Sustainable food system

The large environmental impact of agriculture – such as its greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation, deforestation and pollinator decline effects – make the food system a critical set of processes that need to be addressed for climate change mitigation and a stable healthy environment.

A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic, and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable agricultural practices, development of more sustainable food distribution systems, creation of sustainable diets, and reduction of food waste throughout the system. Sustainable food systems have been argued to be central to many[1] or all[2] 17 Sustainable Development Goals.[3]

Moving to sustainable food systems, including via shifting consumption to sustainable diets, is an important component of addressing the causes of climate change and adapting to it. A 2020 review conducted for the European Union found that up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions could be attributed to the food system, including crop and livestock production, transportation, changing land use (including deforestation), and food loss and waste.[4] Reduction of meat production, which accounts for ~60% of greenhouse gas emissions and ~75% of agriculturally used land,[5][6][7] is one major component of this change.[8]

The global food system is facing major interconnected challenges, including mitigating food insecurity, effects from climate change, biodiversity loss, malnutrition, inequity, soil degradation, pest outbreaks, water and energy scarcity, economic and political crises, natural resource depletion, and preventable ill-health.[9][10][11][12][13]

The concept of sustainable food systems is frequently at the center of sustainability-focused policy programs, such as proposed Green New Deal programs.

  1. ^ SAPEA (2020). A sustainable food system for the European Union (PDF). Berlin: SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies. p. 22. doi:10.26356/sustainablefood. ISBN 978-3-9820301-7-3.
  2. ^ "FOOD SUSTAINABILITY: KEY TO REACH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS". BCFN Foundation: Food and Nutrition Sustainability Index. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  3. ^ "Sustainable food systems" (PDF). Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
  4. ^ SAPEA (2020). A sustainable food system for the European Union (PDF). Berlin: SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies. p. 39. doi:10.26356/sustainablefood. ISBN 978-3-9820301-7-3.
  5. ^ Xu, Xiaoming; Sharma, Prateek; Shu, Shijie; Lin, Tzu-Shun; Ciais, Philippe; Tubiello, Francesco N.; Smith, Pete; Campbell, Nelson; Jain, Atul K. (September 2021). "Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods". Nature Food. 2 (9): 724–732. doi:10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x. hdl:2164/18207. ISSN 2662-1355. PMID 37117472. S2CID 240562878.
    News article: "Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, study finds". The Guardian. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. ^ "If the world adopted a plant-based diet we would reduce global agricultural land use from 4 to 1 billion hectares". Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ^ "20 meat and dairy firms emit more greenhouse gas than Germany, Britain or France". The Guardian. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ Parlasca, Martin C.; Qaim, Matin (5 October 2022). "Meat Consumption and Sustainability". Annual Review of Resource Economics. 14: 17–41. doi:10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340. ISSN 1941-1340.
  9. ^ Scarborough, Peter; Clark, Michael; Cobiac, Linda; Papier, Keren; Knuppel, Anika; Lynch, John; Harrington, Richard; Key, Tim; Springmann, Marco (2023). "Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts". Nature Food. 4 (7): 565–574. doi:10.1038/s43016-023-00795-w. PMC 10365988. PMID 37474804.
  10. ^ Singh, Brajesh K.; Arnold, Tom; Biermayr-Jenzano, Patricia; Broerse, Jacqueline; Brunori, Gianluca; Caron, Patrick; De Schutter, Olivier; Fan, Shenggen; Fanzo, Jessica; Fraser, Evan; Gurinovic, Mirjana; Hugas, Marta; McGlade, Jacqueline; Nellemann, Christine; Njuki, Jemimah; Sonnino, Roberta; Tuomisto, Hanna L.; Tutundjian, Seta; Webb, Patrick; Wesseler, Justus (November 2021). "Enhancing science–policy interfaces for food systems transformation". Nature Food. 2 (11): 838–842. doi:10.1038/s43016-021-00406-6. ISSN 2662-1355. PMID 37117505. S2CID 243475557.
  11. ^ Schipanski, Meagan E.; MacDonald, Graham K.; Rosenzweig, Steven; Chappell, M. Jahi; Bennett, Elena M.; Kerr, Rachel Bezner; Blesh, Jennifer; Crews, Timothy; Drinkwater, Laurie; Lundgren, Jonathan G.; Schnarr, Cassandra (2016-05-04). "Realizing Resilient Food Systems". BioScience. 66 (7): 600–610. doi:10.1093/biosci/biw052. ISSN 1525-3244.
  12. ^ Tendall, D. M.; Joerin, J.; Kopainsky, B.; Edwards, P.; Shreck, A.; Le, Q. B.; Kruetli, P.; Grant, M.; Six, J. (2015-10-01). "Food system resilience: Defining the concept". Global Food Security. 6: 17–23. Bibcode:2015GlFS....6...17T. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2015.08.001. ISSN 2211-9124.
  13. ^ "2022 Global Food Policy Report: Climate Change and Food Systems - World | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-21.