The global economy stands to gain nearly $6 trillion a year by 2030 from transforming its food and land use systems if it acts immediately, according to a new report.
But the costs of not making such changes could be much greater if they’re not done soon. The report by the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) says failure to improve the sustainability of food production could result in disruptions to supplies and in turn lead to social unrest.
The world is already paying the financial costs of a badly-managed food production system.
Globally, practices such as poor land and water allocation, overusing pesticide and widespread food wastage result in losses of around $12 trillion a year due to issues related to health, development and environmental costs. This amount is approximately equivalent to China’s gross domestic product (GDP), the coalition of scientists and economists says.
By comparison, the current market value of the entire food and land use industry is $10 trillion a year, the coalition found.
But if not done soon, the cost of not making these improvements could be much higher. The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) report states that failure to improve food production sustainability can lead to disruptions
