3 Steps to Fix the Broken Food System

There are steps that governments can take to work towards putting the food system on a more regenerative path.

In a comment piece in Nature, SDSN Executive Director Guido Schmidt-Traub, IIASA Ecosystems Services and Management Program Director Michael Obersteiner, and IIASA and SDSN researcher Aline Mosnier outline the three steps required.

The authors, who urge scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders to adopt the three-pillars for sustainable food and land-use systems to overcome fragmentation, suggest governments and researchers do the following:

1. Agree on a framework – based on three pillars: efficient and resilient agriculture and fisheries; biodiversity conservation and restoration; and healthy diets. All are equally important and interdependent.
2. Build national models – countries need data and tools to develop coherent national policies. Governments should collect data on land use, soil and water resources, biodiversity, carbon stocks, transport infrastructure, climate impacts, consumption patterns and food waste. International trade in agricultural products should also be included, to identify imbalances.
3. Build a global network – efforts need to be coordinated to collectively meet the aims of the SDGs and Paris agreement, with training and the exchange of knowledge between countries, as supported by the Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land Use and Energy (FABLE) Pathways Consortium.