Generated Summary
This journal article discusses the challenges and opportunities in creating sustainable food systems to ensure nutritious diets for everyone while protecting natural resources and mitigating climate change. It is based on the perspectives from the global network of science academies, particularly the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), and synthesizes findings from five peer-reviewed reports. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach, considering food and nutrition security and agriculture (FNSA) within the context of other global challenges. The research emphasizes the need for strong political commitment and effective coordination at local, regional, and global levels to address key knowledge gaps and support the transformation of food systems. The IAP FNSA initiative is unique in its focus on identifying key priorities in science, technology, and innovation, including institutional, social, and technical innovation, and its perspective draws on the five IAP FNSA reports, connecting local-regional-global issues. The article highlights the role of science academies in setting research and policy priorities, emphasizing evidence-based solutions and the importance of regional and global networks.
Key Findings & Statistics
- The number of people with insufficient food is increasing, with 820 million people affected. (FAO, 2018)
- Malnutrition is a factor in one in five preventable deaths (Naghavi et al., 2017).
- Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of the land surface, and 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals.
- Floods are predicted to affect 1.6 billion people by 2050 (from 1.2 billion today), while land degradation, desertification and drought are already considered the most significant category of “natural disaster” affecting today an estimated 1.8 billion people (UN, 2018).
- The EAT-Lancet Commission’s universal reference diet is mainly plant-based, with a low to moderate amount of seafood and poultry, and little or no red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables (Willett et al., 2019).
- Up to one billion smallholder farmers rely on livestock for their livelihood.
- Oceans provide only 2 percent of the calories and 15 percent of protein consumed by humans.
- Eighty billion pieces of new clothing are purchased each year.
- About one-third of the use of natural resources is linked to interregional trade.
- Almost a third of resources used and a quarter of the global GHG emissions are displaced through trade (Wood et al., 2018).
Other Important Findings
- Unhealthy diets are associated with malnutrition, including undernutrition and overconsumption leading to obesity, and consumption of low-quality diets.
- Food systems contribute to environmental degradation through greenhouse gas emissions, misuse of resources, and loss of biodiversity.
- A fundamental change is needed to meet food and nutrition security targets and improve health outcomes while staying within planetary boundaries.
- The IAP FNSA initiative identified key priorities in science, technology, and innovation to support the transformation of food systems.
- There is a need for better data and regular monitoring to inform policy actions and integrate interventions at national and regional levels.
- Fragmentation of food-related research systems is observed in all regions.
- The article highlights “hotspots” for research and policy intervention, including the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region and the Caribbean island states.
- The shift from a sectoral, top-down approach to a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral, bottom-up and context-specific approach is needed.
- There is a broad consensus on the need to shift from a sector-specific approach (usually agricultural production) towards a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral approach.
- The article emphasizes the need for science and innovation, and the sharing of these resources across borders, as a global public good.
- The role of trade in the sustainability of food systems and the need to address non-tariff trade barriers are also highlighted.
Limitations Noted in the Document
- The article acknowledges the limitations of current data, including inconsistent datasets and the challenges in quantifying the interconnections between environmental, social, and political factors.
- The need to improve the knowledge base for the sustainable harvest and culturing of marine resources.
- The authors also note the fragmentation of food-related research systems, which can hinder progress.
- The reliance on trade to meet domestic food demands, and the resulting environmental impacts.
- The study’s reliance on the five IAP FNSA reports.
- The need for more detailed analysis and clarification of sustainable and healthy diets.
Conclusion
The article underscores the urgent need for transformative changes in food systems to ensure both human health and environmental sustainability. The study emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral approach that considers the complex interplay of factors at local, regional, and global levels. Key priorities include promoting healthy diets, understanding production and utilization issues, and capitalizing on opportunities in biosciences. The IAP FNSA initiative’s recommendations highlight the need for strong political commitment, leadership, and coordination, as well as a focus on science and innovation, to drive progress. The study stresses the importance of addressing the food-energy-nutrients-water-health nexus and consolidating international science advisory mechanisms. The work underscores the critical role of science academies in shaping the research agenda and fostering collaboration to tackle the multifaceted challenges of food and nutrition security. “Vision without action is a daydream, and action without a vision is a nightmare,” and the IAP urges strong political commitment, leadership and coordination for addressing today’s challenges. All the sectors of society need to take part in transforming the way we produce and consume food.