5 Food Systems Topics We Need to See On The Table at COP28

With the food system responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions, how we eat has an enormous impact on our planet and our future. If we are to keep temperature rises within 1.5˚C (and avoid catastrophe), overhauling our food systems must be a top priority at COP28 and moving forward.

“COPs have, historically, significantly overlooked the role of farming, both as a major contributor to global climate change, as a potential solution to climate change, and also in the context of the significant impact climate change is having – and will have – on farming communities across the world,” said Edward Davey of the World Resources Institute in an interview with The Guardian.

According to this year’s The State of Food and Agriculture report from the FAO, the total hidden costs of the world’s food system add up to $12.7 trillion US dollars – 10% of global GDP – and the environment accounts for more than 20%. Our food systems are also failing public health. Obesity and diet-related diseases are on the rise, while millions face food insecurity in their daily lives. An enormous 73% of hidden costs are associated with diets that led to obesity or non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease. 

The message is clear: we need to change how we eat. A seismic dietary shift is capable of preventing unnecessary deaths and reducing emissions on an incredible scale. As a highly influential part of the public food landscape, the global hospitality sector has a real opportunity to effect change in consumer dietary habits; as a major contributor to global emissions, water use and food waste, the sector also has a considerable responsibility to do so. 

As COP28 kicks off, here are five key topics we want to see discussed, each one of which needs clear, decisive action from global leaders and policymakers. We’ll also explain how each of these issues can (and should) also be tackled by F&B businesses worldwide. 

Food waste is a problem deeply embedded in our food systems. UNEP’s 2021 Food Waste Index found that an estimated 931 million tonnes of food goes to waste every year – more than one-quarter of all food produced. This is a major contributor to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, pollution and food insecurity. On top of the physical items going to waste, huge amounts of water, fossil fuel and energy are also used in growing, producing and transporting food… so when that food is wasted, so are these resources. Every part of the food system, from farmer’s field to diner’s fork, needs to be re-examined to identify where waste is being created and find ways to prevent this. We need a circular approach to food production embedded as a matter of policy.

Of the incredible volume of food waste outlined above, a whopping 26% comes from foodservice. This gives restaurants an opportunity to make a big difference through initiatives like zero waste or circular menus, nose-to-tail cooking, smart waste tracking systems or even just more careful stock control, storage and ordering practices. Reducing food waste can have an immensely powerful impact, helping to nourish populations, protect the environment and boost economies.

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing issues we face today, and has much to do with our food systems. Already, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, including many smallholder farmers who struggle to meet their basic daily needs on top of the demands of their crops. Agriculture accounts for 72% of global freshwater withdrawals – more than any other sector. This means that changes in how we produce our food can have real ramifications for how this global crisis progresses.

Freshwater resources per person have dropped by 20% over the past two decades, while availability and quality deteriorate due to “decades of misuse, lack of coordinated management, over-abstraction of groundwater, pollution and climate change” (UN, 2023). This situation is only exacerbated by the extreme weather events, droughts and floods caused by the climate crisis; combined, all of these factors point to a worrying future for food security.

While every citizen can play a role in valuing and safeguarding our water, industry always holds more power to create change. It’s time for every business – but especially those within the agricultural value chain, like restaurants – to make concrete commitments to improving water use efficiency. Food businesses must make informed decisions about the water use embedded within the ingredients they source, while also wasting less water in daily operations. 

The BBC reported this week that the UAE planned to use its role as the host of COP28 as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, and we are honestly lost for words. We can’t believe this is still even a discussion: the use of fossil fuels has to stop. We know these resources are damaging – heating our planet to catastrophic levels – and we know they are finite.

The latest science from the UN’s IPCC indicates that greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by 43% by 2030 (compared to 2019 levels) to limit temperature rise to 1.5˚C by the end of the century and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The brutal impact of the climate crisis is felt disproportionately by the most vulnerable ecosystems and communities among us – developing nations, small communities, indigenous peoples, those living beneath the poverty line – but if we don’t shake ourselves out of this destructive cycle, we will all suffer the consequences. The greed of the few is critically endangering the future of the many.

“Energy is essential for food security and development. Finding green and resilient solutions that can support sustainable food system transformation and agricultural innovation is an integral part of FAO’s mission, and energy is a major component of this work. The challenge is to disconnect fossil fuel use from food system transformation without hampering food security.” (FAO, 2023.)

We need government and industry to prioritise viable clean energy solutions across the entire food value chain, building sustainable green energy solutions into every step of our food systems.

For restaurants, this can include a switch to green energy providers; improving efficiencies across operations; reducing waste of all types (not just food); implementing a circular approach in menu design; and examining your supply chain to encourage similar commitments from suppliers. 

Planet Earth’s biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate – and the global food system is the primary driver. Agriculture is the identified threat of more than 85% of the 28,000 species currently at risk of extinction, largely through habitat loss caused by changes in land use but also as a result of the ‘run-off’ pollution from farms.

Meanwhile, industrialised food production has greatly restricted our diet. While it can seem like we have an incredible array of foods available, in truth our diets are narrow and repetitive. According to the FAO, humans have eaten around 6,000-7,000 plant species over the course of our existence; we now eat a tiny fraction of this, with a staggering 50% of all calories coming from just three plants (rice, wheat and maize). 

We need policy-makers, governments and industry to support and promote better, smarter, planet-friendly and restorative agricultural practices across the board. We need to stop treating our oceans and forests as bottomless resources and instead cultivate a healthier, less exploitative relationship with nature. As a vital connection between the customer’s plate and the agricultural supply chain, restaurants can help to reshape our food choices to protect biodiversity, dishing up a wider array of ingredients and including things like ancient grains, heritage breeds and invasive non-native species. 

The global food system contributes up to 37% of total annual emissions, and the meat and dairy industries form a huge part of this. Large-scale, industrialised meat production also has negative effects when it comes to land use, pollution, animal welfare and public health, and poses a longer-term problem when it comes to feeding a growing global population.

In wealthy countries, we all need to eat less meat, freeing up more land for growing crops destined to feed humans directly. Plant-based proteins that are environmentally restorative, like nitrogen-fixing beans and legumes, should play a big role in this shift. We don’t need everyone to go vegan: studies show that a simple reduction in the amount of meat eaten is sufficient to effect considerable change.

Luckily, sustainable diets largely mirror healthy ones; what’s best for the planet is, by and large, what’s best for us too.. As one example, adopting the Livewell Diet from the WWF’s Eating for Net Zero report “could deliver a 36% reduction in emissions [in the UK] and a 20% reduction in biodiversity loss compared to the current average diet, while also supporting a transition to nature-friendly farming practices”. 

The global leaders at COP need to consider this as part of the drastic shift we so desperately need. What scale of change could be effected in a world where policymakers and leaders emphasise the potential impact of eating less meat, but better? Imagine a world in which fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains are the most affordable and accessible options for everyone; where marketing of meat-containing products is restricted as a matter of policy; where restaurants dish up mouth-watering meals that are predominantly plant-based, alongside with small amounts of meat reared within sustainable, regenerative agroecological systems.

We need big things from COP28, and we need food systems to be included in every conversation. Drastic and immediate change must be agreed upon and formalised, with tangible, measurable and ambitious food systems actions to be built into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Determined Contribution (NDCs) and Long-Term Strategies before COP30. Moving forward from the end of the summit, countries need to “create and implement policies and incentives for sustainable food production, reducing food loss and waste, shifting towards healthy and sustainable diets, conserving and restoring ecosystems and scaling healthy soil practices.” At The SRA, we’ll continue to support, encourage and celebrate hospitality businesses around the world at they play a vital role in this work.

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