Fastest | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

The “Sugar Children" series consists of photographs of drawings Vik Muniz made in sugar on black paper, of children

whose parents and grandparents have worked on the sugar plantation on the island of Saint Kitts in the Caribbean Sea.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (“End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and

promote sustainable agriculture”) aims to double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in

particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers by 2030. This can be achieved through

secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and

opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.

Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, 13 3/8 x 10 1/2 inches (34 x 27 cm)

The Sugar Children Series | Jacynthe-Loves-Orange-Juice | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

The “Sugar Children" series consists of photographs of drawings Vik Muniz made in sugar on black paper, of children

whose parents and grandparents have worked on the sugar plantation on the island of Saint Kitts in the Caribbean Sea.

Family and small-scale farming are a vital player in the journey to worldwide food security. Family farming preserves

traditional food products, while contributing to a balanced diet and safeguarding the world’s agricultural biodiversity and the

sustainable use of natural resources. Family farming also represents an opportunity to boost local economies, especially

when combined with policies focused on social protection and well-being of communities. The 2014 International Year of

Family Farming (IYFF) was established to raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farming by focusing world

attention on its significant role in eradicating hunger and poverty, providing food security and nutrition, improving

livelihoods, managing natural resources, protecting the environment, and achieving sustainable development, in particular

in rural areas.

Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, 14 x 10 inches (35.5 x 25.5 cm)

The Sugar Children Series | Lil’ Calist can’t swim | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

Muniz uses a subtly deceptive series of portraits featuring smiling children made from sugar. The “Sugar Children” are

child laborers whom the artist befriended in the Caribbean, and in this work, he contemplates their future as workers in the

cane fields. Small farmers produce much of the developing world's food, yet they are generally much poorer than the rest

of the population in these countries, and are less food secure than even the urban poor. Although rapid urbanization is

taking place in many developing countries, farming populations in 2030 will not be much smaller than they are today.

Dealing with poverty and hunger in much of the world means confronting the problems that small farmers and their families

face in their daily struggle for survival.

Photograph, Gelatin Silver Print, 14 x 11 inches (35.5 x 28 cm)

The Sugar Children Series | Valicia bathes in Sunday Clothes | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

In our world today, and to an ever-increasing extent in the years to come, no product sold on the market can be developed

without taking into consideration its impact on the environment. This statement is particularly valid for a food product such

as sugar, given the rising interest and growing markets for natural and organic products obtained through practices, both in

agricultural and industrial farming, in which the use of chemicals and damage to the local and global environment are

avoided or used at a minimum. Currently, 103 countries produce sugarcane, and 15 countries devote 25% or more of their

land to sugar. Globally, the area planted has more than doubled since 1960 and sugar is the first or second most valuable

export for 13 countries.


The Sugar Children Series | Big James Sweats Buckets | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

Until 2000, agriculture was the mainstay of employment around the world. Since then, the gap between the services sector

and agricultural sector has widened. Although employment growth in agriculture has slowed, over 1 billion people are

employed in world agriculture, representing 1 in 3 of all workers. Poverty is the principal driver of the high rate of child labor

in agriculture. Around 60% – 129 million girls and boys – work in agriculture. In St. Kitt’s and Nevis, the elimination of trade

agreements led to the closure of the sugar industry in 2005, which employed 12.5% of the labor force. Investments in

agricultural research and development (R&D) have had very high rates of return, and can play an important role in

alleviating hunger and poverty.


The Sugar Children Series | Ten Ten’s weed necklace | Vik Muniz (Brazil)

In Guapísimas, Pepe López maps global interactions. By painting and weaving retail industry logos on traditional

Venezuelan baskets, López utilizes marketing strategies to illuminate the realities of global production, connecting a

commercial image with its forgotten origin. These baskets, symbols of indigenous culture that are traditionally used to carry

food, have been stripped of their customary function to become the very product of consumption, ultimately engaging in the

global trade itself.

A number of coffee chains worldwide aim to use coffee that is ethically sourced.

