WASHINGTON, D.C. — Decreasing meat consumption and empowering consumers to change government policies were among the primary points of discussion during a special event on “The Real Cost of Food.”

Food Tank is a nonprofit focused on supporting farmers, agriculture inno-vations and changing the system in an effort to provide safe and nutritious food for everyone in the world with limited damage to the environment. Danielle Neierenberg, president of Food Tank, said the panelists were from different backgrounds – farmers, restaurants owners and scientists – but everyone on the panel shared a conviction that policies could be enacted to deal with issues of hunger, obesity and diabetes. “I thought the panel was engaging and dynamic and was excited that so many people realize the urgency of this issue,” she said.

Food Tank recently released a report detailing the “real” cost of food, taking into account not just the price of fertilizer but the cost of repairing any environmental damage caused when the fertilizer is made. From algae blooms in the Great Lakes to “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico, Neierenberg said there are obvious problems but more data are needed to help point to solutions.

“Businesses are beginning to calculate their environmental footprints,” she said.

Barbara Ekwall, with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, said people need to view hunger and malnutrition as a security issue, since without proper food, people will fight to try to get more. Realizing the importance of food also ties people more strongly to the environment. “We need to listen to the voice of the farmers,” she said, adding their close ties to the land means farmers have ideas about how to protect the soil, the water and the air.

She said people talk about needing to feed the world, and the increasing population, but noted farms are already providing enough food – the problem is the food thrown away, equaling more than $1 trillion in the United States alone. This financial loss doesn’t take into account the cost of the land, the water and energy used to produce that food, Ekwall said.

“This food that was lost and wasted would be sufficient to feed 2 billion people,” she explained.

Dr. Ricardo Salvador, senior scientist Union of Concerned Scientists and director of the Food and Environment program, said current government policies are created to support businesses – not workers, not farmers and not consumers. Current farming policies don’t support environmental or worker protections, he continued, while offering exceptions such as allowing children over 12 to work in fields.

The policies in place, he said, are to allow businesses more freedoms.

Paul Shapiro, vice president of Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States, said farm animals lack protections other animals, like dogs, have in place. In many states, farmhands legally do not need training to treat the animals and this is a result of current policies.

“In the absence of rules, agribusiness producers have been in a moral race to the bottom,” he said – businesses try to be cheaper than competitors, and there is nothing in place to stop it.

Shapiro said there is only one way to make changes: By educating consumers to the point they will take action. When consumers demand fair treatment of animals, businesses will follow – such as the McDonald’s recent announcement it will use only cage-free eggs.

“It’s an important step in the right direction … but it has to be in addition to meat reduction. We’re not going to improve anything with the current amount of meat consumed,” Shapiro said.

He said rather than states trying to improve the care of animals, many have passed “ag-gag” laws, making it illegal to document and publicize the abuse of animals.

“People want to feel comfortable with how their food is produced,” he said. “Eating is a moral act. We can choose foods that harm us, or we can choose foods that heal us.”