By now you might’ve seen the mind-boggling numbers from the United Nations this week: The hidden environmental, health, and social costs of our agri-food systems amount to at least $10 trillion a year — representing almost 10% of global GDP.
The Food and Agriculture Organization’s flagship The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 report uses true cost accounting to put a price tag on market, institutional, and policy failures. It’s a big deal because, well, knowing the full cost of a problem is an important step before solving it, and the idea is to push global agri-food systems toward greater sustainability. The 150-page report disaggregates those costs to the national level, with data on 154 countries.
Let’s go through some key findings:
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About the author
Tania Karas@TaniaKaras
Tania Karas is a Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development and humanitarian aid in the Americas. Previously, she managed the digital team for The World, where she oversaw content production for the website, podcast, newsletter, and social media platforms. Tania also spent three years as a foreign correspondent in Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, covering the Syrian refugee crisis and European politics. She started her career as a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, covering immigration and access to justice.
