Sustainable food systems explained

We use the term food system to describe the complex, interconnected landscape of actors and resources engaged in food-related activities. We may speak about a local food system delivering part or all of the food for a particular region, or the global food system, meaning the entirety of global agriculture, food supply, and consumption.

In both cases, a food system covers the journey of food from source to table. Our food may be cultivated in fields, raised on farms, or fished from the seas. It may then be processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten, and sometimes disposed of.

The choices we make in our food systems have major impacts in other domains, including forestry, animal rearing and feed, biofuels, biomaterials, and water. In some cases, these domains compete for resources, while there is also tremendous potential for complementarity.

Food systems also have significant effects on our social and economic well-being beyond providing nutrition: they are important sources of livelihoods, key areas of economic activity, and major contributors to environmental impact.

Taking a systems approach means assessing and aligning broadly before making changes. An isolated, or non-systems, approach may lead to undesired outcomes or unintended consequences.

For example, transitioning from bulk to speciality crop cultivation may seem like a good idea to increase farmer livelihoods in a region. A systems analysis would include assessment of the potential impact of this shift on many more factors — for example, the availability of nutrition for local populations, regional market potential, post-harvest and processing infrastructure, economic competitiveness, and contributions to biodiversity.

Through a systems approach, it is possible to identify both opportunities and trade-offs across social, economic, nutritional, and environmental dimensions. Food system analysis enables us to make smarter choices, directing our resources towards interventions with the highest chance of success and the greatest positive impact.

Our global food system both sustains and strains the planet. It drives about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, uses half of all habitable land and most of the world’s freshwater, and wastes around one-third of all food produced. At the same time, it reflects deep social inequalities: billions face hunger or malnutrition while others overconsume. Climate change and conflict further threaten food security. Building fair, healthy and resilient food systems is essential for people and the planet.

1. Our food system strains the planet

Our food system has a dramatic impact on planetary health, and if we want to stay within planetary boundaries, we urgently need to reduce its environmental footprint. Globally, 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to food production and associated land-use change. We currently use 45–50% of habitable land for agriculture — 80% for livestock and 16% for food crops (the remaining 4% is used for non-food crops). Food production is responsible for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals.

Our food system is also wasteful. Globally, approximately one-third of the food produced never reaches consumers. Instead, it is lost or wasted at various stages of production, distribution, and consumption. This problem is truly global. In countries with less-developed infrastructure and supply chains, large volumes of food never reach the consumer. In high-income countries with well-developed supply chains, post-consumer waste has a major impact.

For the Netherlands, the contribution of food waste to greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at 9 megatonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year, around 5–9% of total national emissions. For every tonne of avoided food waste, 3.4 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, 220 m³ of blue water, 0.27 hectares of cropland, and 5.8 kg of nitrogen can be saved.

Sources: Environmental Impacts of Food Production – Our World in Data; The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 – FAO; Climate Footprint of Food Waste in the Netherlands – WUR Research

2. Our food system leaves many behind

Our food systems are marked by inequalities in access, quality, impact, and gender. They can — and must — become more just. Global food production is more than sufficient to feed the total world population if it were distributed equitably. Yet massive inequities remain. Between 638 and 720 million people faced hunger (i.e., regularly consuming insufficient food to lead a normal, healthy life) in 2024, approximately 8% of the global population. In the same year, an estimated 2.3 billion people were moderately or severely food insecure.

This number is expected to grow due to compounding shocks from extreme weather events, climate change, and escalating conflicts. Among children under five, 148 million (22.3%) are affected by stunting. Food is a basic human necessity, yet the global food supply follows purchasing power, leading to the coexistence of excess and scarcity both between and within countries.

Approximately 28% of the world’s employed population works in agriculture and the food sector. Yet workers in these sectors are disproportionately exposed to poverty, food insecurity, low safety standards, and a lack of social protection. The scale of required change is both a challenge and an opportunity: improving conditions across food supply chains could have a major impact on many of the world’s most vulnerable citizens.

Sources: Food Supply – Our World in Data; [Briefing Note: Food Security Worldwide – WUR]; IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land

3. Our food systems fails to deliver a healthy diet for all

The world faces a triple burden of undernutrition, overconsumption, and micronutrient deficiencies. More than one billion people are estimated to be living with obesity worldwide, while half a billion are underweight.

Obesity is strongly linked to increased morbidity and mortality, most notably from cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but also from cancer and other chronic conditions including osteoarthritis, liver and kidney disease, sleep apnoea, and depression.

Undernourishment and micronutrient deficiencies among mothers and children are leading risk factors for mortality and poor health outcomes. Estimates suggest that almost one in three women and nearly 40% of all children suffer from anaemia, despite the fact that inexpensive interventions to reduce anaemia are readily available.

Sources: Billions of People Suffer from Anaemia – Our World in Data; The Medical Risks of Obesity – PMC

4. Our food system is vulnerable to shocks

The FAO defines food system resilience as the capacity of food systems to sustainably ensure the availability of and access to food, and to sustain livelihoods in the face of disruption. With increasing pressure on the global food system, building resilience is more urgent than ever.

Climate change has already slowed the growth of agricultural productivity and is putting pressure on the availability of key commodities such as cocoa and nuts. Yields of staple crops like maize and wheat have declined in lower-latitude regions, and crop failures are expected to increase as extreme weather events, floods, and droughts become more frequent.

The burden of these changes will not be shared equally. Most of the world’s food-insecure populations live in areas with the highest exposure to climate change, where conditions such as temperature and rainfall are already challenging and opportunities to adapt are limited.

Recent years have also shown that global food supply chains are highly vulnerable to disruption from pandemics, animal diseases, economic shocks, political instability, and the threat of war. These shocks have led to price spikes and regional food shortages, highlighting the need for resilient systems that can withstand future crises.

Sources: Chapter 5: Food Security — IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land; WUR Fact Sheet – Food and Water