| dc.description | 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. | en_US |
