Making Better Policies for Food Systems

Description

Food systems around the world face a triple challenge: providing food security and nutrition for a growing global population; supporting livelihoods for those working along the food supply chain; and contributing to environmental sustainability. Better policies hold tremendous promise for making progress in these domains. This report focuses on three questions. What has been the performance of food systems to date, and what role did policies play? How can policy makers design coherent policies across the triple challenge? And how can policy makers deal with frictions related to facts, interests, and values, which often complicate the task of achieving better policies? Better policies will require breaking down silos between agriculture, health, and environmental policies, and overcoming knowledge gaps, resistance from interest groups, and differing values. Robust, inclusive, evidence-based processes are thus essential to making better policies for food systems. Foreword Acknowledgements Executive summary 1 The triple challenge 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Challenge 1: Food security and nutrition Food availability Performance and outlook Policies to increase food supply in an environmentally sustainable way Policies to limit or reorient demand growth Access to food Nutrition in support of public health Stability 1.3. Challenge 2: Livelihoods Economic development and the transformation of food systems Policies to strengthen livelihoods across food systems 1.4. Challenge 3: Environmental sustainability Environmental effects of agricultural land use Direct greenhouse gas emissions Environmental effects of intensification Environmental effects of efficiency gains Alternative approaches to improving the environmental sustainability of the food system The role of policies 1.5. Conclusion References Notes 2 Principles for policy coherence 2.1. Introduction 2.2. The promise and challenges of policy coherence 2.3. Reducing complexity Assessing the need for policy intervention Choosing the right type and number of instruments 2.4. Accounting for interaction effects Identification Calibration Mediation Policy approaches 2.5. Transboundary effects 2.6. Conclusion References Notes 3 Achieving better policies 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Building a shared understanding of the facts Relevance to food systems Approaches Limitations 3.3. Balancing diverging interests Relevance to food systems Approaches 3.4. Dealing with differences over values Relevance to food systems Interests versus values Approaches 3.5. Managing policy controversies Mutually reinforcing beliefs Approaches 3.6. International aspects 3.7. Conclusion References Notes 4 The contribution of the seed sector to the triple challenge 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Food security and nutrition 4.3. Livelihoods 4.4. Environmental sustainability 4.5. What are the contentious issues? Sources of investment in plant breeding The direction of plant breeding Access and use of seeds for farmers and breeders Farmers Plant breeders Access, benefit sharing and conservation of genetic resources for plant breeding Access and benefit sharing Conservation Modern plant breeding technologies Genetic engineering New plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) Divergent risk management approaches Regulatory approaches to NPBTs Risk perceptions among the public 4.6. What makes these issues contentious, and what can be done? Sources of friction: Facts, interests, and values Implications for policy makers and key stakeholders Targeting Enabling competition Uptake of new technologies Access to information and re-building trust Communication Collaboration and co-existence 4.7. Conclusion References Notes 5 The contribution of the ruminant livestock sector to the triple challenge 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Food security and nutrition Consumption of ruminant livestock products around the world Food versus feed and the impacts on food security Potential negative effects on human health Overconsumption of meat Antimicrobial resistance 5.3. Livelihoods 5.4. Climate change and natural resource use Climate change Extensive versus intensive production systems Water use, water and air quality, and biodiversity Water use Water quality Air quality Biodiversity 5.5. Policy responses Ireland Ruminant livestock sector Challenges facing the ruminant livestock sector Climate change policy Policy process leading to the 2019 Climate Action Plan Climate actions targeting the ruminant sector The Netherlands Ruminant livestock sector Challenges facing the ruminant livestock sector Climate change policy Impact on farmers of policies and their responses New Zealand Ruminant livestock sector Challenges facing the ruminant livestock sector Climate change policy Policy process leading to the commitment to price agricultural emissions Impact on farmers of policies and their responses 5.6. Conclusion References Notes 6 The contribution of the processed food sector to the triple challenge 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Food security and nutrition What is processed food? The processed food sector is essential to the provision of safe, nutritious, and affordable food across the globe Processed foods have an important role in supporting food access Food fortification as a means to address micronutrient deficiencies Marketing and R&D both play a major role in the processed food sector 6.3. Livelihoods The processed food sector offers opportunities for value addition and employment International trade in processed food products 6.4. Environmental sustainability Environmental impact of the processed food sector Changes in dietary patterns and environmental sustainability: Implications for the processed food sector Waste generation associated with the processed food sector Food loss and waste Packaging waste 6.5. Policy responses Reformulation and orientation towards processed foods that support population health objectives Policies to reduce and eliminate trans fats Sugar reduction programme in the United Kingdom Marketing regulation and labelling schemes for processed foods Marketing and labelling laws in Chile The Nutri-Score system in France Fiscal policies 6.6. Main challenges to more coherent policies Data scarcity Co-ordination across different policy-making communities Lack of trust and resistance to measures that restrict choice Corporate political activity of food and beverage companies 6.7. Conclusion References Notes 7 Conclusion