The trilemma of advanced societies: health, environment and diet

Abstract

Our planet is at a breaking point. A wide range of challenges – including population growth, technological advances, economic instability, natural disasters, the impact of COVID- 19 on global supply chains and regional and national conflicts – have pushed the world into an unprecedented food crisis, threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Current food systems are a key driver of environmental degradation. Agriculture and related activities are responsible for up to one-third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and negatively impact soil quality, water consumption, and biodiversity. Although, the largest share of environmental impacts can be attributed to the primary food production (or harvesting in the case of fisheries), a significant amount of these impacts is also generated in post-production and post-harvest processes along food supply chains. A comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts associated with each stage of the food supply chain is therefore essential.