London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The world's food crisis will not be solved until there is greater recognition that transport policy is inextricably linked to food policy, according to an article in today's Lancet.

Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine argue that a sustainable solution to the global food crisis must include measures to reduce transportation oil demand. The key to achieving real progress, they say, is greater investment in walking and cycling which will reduce oil demand and obesity levels and improve population health.

'Petrol tanks and stomachs were competing to be filled well before biofuels were proposed to tackle climate change', they say. 'Motorised transport accounts for almost half of world oil use. Because oil is a key agricultural input, demand for transportation fuel affects food prices. Increased car use also contributes to rising food prices by promoting obesity which, because fat people eat more, increases the global demand for food'.

The authors calculated how much more food energy an obese population consumes. They found that compared with a normal weight population, an obese population consumes 18% more food energy. In addition, because obese people are likely to walk less and drive more, they also burn more petrol in their cars.

They authors call for transport policies that promote walking and cycling to promote a normal distribution of BMI and to reduce transportation oil demand. Fewer obese people, they say, would reduce global demand for both fuel and food. 'Decreased car use would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus the need for biofuels, and increased physical activity levels would reduce injury risk and air pollution, improving population health', they conclude.

Ian Roberts has written to the Prime Minister, praising his recent decision to convene a Food Summit in response to the food price crisis in the developing world, but expressing concern at the small amounts of food aid proposed, which are insufficient given the extent of the crisis. He urged the Prime Minister to develop a plan to address the structural causes of the food price increases that includes interventions to reduce transportation fuel demand.