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New report highlights critical food system trends and challenges in countdown to 2030
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Saturday, 18 January, 2025, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Geneva, Switzerland
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A groundbreaking new study, ‘Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030’, published in Nature Food, presents the first comprehensive analysis of change since 2000 in key food system indicators.
Lawrence Haddad, executive director of GAIN, said, “This new report reveals a mix of encouraging advancements and concerning setbacks, underscoring the urgency of accelerating food systems transformation. As this report shows, trade-offs are inevitable between food system goals such as jobs, climate, nutrition, food security and resilience. But with stronger governance and better data these trade-offs can be mitigated and even flipped into synergies. This report helps us to understand how to do this and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
The peer-reviewed research was conducted by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI), a collaboration of leading experts and organisations, coordinated by Columbia University, Cornell University, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). The resulting report tracks 50 food systems indicators across the world, organised into five themes: 1) diets, nutrition, and health; 2) environment, natural resources, and production; 3) livelihoods, poverty, and equity; 4) resilience; and 5) governance.
Key Findings
Encouraging progress in resilience and nutrition
Twenty of the 42 metrics analysed over time have improved, and notable achievements include significant increases in access to safe water and the availability of vegetables. Conservation of plant and animal genetic resources has also risen, bolstering the resilience of food systems to climate shocks and other disruptions.
Emerging concerns: Food price volatility and government accountability decline
Seven indicators show significant decline, including increased food price volatility, worsening government accountability, and decreased civil society participation. These shifts suggest challenges in maintaining stability and policy coherence amid global crises.
Interactions drive complex outcomes
The report highlights how changes in one area, such as governance or diet quality, affect other areas, emphasising the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral approaches. Case studies from Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Netherlands illustrate the local relevance of these dynamics.
A Call to Action
Mario Herrero, professor and director of the Food Systems & Global Change Program, Cornell University, said, “This report sheds light on the ways different areas of food systems are related and interact, which is critical in understanding how we can focus our efforts to maximise synergies, manage trade-offs, and avoid unintended consequences.”
The report identifies governance and resilience as pivotal leverage points for food system transformation. Targeted improvements in these areas could catalyse positive changes across other indicators, amplifying global progress.
Jessica Fanzo, professor of Climate and director of the Food for Humanity Initiative, Columbia Climate School, said, “We need wholesale reform of our food systems so we can provide the world’s population with the nutritious food needed to grow and develop. We are facing a syndemic of challenges: increasing diet related disease, continued undernutrition, and a changing climate. Combating these requires significant and rapid change. This study is so important because it shows the speed of change so far, to guide more action because we can only manage what we measure.”
José Rosero Moncayo, chief statistician and director of the Statistics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said, “This report provides a clear roadmap for evidence-based policymaking. As we enter the final five years of the SDG process, we have to double down on areas of progress while addressing persistent gaps, keeping the interconnectedness of food systems at the forefront. At the same time efforts are needed to improve the pool of indicators we have at our disposal to describe and analyse different elements of the system. As the report points out, the Countdown Initiative has a strong commitment to filling the current data gaps.”
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