Food Sustainability: Challenges and Strategies

The global food system contributes significantly to climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions at all stages of the supply chain, from agricultural production to processing, distribution, retail, home cooking, and waste. It also leads to other major environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss and water extraction and pollution. Policymakers are increasingly aware of the need to address these concerns but are also facing a growing burden of food security and nutrition-related problems to meet the needs of a growing world population. In short, more people need to be fed better, with less environmental impact. This can be achieved by three main approaches or perspectives on the problem. Depending on how you look at it, the problem can also be conceptualized as a production challenge. In this case, we need to change the method of food production by improving the unit efficiency of food production. Consumption challenges that require changes in the nutritional factors that govern food production. Or socio-economic challenges that require changes in how the food system is managed.