Articulating the effect of food systems innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals

Mario Herrero; Philip K Thornton; Daniel Mason-D'Croz; Jeda Palmer; Benjamin L Bodirsky; Prajal Pradhan; Christopher B Barrett; Tim G Benton; Andrew Hall; Ilje Pikaar; Jessica R Bogard; Graham D Bonnett; Brett A Bryan; Bruce M Campbell; Svend Christensen; Michael Clark; Jessica Fanzo; Cecile M Godde; Andy Jarvis; Ana Maria Loboguerrero; Alexander Mathys; C Lynne McIntyre; Rosamond L Naylor; Rebecca Nelson; Michael Obersteiner; Alejandro Parodi; Alexander Popp; Katie Ricketts; Pete Smith; Hugo Valin; Sonja J Vermeulen; Joost Vervoort; Mark van Wijk; Hannah He van Zanten; Paul C West; Stephen A Wood; Johan Rockström

doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30277-1

Articulating the effect of food systems innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals

Lancet Planet Health. 2021 Jan;5(1):e50-e62. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30277-1. Epub 2020 Dec 9.

Authors

Mario Herrero¹, Philip K Thornton², Daniel Mason-D'Croz³, Jeda Palmer³, Benjamin L Bodirsky⁴, Prajal Pradhan⁴, Christopher B Barrett⁵, Tim G Benton⁶, Andrew Hall⁷, Ilje Pikaar⁸, Jessica R Bogard³, Graham D Bonnett³, Brett A Bryan⁹, Bruce M Campbell¹⁰, Svend Christensen¹¹, Michael Clark¹², Jessica Fanzo¹³, Cecile M Godde³, Andy Jarvis¹⁴, Ana Maria Loboguerrero¹⁴, Alexander Mathys¹⁵, C Lynne McIntyre³, Rosamond L Naylor¹⁶, Rebecca Nelson⁵, Michael Obersteiner¹⁷, Alejandro Parodi¹⁸, Alexander Popp⁴, Katie Ricketts⁷, Pete Smith¹⁹, Hugo Valin²⁰, Sonja J Vermeulen²¹, Joost Vervoort²², Mark van Wijk²³, Hannah He van Zanten²⁴, Paul C West²⁵, Stephen A Wood²⁶, Johan Rockström²⁷

Affiliations

¹ Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].
² CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
³ Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Potsdam, Germany.
⁵ Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ The Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House, London, UK.
⁷ Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Black Mountain, ACT, Australia.
⁸ The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
⁹ Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
¹⁰ CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Valle del Cauca, Colombia; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹¹ Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹² Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹³ School of Advanced International Studies, Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁴ CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
¹⁵ Sustainable Food Processing Laboratory, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁷ International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria; Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹⁸ Animal Production Systems group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
¹⁹ Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
²⁰ International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
²¹ CGIAR System Organisation, Montpellier, France.
²² Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
²³ International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.
²⁴ Farming Systems Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
²⁵ Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
²⁶ The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA; Yale School of the Environment, New Haven, CT, USA.
²⁷ Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Potsdam, Germany; Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.

PMID: 33306994
DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30277-1

Abstract

Food system innovations will be instrumental to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, major innovation breakthroughs can trigger profound and disruptive changes, leading to simultaneous and interlinked reconfigurations of multiple parts of the global food system. The emergence of new technologies or social solutions, therefore, have very different impact profiles, with favourable consequences for some SDGs and unintended adverse side-effects for others. Stand-alone innovations seldom achieve positive outcomes over multiple sustainability dimensions. Instead, they should be embedded as part of systemic changes that facilitate the implementation of the SDGs. Emerging trade-offs need to be intentionally addressed to achieve true sustainability, particularly those involving social aspects like inequality in its many forms, social justice, and strong institutions, which remain challenging. Trade-offs with undesirable consequences are manageable through the development of well planned transition pathways, careful monitoring of key indicators, and through the implementation of transparent science targets at the local level.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Agriculture
Artificial Intelligence
Female
Food Industry*
Global Health
Goals
Humans
Inventions*
Male
Organizational Innovation
Public Policy
Socioeconomic Factors
Sustainable Development*