INTRODUCTION
The global food system is a complex web of production, processing, storage and transportation that moves agricultural and fisheries products from field-to-fork, or from capture-to-consumption, through a traditionally resource-inefficient series of activities. Scientists, policy makers and producers of food agree that these global agri-food supply chains are unsustainable and that new incentives for increasing resource efficiency in the sector are crucial to meeting the challenges before us.
CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS ON GLOBAL FOOD SYSTEM
The challenges are exacerbated by factors such as climate change and pressure to expand agriculture production into forests. Efforts to increase production are also impacting ecosystems which provide the natural biological, physical and chemical services on which resilient agricultural systems ultimately rely.
Balancing future demand and supply sustainably;
Addressing the threat of future volatility in the food system;
Ending hunger;
Meeting the challenges of a low emissions world;
Maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem services while feeding the world
To address these challenges the report highlighted several solutions:
Improving productivity sustainably using existing knowledge, technology and best practices;
Investing in new science and innovation to raise the limits of sustainable production and address new threats;
Containing the demand for the most resource-intensive types of food;
Reducing waste in all areas of the food system in both high and low income countries;
Fostering leadership in hunger reduction in high, middle and low income countries.
Improving the political and economic governance of the food system;
Making sustainable food production central in development;
Anticipating major issues with water availability for food production;
Working to change consumption patterns;
Providing incentives to the agricultural sector to address issues such as malnutrition and gender...