Transforming China‘s food system could put the country on a better path to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, a study conducted by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Zhejiang University (ZJU) has claimed.
Published in the Nature Food journal, the research explored how highlights how dietary shifts can deliver significant benefits across nutrition, health, the environment, and livelihoods
Sustainable food
“Action across all areas of the food system is required to achieve a sustainable food system and efficiently address the wide range of social and environmental challenges such as reducing malnutrition, mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring livelihoods,” commented lead author Xiaoxi Wang, scientist at PIK and ZJU.
Using an integrated modelling framework that evaluated 18 outcome indicators, the scientists quantified the impacts of various policy measures and the trade-offs associated with pursuing public health, environmental sustainability, and livelihood improvements separately.
Bundling measures
These trade offs can be minimised through the bundling of measures aimed at public health, environmental sustainability, and livelihood improvement into a comprehensive approach, the report noted.
“We found that transitioning to healthy diets resulted in the fewest trade-offs, improving nutrition, health, the environment, and livelihoods,” added PIK scientist Benjamin Bodirsky, author of the study.
Elsewhere, Hermann Lotze-Campen, also a contributing author, noted that a “holistic approach to food system transformation, addressing these challenges together, is essential for steering China towards its SDG targets.” Read more here.
