1413. Planetary Health Approach to Transforming Global Food Systems

A paper published in The BMJ emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration based on a planetary health approach to transforming global food systems.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to achieve global food security by eradicating world hunger, improving nutrition, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices. However, as of 2024, more than 673 million people are suffering from hunger, the majority of whom are in Africa and Asia. This situation is exacerbated by climate change, conflict, economic shocks, and rising food prices. Extreme weather events caused by climate change, such as droughts, floods, and heat waves, are devastating crop yields. Meanwhile, conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, are affecting agricultural production and exports. Vulnerable societies in the Global South, including smallholder farmers, face reduced food supplies and access, declining food nutritional value, increased food- and water-borne diseases, and growing poverty and inequality. Without action, it is predicted that by 2050, an additional 183 million people will be at risk of hunger due to the climate crisis, which is exacerbating multiple stressors on the food system.

There are bidirectional links between food systems and climate change. Climate change has negative impacts on food systems, but food systems are one of the most significant drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to deforestation and land-use change, biodiversity loss, the rapid expansion of the livestock sector, and the extensive use of fertilizers and other pesticides, which also contribute to freshwater pollution. While concerns about the unsustainability of the global food system are growing, institutional silos, lack of coordination between sectors that govern the food system, budgetary shortfalls, and policy fragmentation are perpetuating this unsustainable state. These blind spots tend to exacerbate ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and food system crises, exacerbating food and nutrition crises, livelihood insecurity, and social inequalities.

There is consensus that the current food system is unsustainable and is not delivering nutritional, health, and environmental outcomes for all people, everywhere. We must forge a new, shared vision for making food systems work for people and the planet, including by expanding the role of women, indigenous communities, and other historically marginalized groups, who produce approximately 60 to 80 percent of food in developing countries. The food system of the future must reflect and respect the diversity of people, cultures, food traditions, and nature, and serve as a foundation for regenerative agriculture, sustainable natural resource use, climate action, and the health of the planet. This requires systems leadership that recognizes the complex interrelationships within food systems and other interconnected systems such as water, energy, environment, and health, managing trade-offs and creating synergies.

Bold action is needed to support local food producers in producing more food sustainably, to help indigenous communities revive lost food traditions, and to integrate nutritious but underutilized crops into food systems. It also requires ambitious thinking to develop new policies and strategies to promote inclusion and equity for vulnerable groups. The essay called for bold and ambitious thinking, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration based on planetary health that integrates environmental sustainability, public health, and social equity, to address the complex nexus of climate change, food systems, nutrition, and health.

(Reference)
Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, From crisis to action: a new shared vision for the future food system.
BMJ 2026; 392 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r2531

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki, Information Program