Transforming the Chinese food system could put the country on a better path toward achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Zhejiang University (ZJU) in Hangzhou, China, finds.
The study analyses the trade-offs and outcomes of various policy measures aimed at transforming the country’s food system. A shift towards healthy diets is thereby a no-regret option for a more sustainable Chinese food system. In contrast, focusing exclusively on climate mitigation, ecological conservation, or accelerated socio-economic development creates significant trade-offs between social and environmental outcomes.
According to the study published in Nature Food, China’s current trajectory is misaligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The researchers assessed potential pathways for achieving the SDGs in China by transforming its food system, focusing on dietary changes, climate change mitigation, ecological conservation, and socio-economic development.
“Action across all areas of the food system is required to achieve a sustainable food system and efficiently address the wide range of social and environmental challenges such as reducing malnutrition, mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring livelihoods,” says lead author Xiaoxi Wang, scientist at PIK and ZJU.
“We found that transitioning to healthy diets resulted in the fewest trade-offs, improving nutrition, health, the environment, and livelihoods,” says PIK scientist Benjamin Bodirsky, author of the study.
These trade-offs can be minimised by bundling measures aimed at public health, environmental sustainability, and livelihood improvement into a comprehensive approach. This emphasises the importance of coordinated efforts to achieve a sustainable food system.
Using an integrated modelling framework that evaluates 18 outcome indicators, the scientists quantified the impacts of various policy measures, and the trade-offs associated with pursuing public health, environmental sustainability, and livelihood improvements separately.
“Our findings suggest that a holistic approach to food system transformation, addressing these challenges together, is essential for steering China towards its SDG targets,” says PIK scientist Hermann Lotze-Campen, author of the study.