Guapas baskets and acrylic paint, 22 ½ x 22 ½ inches (57 x 57 cm)

Guapísimas | Starbucks 2004 | Pepe López (Venezuela)

By painting and weaving retail industry logos on traditional Venezuelan baskets, López utilizes marketing strategies to

illuminate the realities of global production, connecting a commercial image with its forgotten origin. Venezuela has over the

last decade invested $142 billion in food programs that have distributed over 25 million tons of food items to 65% of the

population. Today, 95.4% of Venezuelans eat three meals a day. Venezuela has also been recognized for its role in

providing technical assistance to other nations striving to similarly meet millennium targets for eradicating hunger.

A number of fast food chains are now serving more fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains.

Guapas baskets and acrylic paint, 39 x 39 inches (99 x 99 cm)

Guapísimas | Mc Donald’s 2004-2016 | Pepe López (Venezuela)

Added sugars in processed food and drinks play a key part in the growing problems of obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.

Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less

than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits. Free sugars are any sugars added to foods or

drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit

juice concentrates.

A number of global beverage brands have reduced the average amount of added sugars per serving.

Guapas baskets and acrylic paint, 23 ½ x 23 ½ inches (60 x 60 cm)

Guapísimas | Pepsi Cola 2004 | Pepe López (Venezuela)

Today, the world faces a double burden of malnutrition that includes both undernutrition and overweight, especially in

developing countries. Hunger and inadequate nutrition contribute to early deaths as well as impaired physical and brain

development in the young. At the same time, growing rates of overweight and obesity worldwide are linked to a rise in

conditions that are life-threatening and very difficult to treat in places with limited resources and already overburdened

health systems.

A number of fast food chains work with local communities worldwide to address hunger relief, children's health, and safety.

Guapas baskets and acrylic paint, 19 ½ x 19 ½ inches (49.5 x 49.5 cm)

Guapísimas | Dunkin Donuts 2004 – 2016 | Pepe López (Venezuela)

Our Food and Agriculture

in Numbers | FAO 2013

Livestock support the livelihoods of livestock keepers, traders, and laborers throughout the developing world. Diseases

affecting livestock can have a devastating impact on animal productivity and production, trade of live animals, meat, and

other animal products, on human health and, consequently, on the overall process of economic development. Sustainable

Development Goal #2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture)

outlines the goal to increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure,

agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks, in order to

enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.

Serigraph, 22 x 30 inches (56 x 76 cm)

Produce | Blue, 2010 | Jim Draper (United States)

Agriculture is being affected not only through the growth of livestock production but also through other sectors, such as

crops and fisheries. Globally, livestock production is the largest user of agricultural land, with grazing land and cropland

dedicated to the production of feed representing almost 80% of all land designated for agricultural purposes. Feed crops

are grown in 1/3 of total cropland, while the total land area occupied by pasture is equivalent to 26% of the habitable land.

The world’s livestock sector is growing at an alarming rate and the driving force behind this is a combination of population

growth, rising incomes, and urbanization. Annual meat production is projected to increase from 218 million tons in 1997-

1999 to 376 million tons by 2030.


Produce | Otto, 2010 | Jim Draper (United States)

Livestock contribute 40% of the global value of agricultural output and support the livelihoods and food security of about 1.3

billion people. The growth and transformation of the livestock sector offers opportunities for agricultural development,

poverty reduction and food security gains, but the rapid pace of change risks diminishing smallholders, and creates

additional fundamental risks to natural resources and human health. All factors must be addressed to ensure sustainability.


Produce | Mary, 2010 | Jim Draper (United States)

Growing populations, rising affluence and urbanization are translating into increased demand for livestock products,

particularly in developing countries. Global demand is projected to increase by 70 percent to feed a population estimated to

reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Much of the growth in demand is being supplied through rapidly expanding modern forms of

intensive livestock production, but traditional systems continue to exist. Demand growth presents opportunities for an

estimated 1 billion poor that depend on livestock for food and income.


