Reaping What We Sow (Batini 2019)

The agri-food sector now creates a quarter of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions—a share expected to increase to a half of all such emissions by 2050. As the global population grows and more people demand animal products, achieving targets to limit climate change will become harder. Worst of all, current food systems have failed to ensure food security, as more than 820 million people worldwide were undernourished in 2018 and 650 million people were classed as obese (FAO, WHO).

In light of this, Nicoletta Batini, IMF’s senior economist, discusses necessary change in supply, especially of the beef industry, a shift from the domination of monoculture towards regenerative farming, and better land-use in terms of biodiversity impact.

To read about the role of policy in achieving these proposals, follow the link to IMF’s website.