The report incorporates case studies from Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Netherlands to demonstrate the local relevance of food system dynamics. These examples highlight how targeted actions, informed by robust governance and a focus on resilience, can catalyze broader progress.

A groundbreaking new study published on Tuesday in Nature Food offers a comprehensive analysis of global food system changes since 2000, revealing a complex mix of progress and setbacks. Titled “Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030,” the report underscores governance and resilience as pivotal leverage points for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the decade’s end.

The study is the result of the Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI), a collaboration involving Columbia University, Cornell University, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). It tracks 50 global food system indicators across five themes: diets, nutrition, and health; environment, natural resources, and production; livelihoods, poverty, and equity; resilience; and governance.

Mixed Results Highlight Opportunities and Challenges

Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN, remarked, “This new report reveals a mix of encouraging advancements and concerning setbacks, underscoring the urgency of accelerating food systems transformation. Tradeoffs between goals like jobs, climate, nutrition, food security, and resilience are inevitable. But with stronger governance and better data, these tradeoffs can be mitigated and even flipped into synergies.”

Among the 42 indicators analyzed over time, 20 showed improvement. Key successes include increased access to safe water and the rising availability of vegetables, essential for addressing global nutrition needs. Conservation of plant and animal genetic resources also saw notable progress, enhancing resilience against climate shocks and other disruptions.

However, seven indicators revealed significant declines. These include heightened food price volatility, diminishing government accountability, and reduced civil society participation, which collectively threaten the stability and coherence of policies needed to address global crises. The report emphasizes that interconnectedness between indicators means changes in one area, such as governance or diet quality, often trigger ripple effects across the system.

Evidence-Based Policymaking

The report incorporates case studies from Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Netherlands to demonstrate the local relevance of food system dynamics. These examples highlight how targeted actions, informed by robust governance and a focus on resilience, can catalyse broader progress. Mario Herrero, Professor and Director of the Food Systems & Global Change Program at Cornell University, noted, “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.”

Governance and resilience are identified as pivotal entry points for accelerating food system transformation. Improvements in these areas could spark widespread positive changes across other indicators, amplifying global progress. Jessica Fanzo, Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at Columbia Climate School, highlighted the urgency of comprehensive reform: “We are facing a syndemic of challenges: increasing diet-related diseases, 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.”

The report provides a clear roadmap for evidence-based policymaking. It urges a dual focus on accelerating areas of progress while addressing persistent gaps. “As we enter the final five years of the SDG process, we have to double down on areas of progress while addressing persistent gaps,” said José Rosero Moncayo, Chief Statistician at FAO. He also emphasized the importance of improving data quality and expanding the pool of indicators to better analyze food system components.

Broader Implications for Agrifood Systems

The report raises concerns about increasing food price volatility, weakening government accountability, and declining civil society participation. These issues threaten the resilience and equity of food systems globally, particularly in light of overlapping crises such as climate change, economic instability, and public health challenges.

The term “food systems” in the report aligns with the United Nations Food Systems Summit framework but also considers broader agrifood systems. These encompass activities related to non-food agricultural products, such as forestry and biofuels, which significantly influence environmental and social outcomes. Many indicators cannot distinguish between food and non-food components, highlighting the interconnectedness of global food systems.

As the countdown to 2030 continues, the FSCI emphasizes the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral approaches to transform food systems. By prioritizing governance and resilience, global efforts can maximize synergies, minimize trade-offs, and achieve sustainable and equitable outcomes.

Lawrence Haddad concluded, “This report helps us understand how to accelerate progress toward the SDGs. It’s not just about tracking data; it’s about using that data to drive meaningful change.”