The role for scientists in tackling food insecurity and climate change

John R Beddington,Nguyen Van Bo,Adrian Fernández Bremauntz,Erda Lin,Carlos A Nobre,Christine Negra,Megan E Clark,Judi Wakhungu,Molly M Jahn,Rita Sharma,Tekalign Mamo,Mohammed Asaduzzaman,Robert J Scholes,Marion D Guillou

doi:10.1186/2048-7010-1-10

Abstract

Abstract To adapt to climate change and ensure food security, major interventions are required to transform current patterns and practices of food production, distribution and consumption. The scientific community has an essential role to play in informing concurrent, strategic investments to establish climate-resilient agricultural production systems, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, make efficient use of resources, develop low-waste supply chains, ensure adequate nutrition, encourage healthy eating choices and develop a global knowledge system for sustainability. This paper outlines scientific contributions that will be essential to the seven policy recommendations for achieving food security in the context of climate change put forward by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change. These include improved understanding of agriculture’s vulnerability to climate change, food price dynamics, food waste and consumption patterns and monitoring technologies as well as multidisciplinary investigation of regionally appropriate responses to climate change and food security challenges.

Highlights

To adapt to climate change and ensure food security, major interventions are required to transform current patterns and practices of food production, distribution and consumption
The food system faces additional pressure as the global population grows to around 9 billion by 2050 [8]. This dramatic increase in global population will be accompanied by major shifts in the regional distribution of our planet’s inhabitants
Given its large land base, global agriculture represents a major opportunity for mitigating climate change and helping to moderate its overall negative effect on agricultural productivity [27] through a wide range of regionally suitable practices that increase the efficiency of carbon and nitrogen management or sequester carbon [32]

Summary

Introduction

To adapt to climate change and ensure food security, major interventions are required to transform current patterns and practices of food production, distribution and consumption. Features of a food-secure future As a global community, we need to make concurrent, strategic investments to establish climate-resilient agricultural production systems, make efficient use of resources, develop low-waste supply chains, ensure adequate nutrition and encourage healthy eating choices [22].

Results

Conclusion