RT Report
T1 The Role of Business in Transforming Food Systems
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A2 Lu, Shirley
A2 Ng’ombe, Assan
A2 Griffiths, Andrew
A2 Villela, Felipe
A2 Oveisi, Nicole
K1 food production
K1 climate change
K1 air pollution
K1 land degradation
K1 biological diversity
K1 sustainable agriculture
K1 food loss
K1 food waste
K1 food security
SN 978-92-807-3883-4
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/36755
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/36755
NO Food plays a crucial role in all our lives, not only in supporting our physical and mental health, but also the health of our environment, cultures and economies. While our food systems have evolved in an attempt to provide plentiful food at comparatively low prices. This approach has largely relied on chemical agricultural inputs, monocropping and linear rather than circular models, resulting in environmental impacts, including: Food systems have a significant environmental footprint, occupying 50 per cent of habitable land, consuming 70 per cent of available fresh water, being responsible for 70 per cent of biodiversity loss and generating between 21 and 37 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Seventy-seven per cent of agricultural land is used for meat production, with 13 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions attributable to livestock production. The resilience of food systems is under growing threat from soil degradation, pollinator loss, water scarcity, extreme weather events and increased susceptibility to loss from pests and disease. The global population is expected to reach between 9 and 10 billion by 2050, resulting in the need for an additional 50 per cent more food calories to feed this growing and more affluent population. A third of all food produced globally is still lost or wasted at some point along the value chain, generating 8–10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
NO https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/geo-business-brief-role-business-transforming-food-systems
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 17, 2026