Summary Trade has helped the global food system drastically reduce world hunger. However, it has also left nations vulnerable to food-trade shocks that can lead to local food shortages. National... Show moreSummary Trade has helped the global food system drastically reduce world hunger. However, it has also left nations vulnerable to food-trade shocks that can lead to local food shortages. National food resilience may be increased by exploring the feasibility of adapting healthy diets to local production and sourcing. The EAT-Lancet diet has been proposed as a healthy and environmentally friendly diet, but the feasibility of sourcing it nationally remains unknown. Using FAOSTAT production data and EAT-Lancet Commission guidelines, we create a unique EAT-Lancet diet for each nation. We compare the agricultural land required for each country to supply this diet to their available agricultural land. For nations that did not have sufficient agricultural land, interventions to reduce land use were elaborated by adjusting production and consumption efficiencies of all modeled diets, revealing that 95% of the global population live in countries with a potential pathway toward food self-sufficiency. Show less
Tukker, A.; Behrens, P.; Deetman, S.P.; Hu, M.; Migoni Alejandre, E.; Meide, M. van der; ... ; Zhang, C. 2023
Rural, tropical coastal communities are experiencing sustained, often increasing food insecurity, poverty, and global change impacts. These challenges have stimulated a rise in projects aiming to... Show moreRural, tropical coastal communities are experiencing sustained, often increasing food insecurity, poverty, and global change impacts. These challenges have stimulated a rise in projects aiming to enhance and diversify local livelihoods. The ability of these projects to achieve broad-scale benefits is limited by approaches that do not account for feedbacks among sectors and across marine and terrestrial environments. To address these limitations, we present an applied research agenda to support an integrated approach to livelihood project planning and management. This agenda explicitly examines interactions among natural resources, industries, and livelihoods and is based on three foundational activities: (1) a governance review and assessment, (2) strategic partnership formation, and (3) a diagnostic approach supported by science and shared outcomes. We add structure to the established logic in our field by broadening the sectoral and spatial scope of livelihoods projects, so they can better contribute to interrelated UN Sustainable Development Goals. Show less
New synthetic chemicals and materials are rising rapidly and are already widespread as novel entities in our daily lives. Although knowledge of their disruptive and long-lasting effects on the... Show moreNew synthetic chemicals and materials are rising rapidly and are already widespread as novel entities in our daily lives. Although knowledge of their disruptive and long-lasting effects on the Earth system is accumulating, unknowns remain. This Voices asks: what risks do novel entities pose, and what are the emerging concerns? Show less
Jiang, M.; Behrens, P.A.; Yang, Y.H.; Tang, Z.P.; Chen, D.J.; Yu, Y.D.; ... ; Tukker, A. 2022
Economic prosperity is vital to human development but relies heavily on material extraction, which causes environmental degradation. To successfully decouple growth from degradation, it is... Show moreEconomic prosperity is vital to human development but relies heavily on material extraction, which causes environmental degradation. To successfully decouple growth from degradation, it is essential to identify the primary drivers of countries' material footprints (MFs). However, such understanding remains limited due to the complexities of investment-versus consumption-driven growth. Here, we focus on the MF of China between 2007 and 2012, which was responsible for 24%-30% of global material use. We adopt input-output models that consider trade and classify investment/consumption to estimate, at the province level, the relationship between MFs and the Human Development Index (HDI). Results show that during 2007-2012, China's per capita MF mirrored its HDI and increased by nearly 20%. This is especially prominent in poorer provinces. We further find that it was investments, particularly capital investments associated with construction and manufacturing, that dominated China's MF rather than a consumption-driven demand. Given vast infrastructure gaps in emerging economies and post-pandemic investment plans, these findings emphasize the need for a better understanding of the drivers of growth. Show less
