A United Nations summit on the state of the world\u2019s food systems opens today in Rome, Italy, a gathering that comes amid mounting concerns about the planet\u2019s long-term ability to feed a fast-growing human population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment<\/a>, delegates from across the planet are expected to discuss the often-devastating environmental impact of agriculture and how to make food production more sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event is a follow-up to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit<\/a>, a landmark gathering that launched a global drive to transform<\/a> the way humanity grows, processes and transports food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To better understand what is at stake at the gathering this week, we spoke with Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Susan Gardner (SG):<\/strong> Our food systems right now are unsustainable. They are a major contributor to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. For example, agriculture alone generates about one-third of greenhouse gas emissions globally. As once-wild spaces are turned into pastures and cropland, it is also responsible for over 60 per cent of biodiversity loss. To top that all off, one-third of all food produced is wasted, needlessly taxing an already stressed planet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SG<\/strong>: Food systems and nature are interlinked. Nature provides us with essential ecological services that make food production possible. That includes everything from pollination to pest control to water stability to soil fertility. We must stop nature\u2019s decline, in order to feed ourselves in the years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SG:<\/strong> Changes to our food systems, when done with careful planning, can actually help alleviate hunger and malnutrition. Sustainable food systems prioritize diverse and nutritious crops, local production and farming practices that can withstand climate change. By promoting things like agroecology<\/a>, regenerative agriculture and sustainable fisheries, we can increase food production while preserving ecosystems. This will reduce the risk of food scarcity and improve food security for vulnerable people.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe UN Secretary-General has said the world needs to quickly overhaul the way it produces food. What are we doing so wrong?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What are the long-term implications of all that?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There are 8 billion people on this planet, hundreds of millions of whom are already hungry. Is there a danger that by making dramatic changes to our food systems we might make hunger and malnutrition worse?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n