Summary
This 2025 modelling study by Hadjikakou et al. examines the scale of food system transformation needed to keep human food production and consumption within Earth's planetary boundaries. Drawing on integrated assessment modelling, the authors simulate ambitious interventions across production efficiency, dietary composition, and food waste reduction, identifying which combinations of changes are sufficient to prevent exceeding critical environmental thresholds. The work suggests that incremental changes alone are insufficient; substantial simultaneous shifts across multiple system components are required.
UK applicability
The UK, as a high-income nation with significant food imports and per-capita dietary footprints, is likely implicated in the modelled scenarios requiring dietary change and waste reduction. The findings may inform UK food policy frameworks, particularly those addressing net-zero commitments and the National Food Strategy.
Key measures
Planetary boundary transgressions (nitrogen, phosphorus, land use, freshwater, climate); greenhouse gas emissions; food security outcomes
Outcomes reported
The study modelled ambitious food system interventions across production, consumption and waste reduction to assess their capacity to mitigate exceeding Earth's environmental limits. It reported on the combined effects of dietary shifts, agricultural intensity changes, and waste reduction on multiple planetary boundaries.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.