Summary
This 2025 modelling study, authored by an international research consortium, examines the magnitude and nature of food system transformations necessary to prevent exceeding multiple planetary boundaries. The authors integrate production, consumption, and waste dimensions across global food supply chains to identify which interventions—or combinations—are most effective for aligning food systems with Earth system limits. As a systems-level modelling exercise, the work contributes to understanding the scale of change required across the entire food system rather than isolated components.
UK applicability
The findings provide a global context for UK food policy, though applicability depends on how UK-specific production and consumption patterns align with the modelled scenarios. The research is relevant to UK efforts to meet net-zero commitments and circular economy goals, but translation to UK-scale would require disaggregation of results and consideration of UK agricultural capacity and import dependencies.
Key measures
Transgression of Earth system boundaries; food system transformation scenarios across production, consumption, and waste; intervention effectiveness in staying within planetary limits
Outcomes reported
The study modelled the scale and composition of food system changes needed across production, consumption, and waste dimensions to prevent transgression of multiple Earth system boundaries. It evaluated which interventions or combinations thereof are most critical for alignment with planetary limits.
Topic tags
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