Why is sustainable food consumption important?

Countries have become increasingly dependent on food imports from the global food system (References 1–4). This system is under pressure from pollution and climate change (5–9), which may reduce crop yields and increase food prices, threatening food security (7). Food systems drive environmental change (10): they produce up to one third of global CO₂ emissions (10–13), cause nearly 90% of deforestation (14), and are a major driver for biodiversity loss (15,16). Globally, actors are calling for stronger climate action (17–19). Rockström and colleagues state, “no safe solution to climate and biodiversity crises is possible without a global food systems transformation” (5,10). More sustainable diets – with more fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts – are also healthier (20) and can improve public health.

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2.            Kummu M, Kinnunen P, Lehikoinen E, Porkka M, Queiroz C, Röös E, et al. Interplay of trade and food system resilience: Gains on supply diversity over time at the cost of trade independency. Glob Food Secur. 2020 Mar;24:100360. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100360

3.            Brugulat-Panés A, Guell C, Unwin N, Martin-Pintado C, Iese V, Augustus E, et al. Examining Food Sources and Their Interconnections over Time in Small Island Developing States: A Systematic Scoping Review. [Internet]. 2025 Jul 18. doi:10.3390/nu17142353

4.            FAO. State of Food Security and Nutrition in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) [Internet]. 2016. Available from: https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/i5327e

5.            FAO. Loss and damage in agrifood systems: Addressing gaps and challenges. Rome; 2023. Report No.: 9789251384046. doi:10.4060/cc8810en

6.            Tchonkouang RD, Onyeaka H, Nkoutchou H. Assessing the vulnerability of food supply chains to climate change-induced disruptions. Sci Total Environ. 2024;920. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171047

7.            Nguyen H, Randall M, Lewis A. Factors Affecting Crop Prices in the Context of Climate Change—A Review. Agric Switz. 2024;14(135). doi:10.3390/agriculture14010135

8.            Rezaei EE, Webber H, Asseng S, Boote K, Durand JL, Ewert F, et al. Climate change impacts on crop yields. Nat Rev Earth Environ. 2025;4(12):831–46. doi:10.1038/s43017-023-00491-0

9.            Lincoln Lenderking H, Robinson S ann, Carlson G. Climate change and food security in Caribbean small island developing states: challenges and strategies. iScience. 2021;28(3):238–45. doi:10.1080/13504509.2020.1804477

10.         Rockström J, Thilsted SH, Willett WC, Gordon LJ, Herrero M, Hicks CC, et al. The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. The Lancet. 2025 Oct 11;406(10512):1625–700. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01201-2

11.         Babiker M, Berndes G, Blok K, Cohen B, Cowie A, Geden O, et al. Cross-sectoral perspectives. In: Shukla PR, Skea J, Slade R, Khourdajie AA, van Diemen R, McCollum D, et al., editors. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Internet]. IPCC; 2022. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/chapter/chapter-12/

12.         Crippa M, Solazzo E, Guizzardi D, Monforti-Ferrario F, Tubiello FN, Leip A. Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Nat Food. 2021 Mar;2(3):198–209. doi:10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9 PubMed PMID: 37117443.

13.         Vermeulen SJ, Campbell BM, Ingram JSI. Climate change and food systems. Annu Rev Environ Resour. 2012;37:195–222. doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-020411-130608

14.         Branthomme A, Merle C, Kindgard A, Lourenço A, Ng WT, D’Annunzio R, et al. How much do large-scale and small-scale farming contribute to global deforestation? Results from a remote sensing pilot approach [Internet]. Rome; 2023. Report No.: 9789251378427. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4060/cc5723en doi:10.4060/cc5723en

15.         IPBES. Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services [Internet]. Brondizio E, Diaz S, Settele J, Ngo HT, editors. Bonn, Germany: IPBES; 2019 May. p. 1144. Report No. Available from: https://zenodo.org/records/6417333 doi:10.5281/zenodo.6417333

16.         WWF. Living Planet Report 2020 - Bending the curve of biodiversity loss [Internet]. Almond REA, Grooten M, Petersen T, editors. Gland, Switzerland; 2020. Available from: https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/LPR/PDFs/ENGLISH-FULL.pdf

17.         IPCC. Section 2: Current Status and Trends. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Internet]. First. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC; 2023 [cited 2026 Feb 11]. p. 42–66. Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/ doi:10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647

18.         United Nations Environment Programme. Emissions Gap Report 2024: No More Hot Air … Please! With a Massive Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality, Countries Draft New Climate Commitments [Internet]. United Nations Environment Programme; 2024. Available from: https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/46404 doi:10.59117/20.500.11822/46404

19.         United Nations. The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) – a Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity [Internet]. Osbourn; 2024. Report No. Available from: https://sdgs.un.org/documents/outcome-document-antigua-and-barbuda-agenda-sids-abas-renewed-declaration-resilient

20.         FAO and WHO. Sustainable healthy diets - Guiding principles [Internet]. Rome; 2019. Report No. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241516648