Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems

Zurek, Monika; Hebinck, Aniek; Selomane, Odirilwe

doi:10.1126/science.abo2364

Cited by 108 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Climate change conditions such as rising temperature, severe drought and increased flooding all pose a threat to food security (Nottingham et al, 2020; Zurek et al, 2022), especially for the most under‐developed countries such as in sub‐Saharan Africa (Qin, 2022). Climate‐smart soil management strategies can mitigate these risks (Hou, 2022b; Nyagumbo et al, 2022).…”

Section: Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable soil management for food security

Hou

2023

Soil Use and Management

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Section: Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Mitigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable soil management for food security

Hou

2023

Soil Use and Management

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“…CC has deleterious impacts on agriculture, natural habitats, water resources, food supply, and people (NOAA, 2019;WWF, 2021). Consequently, taking immediate, robust, and sustained action against CC is crucial (Lubchenco & Kerry, 2021;Zurek et al, 2022).…”

Section: Climate Change (Cc)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The market–society–policy nexus in sustainable agriculture

Díaz-Siefer

Fontúrbel²,

Berasaluce³

et al. 2022

Environ Dev Sustain

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Intensive agriculture has led to several environmental impacts, such as soil erosion, water scarcity, and pesticide pollution. Despite the increasing research advocating greener agriculture, the transition into sustainable agriculture practices has been slower than expected. Then, why are we stuck in this transition? In this scientific essay, we aimed to answer this question not only by analyzing agricultural systems but also by the associated actors. Specifically, this scientific essay analyzed and discussed how agricultural systems integrate with the surrounding market, society, and policies. We made a literature review of the impacts of intensive agriculture on global change and an analysis of greener agricultural systems. Then, we analyzed how the market, society, and policies can influence the transition from intensive agriculture to greener agricultural systems. In addition, we complement that literature review with a survey made in Chile. Our analysis highlighted ecological intensification (EI) as the most promising production system in terms of sustainability. However, the most sustainable was not necessarily the most supported by the market and society. We found a disconnection between consumers' environmental concerns and what they support when buying foodstuff. Our survey showed that most people are aware of soil degradation and high-water consumption, but above all, they want pesticide-free and organic food attributes. The literature review and survey results suggested how policies can break the status quo of intensive agriculture predominance. Thus, we propose a market–society–policy nexus to promote sustainable agriculture. Our suggestions are: (1) Policies should support sustainable agricultural systems at the landscape level to safeguard the ecological processes involved in agricultural production. (2) Markets should standardize eco-labels, improve clarity in foodstuff information, and relate environmental benefits to consumer benefits. (3) A subsidy on sustainable food is needed to keep the regular market prices and attract new consumers, at least in the early stages.

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“…Decision-making can often be highly technical and top-down, omitting sections of society, especially the poorest. Implementing change in food systems and for climate change mitigation is hampered by skewed power relationships and vested interests (Zurek et al, 2022). Food systems, which also provide the livelihood for the majority of the world's poor, are right at the intersection of hunger, poverty, environmental goals, and underpin resilient societies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A low-carbon and hunger-free future for Bangladesh: An ex- ante assessment of synergies and trade-offs in different transition pathways

Moghayer

Zurek

Muzammil

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Feeding and nourishing a growing global population in Bangladesh is a major challenge in a changing climate. A multi-level participatory scenario approach with corresponding modeling and decision support tools is developed and applied to support decision-makers in developing scenario-guided enabling policy for food security in the future under climate change. The results presented in this paper show how, under different scenarios, the agri-food system may transform in the next decade as a result of the interaction of intertwined institutional, technological, and market drivers in Bangladesh. For scenario building, the food and agriculture community was brought together with the climate and energy community. We also experimented with different ways to bring voices that are often less included in policymaking, such as poor rural communities and youth. The scenario quantification is performed by MAGNET, a GTAP-based multi-sector and multi-region computable general equilibrium model. The simulation results depict a comprehensive picture of corresponding and varied pressures on agricultural resources and opportunities for economic development and trade in Bangladesh. Finally, we did an ex-ante assessment of the trade-offs and synergies between zero-hunger- and zero-emission-related targets within the Bangladesh Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the developed scenarios.

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Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems

Cited by 108 publications

References 56 publications

Sustainable soil management for food security

Sustainable soil management for food security

The market–society–policy nexus in sustainable agriculture

A low-carbon and hunger-free future for Bangladesh: An ex- ante assessment of synergies and trade-offs in different transition pathways

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