UNDP Food & Agricultural Commodity Systems’ Post

Food systems are more than production and consumption—they are dynamic, interconnected networks influencing the environment, economies, and communities. Our latest blog explores how adopting an agri-food systems approach can help stakeholders move beyond linear value chains to more holistic, sustainable practices. Discover how a systems thinking can empower farmers, academics, and policymakers to make decisions that drive long-term resilience and equity in food production and distribution. 📖 Dive into the blog now and explore how we can build better food systems together. 🔗 Read the full blog: https://bit.ly/499yB6R #SustainableAgriculture #AgrifoodSystems #SystemsThinking

👉 Check out this study! 🥑 Is a food system transformation possible, and what does this food transformation mean? ´The Big Food Redesign´, written by the MacArthur Foundation might offer a glimpse of what our food system may look like in the future.      🥕 Amongst other interesting points, the study highlights ecosystem thinking: “A key component is moving from looking at individual ingredients in isolation to understanding the wider ecosystems they belong to. This means designing in partnership with farmers to ensure that the reality of evolving farm systems is considered.” The study goes beyond by offering concrete steps on how to achieve this.    👩🌾 A most insightful and easy read that is beautifully designed. A great source of inspiration for #ReGen55! a collaborative effort between AGREA Agricultural Systems and ProFound that aims to create knowledge interchange between actors in the food & ingredients value chains. Read along!        #ThisIsProFound #AdvisersInDevelopment #CircularEconomy #RegenerativeFarming #ReGen55!  

🌍 Uncovering the True Cost of Food: Insights from The State of Food and Agriculture 2024 🌾 The FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture 2024 builds on last year’s findings, underscoring the importance of true cost accounting to make agrifood systems more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. The 2023 report revealed that agrifood systems activities, while generating societal benefits, also impose hidden economic, social, and environmental costs amounting to roughly 10% of global GDP. The 2024 report delves deeper, providing updated data and a detailed breakdown of costs linked to unhealthy diets and non-communicable diseases across 156 countries. Through six agrifood system categories and case studies, the report highlights the uneven benefits and costs of transforming food systems and the need for targeted policy interventions. Importantly, it calls for inclusive stakeholder consultations to address power imbalances and guide strategic action. Only through cross-sectoral partnerships—from producers to consumers—can we reshape agrifood systems to benefit people and planet alike. #FAO #TrueCost #SustainableFoodSystems #SDGs #CrossSectoral #ZeroHunger

🍽️ Transformation of #food and #agriculture!🌱 The world's population is growing rapidly, and with it the need to make our food more sustainable. 🌾 How can we ensure a healthy and sustainable food supply within planetary boundaries? Simone Poppe, New Food consultant and member of the  DLG e.V. - German Agricultural Society committee New Feed & Food, talks about the urgent need for change and how business, science, politics and consumers can manage this change process together. 💡 📑 Read the review on German at: https://lnkd.in/eTiYPHJT

ELEVEN (11) NEW PEER-REVIEWED STUDIES ON CARBON TAX AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS, AUTHORED BY 51 DIFFERENT SCHOLARS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. Served as guest editor for a special issue of the prestigious Trends in Food Science and Technology, set to be released in January, focusing on carbon pricing, food supply chains, and food affordability. This issue features an impressive collection of eleven peer-reviewed articles. Below is my editorial, which will accompany the release. Please read it carefully—we now have the science. Editorial Excerpt: "Carbon pricing is both a catalyst for sustainability and a potential disruptor of equity. Studies highlight the dichotomy of carbon pricing's impact, demonstrating how it can indirectly promote sustainable farming practices while disproportionately burdening low-income households. This underscores a critical tension: how to achieve environmental objectives without deepening socio-economic inequalities."

Our new article has just been published open access in Agriculture and Human Values. This piece came out of conversations with brilliant local food partnerships and Sustainable Food Places, in collaboration with Peter Jackson Kelly Parsons, Selina Treuherz and Gareth Roberts, funded by TUKFS. In this article we explore the ways that local food partnerships are navigating food systems change in practice and how they embed normative values across their work. Full text available here: https://lnkd.in/eA3fmTSW ShefFood Bristol Food Network CIC Heloise Balme Regather FixOurFood Leon Ballin Gilly Brenner Kelsey Broomhead Callum Etches Syama Wynn Louise Delmege

In a study by the Global Institute for Food Security, Saskatchewan, a world leader in adoption of minimum tillage production, was found to lead the world by a country mile in sustainable production practices: billions of dollars in sequestered carbon! Rewarding carbon sequestering production instead of taxing us is a brilliant tool. Canada should lead this adoption. Instead, the carbon tax is making our farmers uncompetitive globally! And, food more expensive for Canadian consumers. Agriculture is the solution! Thank you for the study!

Would love to see more of this and discussions on the best approach. As a tax partner and consumer, we need to find a solution that does not create a greater cost. #mnptax

Dive into the latest insights from the Westies in our newest blog, 'Leveraging Your Certifiable Success.' Learn how certifications and sustainability reports are driving change in the food and agriculture industry and discover how businesses can tell their authentic story through transparency and commitment to sustainability. Read the full blog now: https://lnkd.in/gJKkQ6Yi

Interested in learning more about food systems? Check out these books 📚 A Call to Farms by Jennifer Grayson The Farmer, the Gastronome, and the Chef: In Pursuit of the Ideal Meal by Daniel J. Philippon Against the Grain: How Farmers Around the Globe Are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World and Heal the Planet by Roger Thurow From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture by Stephanie Anderson The Blue Plate: A Food Lover’s Guide to Climate Chaos by Mark J. Easter In Search of the Perfect Peach: Why Flavour Holds the Answer to Fixing our Food System by Franco Fubini