Global change frequently disrupts the connections among species, as well as among species and their environment, before the most obvious impacts can be detected. Therefore, we need to develop a... Show moreGlobal change frequently disrupts the connections among species, as well as among species and their environment, before the most obvious impacts can be detected. Therefore, we need to develop a unified conceptual framework that allows us to predict early ecological impacts under changing environments. The concept of coupling, defined as the multiple ways in which the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems are orderly connected across space and/or time, may provide such a framework. Here, we operationally define the coupling of ecosystems based on a combination of correlational matrices and a null modeling approach. Compared with null models, ecosystems can be (1) coupled; (2) decoupled; and (3) anticoupled. Given that more tightly coupled ecosystems displaying higher levels of internal order may be characterized by a more efficient capture, transfer, and storage of energy and matter (i.e., of functioning), understanding the links between coupling and functioning may help us to accelerate the transition to planetary-scale sustainability. This may be achieved by promoting self-organized order. Show less
Mehling, M.; Pirlot, A.; Pradhan, P.; Aisbett, E.; Bohringer, C.; Asane-Otoo, E.; ... ; Ward, H. 2021
Trade is appreciated as a powerful path toward economic growth and poverty alleviation. However, it can also provide a loophole that displaces emissions and climate mitigation. This Voices asks,... Show moreTrade is appreciated as a powerful path toward economic growth and poverty alleviation. However, it can also provide a loophole that displaces emissions and climate mitigation. This Voices asks, where are the opportunities to close the carbon loophole and facilitate sustainable and fair trade? Show less
Integrating the social and natural sciences to effectively tackle the intertwined challenges represented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been advocated for years. However, the... Show moreIntegrating the social and natural sciences to effectively tackle the intertwined challenges represented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been advocated for years. However, the practice is challenging, especially with respect to the beliefs, morals, and practices of individuals and groups or, more succinctly put, culture, which, despite attracting growing awareness, remains understated in sustainability. Here, we examine how and to what extent cultural values are linked to the achievement of the SDGs. Synthesizing knowledge from more than 300 publications, we show that cultural traits are linked to the achievement of all 17 SDGs and 79% of SDG targets. Further, empirical understanding obtained from a panel data analysis highlights that cultural values explain as much as 26% of the variations in the SDG achievements, yet the links are strikingly divergent across cultural traits and indicators. Our findings imply the need to consider more cultural contexts and nuances in sustainability science communications and policy design and to develop new cross-disciplinary solutions to sustainability challenges. Show less
The production and consumption of food are responsible for serious environmental degradation. Given the nature of the global economy, the impacts of food are dispersed over the full extent of the... Show moreThe production and consumption of food are responsible for serious environmental degradation. Given the nature of the global economy, the impacts of food are dispersed over the full extent of the planet because food commodities may travel long distances from production to consumption. In this Primer, we introduce the principles of life cycle assessment (LCA), which allows for the assessment of the global extent of the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a product system. We describe how LCA works following the standard phases of (1) goal and scope, (2) life cycle inventory, (3) life cycle impact assessment, and (4) interpretation. We show that LCA studies can capture the environmental impacts of foods, diets, and food production systems. While LCA has been expanding in scope and breadth, collaboration across disciplines is needed to further capture the diversity of food systems and to better deal with underassessed foods. Show less
Sustainable food systems are essential for meeting nutritional requirements, limiting environmental impacts, and reducing animal welfare loss. Although current dietary trends in many regions rather... Show moreSustainable food systems are essential for meeting nutritional requirements, limiting environmental impacts, and reducing animal welfare loss. Although current dietary trends in many regions rather go in the opposite direction, the adequacy of dietary guidelines is unknown, and the three sustainability dimensions are generally not assessed simultaneously. Here, we assessed nation-specific recommended diets for these impacts compared with the average diet. We assessed the trade-offs between nutritional quality, environmental sustainability (carbon, land, and water footprints), and animal welfare. Most countries reduce their animal product consumption in terms of food calories when switching to the nationally recommended diet. Recommended diets have the potential for “win-win-wins” in all three categories when compared with the current average diet, such as that shown in Brazil. However, South Korea loses in all three regards, and many other countries face trade-offs. This highlights the scope for the optimization of dietary guidelines to minimize such trade-offs. Show less
