Recent EAT-Lancet Commission report highlights that even if global energy transition away from fossil fuels occurs, food systems would cause the breach of Paris target of limiting global temperatures to 1·5°C.
- 'Food systems' refers to all activities involved in food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal, with their economic, health, social, and environmental impacts.
Key Highlights of the Report
- Food drives Five Planetary Boundary transgressions: It includes land system change, biosphere integrity, freshwater change, biogeochemical flows, and Green House Emissions (GHGs).
- Agricultural and food systems release about 30% of total GHGs.
- Inequalities in Food systems: Richest 30% of global population contribute to more than 70% of environmental pressures from food systems.
- Case of India: Despite the decline in its economic contribution, agriculture would remain a large source of GDP and employment by 2050 and hence restructuring food systems could be more challenging due to large labour force.
Key Recommendations to Transform Food Systems
- Planetary Health Diet (PHD): It would reduce environmental impacts and nutritional deficiencies of most current diets.
- PHD is a diet rich in plants including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes with only moderate or small amounts of fish, dairy, and meat.
- Conservation Agriculture: It is the complementarity of sustainable and ecological intensification practices, with reduced soil disturbance, continuous soil cover, and crop diversification forming its basis.
- Integration of Food Systems across Key Policy Goals: Including Paris Agreement, Kunming– Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and nation- specific food-based dietary guidelines, etc.
