Our food system, I wrote it to you even on another occasion, it is causing more harm than good. A pioneering report from FSEC (Food System Economics Commission) calls into question the very foundations of our relationship with food, highlighting gigantic annual losses due to unsustainable practices.
Faced with this scenario, there is a potential silver lining. Which? If we transform our food system we will move on from losses to a profit of 10 trillion dollars. $10.000 trillion and reasons to discuss it.
Food system, the current context
The current global food system with its production, marketing and consumption practices causes enormous losses: they are estimated at approximately 15 trillion dollars per year. This alarming figure is not just an abstract figure, but a real representation of the human, environmental and economic costs we are paying.
Prominent among these are the health costs associated with poor nutrition, loss of biodiversity, climate change and other environmental damage. In the words of the report, our food system “destroys more value than it creates.”
The burden of poor nutrition
As I was saying, one of the most critical aspects is represented by the health costs directly linked to our food system, which amount to approximately 11 trillion dollars per year. This figure comes mainly from diet-related non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. The report highlights in particular the growing burden of obesity, aggravated by excessive consumption of ultra-processed products and foods rich in sugars, salt and fats.
The projection for 2050? You see a 70% increase in obesity globally. That's 1,5 billion people, or 15% of the world's projected population.
The path towards sustainability
Faced with this scenario, the FSEC report (that I link to you here) proposes an alternative and saving path. Solutions include the taxation of agricultural pollution, the repositioning of subsidies towards healthy and sustainable food, the adoption of new technologies to reduce pollution it's a concrete support for small farmers.
Radical change will also require an adjustment in global eating habits, with a reduction in meat consumption, responsible for the most significant climate impact in food production.
Changing the food system, economic and health benefits
Implementing these transformations would have an estimated cost of between 200 and 500 billion dollars per year, a clearly small investment compared to the return, with the benefits of 10 trillion dollars that would derive from it.
This change could not only eradicate malnutrition by 2050 but also reduce premature deaths linked to diet-related chronic diseases by 174 million. Furthermore, there would be a greater chance of achieving the ambitious climate goals of the Paris Agreement, further contributing to improving global health.
Conclusion
This report, the result of four years of investigations, literature reviews, case studies and economic modeling by FSEC, highlights the urgency of taking the necessary actions now to build a healthier and more sustainable future.
As he states Michael Pollan, noted writer and Harvard professor, it's time to restructure our food system. It is one of the greatest opportunities to reverse decades of damage to the planet and human health.
