Pandemics, war in Europe, and the climate crisis have made it clear that our food supply is vulnerable.

The Total Preparedness Report from the Norwegian government highlights that food supply is essential for national preparedness, and the Office of the Auditor General has pointed out serious deficiencies in Norway's ability to secure food supplies during crises.

We have vast food resources in the sea, on the fields, in the wilderness, and in the barns – and we have the potential for more. But for these resources to meet the population's nutritional needs and safeguard public health during crises, we need a much more holistic approach to food preparedness and food systems than we have today to ensure actual access to safe and nutritious food for everyone.

Food preparedness in the north must also encompass the entire chain: from food production, on land and at sea, and all the way to the dinner table. Because good nutrition is good public health. And good public health is also good preparedness.

The food supply in the north is vulnerable

More than half of the food we eat in Norway is imported. In Troms, only seven per cent of the food we eat is produced locally. Even in peacetime, this can be a challenge. In times of crisis or war, it could have dramatic consequences.

The number of active farms in Northern Norway has halved over the past 20 years. Fewer farmers mean weaker local food preparedness. Valuable knowledge about food production in the north could disappear.

Northern Norway is a major producer and exporter of seafood, but both fisheries and aquaculture are also affected by climate change and environmental considerations, just like agriculture. This could significantly impact food production and food security in the region.

A warmer climate may lead to increased agricultural production, while fish species disappear due to warmer seas. How this will play out overall is something we do not know today.

A complex picture

Food production is not only influenced by sector policies for agriculture and seafood. In addition to climate change and environmental management, transport and regional policies are also important. Even if there is fish in the salmon pens along the coast, they will not reach those who are supposed to eat them if the roads are closed.

It is a long way from the pen to the plate, and the fish has to be transported to those who will eat it.

Food production and food preparedness depend on decisions in many areas. Such decision-making processes can be marked by strong conflicts between different parties and considerations.

Livestock production is the backbone of agriculture in Northern Norway, but the national dietary guidelines recommend eating less meat for the sake of climate and health. In such tensions, we must be willing to make difficult choices: What should weigh heaviest? Climate, health, or local food security and settlement? Settlement is also preparedness.

Nutritional security is more than food volume

Nutritional security means that everyone – at all times – has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets the body's needs. It is not just about producing enough food, to but ensure that it actually reaches the tables of those who need it.

High production volumes do not necessarily mean accessible and usable food for everyone during crises. Access to food also depends on economics, knowledge, and priorities. In peacetime, diet and nutrition-related health are unevenly distributed. Those with the least resources often have poorer diets and worse health than those with higher incomes. In a crisis, these inequalities could be exacerbated.

Preparedness that ensures nutritional security is not just about producing food to store in emergency stockpiles. It is about enabling people to live dignified and healthy lives – even when the world is shaken.

The future of food preparedness must safeguard public health

Northern Norway has historically been something of a food basket. Rich seas and favourable conditions for agriculture have attracted migration to the region – including Kvens from Finland and people from Østerdalen in southern Norway. Now it is important to secure and develop not only food production and settlement but also nutritional security to maintain good public health.

Northern Norway needs its own analyses and solutions because we have great opportunities. We have vast natural resources, strong local communities, and competent professional environments.

The research project Resilient North starts now and will last for four years. We will research food security and preparedness in the north to generate knowledge that enables the region and Norway to handle various crises and changes.

We will examine how food production from sea and land can be affected by different conditions, both in peacetime and in potential future crises. We will link this to dietary habits and health data from large population studies such as the Tromsø Study and the Women and Health Study to gain more knowledge about the effects on public health.

Together with the County Governors of Nordland and Troms and Finnmark, as well as the Agricultural Cooperative in the North (Landbrukssamvirke Nord), we will contribute to strengthening preparedness in our region.

Our goal is to create knowledge that can support decision-making – and make us better prepared to face an uncertain future.

Not just with more food. But with better understanding, better collaboration – and better public health.

We will endure. This time too.

Magritt Brustad, Professor Dr Scient og project manager for Resilient North, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Frøydis Gillund, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)

Eirik Mikkelsen, senior researcher at Nofima