The world is facing a famine. According to the World Health Organization, up to 2.3 billion people (29.3%) on Earth were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021, 350 million more than before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 38 million people, including 12 million children, are food insecure in the United States, according to the USDA.
According to the United Nations, climate change and the associated storms, droughts, fires, pests and diseases are already threatening food production around the world. In addition, the world population is approaching 8 billion, placing unprecedented demands on food supplies.
Many of the ways we produce our food are major contributors to climate change. Our food system – producing food, transporting it and sending food waste to landfill – is responsible for about 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the science journal Future Foods, to meet the challenges of climate change and sustainability in food production, a transformation of the way food is currently produced and consumed is necessary to feed the growing population while limiting its environmental impact.
A 2019 report by the World Wildlife Fund and German food brand Knorr says that 75% of the world’s food supply comes from just 12 plant and five animal species, and that this dietary monotony is limiting our dietary choices and is associated with a decline in the diversity of plants and animals used in and around agriculture, threatening the resilience of our food system.
A more sustainable diet, in particular the reduction of meat consumption, could lead to an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the UN says. Better soil management, using fewer pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and growing crops that use less water are also solutions.
The Knorr Future 50 Foods report recommends a variety of plants, grains, beans, fruits and vegetables, and leafy greens that we should be eating more of because they’re nutritious, have less impact on the planet than animal-based foods, and can be affordable, accessible, and delicious be.
You may have heard of or even eaten some of these foods, but because of this, you may see more of them in the future.
