To allow this tremendous progress, the world has applied ingenuity to adapt and scale our agricultural systems to meet the demands of a growing population— but this has come at a heavy price for our people and planet. In fact, our food and land use systems are no longer fit for purpose.

They drive massive environmental destruction, accounting for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions and cause devastating losses of natural capital – including shrinking biodiversity, soil erosion and reduced fertility. Over half of the land used for agriculture worldwide is moderately or severely degraded and one third of the world’s food – costing $940bn per year – is currently lost or wasted. At the same time, rates of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes are growing, while food insecurity and malnutrition continue to persist for too many and 500 million smallholder farmers live below the poverty line.

This is simply not sustainable.

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