Produce | Job, 2010 | Jim Draper (United States)

About 30% of livestock breeds are close to extinction. About 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost

since 1900. As large-scale commercial farming operations increase, they could displace small-scale livestock farmers,

worsening rural poverty and food insecurity. With the world population expected to reach 8 billion by 2030, pressure on the

environment will continue to mount. The challenge of the coming years is to produce enough food to meet the needs of an

additional 2 billion people while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base upon which the well-being of present

and future generations depends.


Produce | Red, 2010 | Jim Draper (United States)

What the

World Eats

| FAO 2015

Burtynsky’s photograph looks at the tradition of dryland farming carried out over many generations in the north-

eastern part of Spain. It's an agricultural region where the land is semi-arid, sparsely populated and prone to both

droughts and high winds. Despite a scarcity of water, generations of farmers have continued to farm, so the photos

depict the contrast between nature's untamed forces and man's attempts to harness it. Currently, 1/3 of the world's

population lives in countries that are experiencing water shortages. The water crisis is the #1 global risk based on

impact to society, as announced by the World Economic Forum in January 2015. Burtynsky’s hope is that these

pictures will stimulate a process of thinking about something essential to our survival; something we often take for

granted—until it’s gone.

Chromogenic Color Print, 48 × 64 inches (122 x 163 cm). Framed 50 x 66 inches (127 x 168 cm)

Water Series | Drylands Farming | Mongeros County, Aragon, Spain 2010 | Ed Burtynsky (Canada)

About the Artists

Liu Bolin (China)

Liu Bolin is a Chinese multimedia artist and social activist. He has created hundreds of photographs for his “Hiding in

the City” series across the world, painting and blending himself into backgrounds of intrigue and discussion. In

September 2015, he was selected to create a special artwork by the United Nations-backed Global Goals campaign to

launch an initiative to end world hunger, poverty and other meaningful targets.

Vik Muniz (Brazil)

Born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1961, Vik Muniz is recognized for his photographs of reimagined, largely art historical

imagery, which he creates out of a wide variety of materials—from chocolate and sugar to junk and toys. His work has

been exhibited widely throughout the globe and is included in numerous international public and private collections,

including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Tate Gallery, London; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo,

Brazil; and Fondation Cartier pour L’Art Contemporain, Paris.

Pepe López (Venezuela)

Pepe Lopez is a Venezuelan visual artist who was born in 1966, who lives and works in Paris and Caracas. He

received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the Metropolitan University in Caracas and studied for

two years in the master’s program in Philosophy from the Simon Bolivar University. López founded and co-edited the

Latin-american literary magazine Criterion. Pepe López is a complex artist, and his work is based on a vast trajectory of

diverse transmutation. López explores aspects of the map of the social spectrum through the translation of aesthetic

codes, while developing his perception and concepts in a prolific variety of mediums, such as installations, objects,

collages, paintings, performances, photography, tapestry, video and sculptures.

About the Artists

Jim Draper (United States)

Jim Draper grew up in Kosciusko, Mississippi, the geographical center of the state. His work, which includes drawing,

painting, photography, video and writing, is informed by journeys into the wilds of Florida and Georgia. He attended the

University of Mississippi, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1974, and received a Master of Fine Arts

degree from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1978. Based in Jacksonville, he is currently a full time faculty

member and exhibition director/curator for the University of North Florida’s galleries, both on campus and at the annex

gallery in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Jacksonville.

Ed Burtynsky (Canada)

Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada's most respected photographers. His remarkable photographic depictions of global

industrial landscapes are included in the collections of over sixty major museums around the world, including the

National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Reina Sofia

Museum in Madrid, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California. Burtynsky was born in 1955 of Ukrainian

heritage in St. Catharines, Ontario. He received his BAA in Photography/ Media Studies from Ryerson University in

1982, and in 1985 founded Toronto Image Works, a darkroom rental facility, custom photo laboratory, digital imaging

and new media computer-training center catering to all levels of Toronto's art community.

Documents

We Are What We Eatartforthoughts.org/downloads/we-are-what-we-eat.pdf · education systems, social protection, and efforts to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality. Scaling Up Nutrition,