Identifying the safe operating space for food systems
Global environmental pressures from food systems threaten biodiversity and the stability of the Earth system, yet the safe operating space for food systems is unknown. Here we calculate food system boundaries as shares of planetary boundaries, proposing budgets for the food system across nine bounda...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
NATURE PORTFOLIO
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178650 |
| _version_ | 1855532423821918208 |
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| author | te Wierik, Sofie Declerck, Fabrice Beusen, Arthur Gerten, Dieter Maggi, Federico Norberg, Anna Noone, Kevin Schulte-Uebbing, Lena Springmann, Marco Tang, Fiona H. M. de Vries, Wim van Vuuren, Detlef Vermeulen, Sonja Rockström, Johan |
| author_browse | Beusen, Arthur Declerck, Fabrice Gerten, Dieter Maggi, Federico Noone, Kevin Norberg, Anna Rockström, Johan Schulte-Uebbing, Lena Springmann, Marco Tang, Fiona H. M. Vermeulen, Sonja de Vries, Wim te Wierik, Sofie van Vuuren, Detlef |
| author_facet | te Wierik, Sofie Declerck, Fabrice Beusen, Arthur Gerten, Dieter Maggi, Federico Norberg, Anna Noone, Kevin Schulte-Uebbing, Lena Springmann, Marco Tang, Fiona H. M. de Vries, Wim van Vuuren, Detlef Vermeulen, Sonja Rockström, Johan |
| author_sort | te Wierik, Sofie |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Global environmental pressures from food systems threaten biodiversity and the stability of the Earth system, yet the safe operating space for food systems is unknown. Here we calculate food system boundaries as shares of planetary boundaries, proposing budgets for the food system across nine boundaries. Our results indicate that food systems are a critical driver of planetary boundary transgressions, dominating at least four transgressed boundaries (that is, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change and biogeochemical flows) while strongly contributing to the transgression of two more (that is, climate change and novel entities). Moreover, global food systems are currently beyond all nine food system boundaries; moving to the safe operating space requires reducing related greenhouse gas emissions substantially, halting the conversion of intact nature to agriculture, redistributing fertilizer inputs, limiting pesticide and antibiotic use, and preserving critical freshwater flows without negatively affecting yields. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace178650 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | NATURE PORTFOLIO |
| publisherStr | NATURE PORTFOLIO |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1786502025-12-10T02:10:57Z Identifying the safe operating space for food systems te Wierik, Sofie Declerck, Fabrice Beusen, Arthur Gerten, Dieter Maggi, Federico Norberg, Anna Noone, Kevin Schulte-Uebbing, Lena Springmann, Marco Tang, Fiona H. M. de Vries, Wim van Vuuren, Detlef Vermeulen, Sonja Rockström, Johan food systems sustainability environmental impact Global environmental pressures from food systems threaten biodiversity and the stability of the Earth system, yet the safe operating space for food systems is unknown. Here we calculate food system boundaries as shares of planetary boundaries, proposing budgets for the food system across nine boundaries. Our results indicate that food systems are a critical driver of planetary boundary transgressions, dominating at least four transgressed boundaries (that is, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change and biogeochemical flows) while strongly contributing to the transgression of two more (that is, climate change and novel entities). Moreover, global food systems are currently beyond all nine food system boundaries; moving to the safe operating space requires reducing related greenhouse gas emissions substantially, halting the conversion of intact nature to agriculture, redistributing fertilizer inputs, limiting pesticide and antibiotic use, and preserving critical freshwater flows without negatively affecting yields. 2025-10-31 2025-12-09T11:09:42Z 2025-12-09T11:09:42Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178650 en Open Access application/pdf NATURE PORTFOLIO te Wierik, S.; Declerck, F.; Beusen, A.; Gerten, D.; Maggi, F.; Norberg, A.; Noone, K.; Schulte-Uebbing, L.; Springmann, M.; Tang, F.H.M.; de Vries, W.; van Vuuren, D.; Vermeulen, S.; Rockström, J. (2025) Identifying the safe operating space for food systems. Nature Food , Online first paper(2025-10-31). ISSN: 2662-1355 |
| spellingShingle | food systems sustainability environmental impact te Wierik, Sofie Declerck, Fabrice Beusen, Arthur Gerten, Dieter Maggi, Federico Norberg, Anna Noone, Kevin Schulte-Uebbing, Lena Springmann, Marco Tang, Fiona H. M. de Vries, Wim van Vuuren, Detlef Vermeulen, Sonja Rockström, Johan Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title | Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title_full | Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title_fullStr | Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title_short | Identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| title_sort | identifying the safe operating space for food systems |
| topic | food systems sustainability environmental impact |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178650 |
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