FSCI has showcased a new report that highlights critical food system trends and challenges in the countdown to 2030. A groundbreaking new study, Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030 presents the first comprehensive analysis of change since 2000 in key food system indicators.
“This new report reveals a mix of encouraging advancements and concerning setbacks, underscoring the urgency of accelerating food systems transformation. As this report shows, tradeoffs are inevitable between food system goals such as jobs, climate, nutrition, food security, and resilience. But with stronger governance and better data these tradeoffs can be mitigated and even flipped into synergies. This report helps us to understand how to do this and accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN
The peer-reviewed new report was conducted by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI), a collaboration of leading experts and organizations, coordinated by Columbia University, Cornell University, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). The resulting report tracks 50 food systems indicators across the world, organized into five themes:
1) Diets, nutrition, and health
2) Environment, natural resources, and production
3) Livelihoods, poverty, and equity
4) Resilience
5) Governance
Key Findings
- Encouraging progress in resilience and nutrition
Twenty of the 42 metrics analyzed over time have improved, and notable achievements include significant increases in access to safe water and the availability of vegetables. Conservation of plant and animal genetic resources has also risen, bolstering the resilience of food systems to climate shocks and other disruptions. - Emerging concerns: Food price volatility and government accountability decline
Seven indicators show a significant decline, including increased food price volatility, worsening government accountability, and decreased civil society participation. These shifts suggest challenges in maintaining stability and policy coherence amid global crises. - Interactions drive complex outcomes
The report highlights how changes in one area, such as governance or diet quality, affect other areas, emphasizing the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral approaches. Case studies from Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Netherlands illustrate the local relevance of these dynamics.
A Call to Action
“This report sheds light on the ways different areas of food systems are related and interact, which is critical in understanding how we can focus our efforts to maximize synergies, manage trade-offs, and avoid unintended consequences.”
Mario Herrero, Professor and Director of the Food Systems & Global Change Program, Cornell University
The report identifies governance and resilience as pivotal leverage points for food system transformation. Targeted improvements in these areas could catalyze positive changes across other indicators, amplifying global progress.
“We need wholesale reform of our food systems so we can provide the world’s population with the nutritious food needed to grow and develop. We are facing a syndemic of challenges: increasing diet related disease, continued undernutrition, and a changing climate. Combating these requires significant and rapid change. This study is so important because it shows the speed of change so far, to guide more action because we can only manage what we measure.”
Jessica Fanzo, Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative, Columbia Climate School
“This report provides a clear roadmap for evidence-based policymaking. As we enter the final five years of the SDG process, we have to double down on areas of progress while addressing persistent gaps, keeping the interconnectedness of food systems at the forefront. At the same time efforts are needed to improve the pool of indicators. The company has at its disposal to describe and analyze different elements of the system. As the report points out, the Countdown Initiative has a strong commitment to filling the current data gaps.”
José Rosero Moncayo, Chief Statistician and Director of the Statistics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
The term “food systems” is used in line with the United Nations Food Systems Summit language. However, the FSCI indicator framework considers broader agrifood systems. Encompassing activities and processes related to non-food agricultural products (e.g., forestry, fibers, biofuels, etc.). Which is interconnected with food for human consumption. Many indicators cannot distinguish food and non-food components of production and value addition and non-food components greatly influence the environment, social outcomes, and the food people ultimately eat.