From devastating floods to debilitating droughts, in 2023 the world witnessed an unprecedented increase in extreme weather and record heat. Methane emissions, with 80 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide, are projected to cause significant temperature increases in the next two decades. Approximately 60% of annual anthropogenic methane emissions originate from the global food system — particularly livestock, food loss and waste, and rice cultivation.
The urgent nutrition crisis is likewise apparent. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports over 3.1 billion people globally cannot afford a nutritious diet, 30% of the world population experiences moderate or severe food insecurity, and diet-related chronic disease prevalence increasingly skyrockets.
Accelerating food-system produced methane reduction, while critical, must recognize and accommodate the complex health, particularly nutrition, implications such solutions will deliver.
About the authors
Ertharin Cousin
Ertharin Cousin currently serves as the CEO and managing director of Food Systems for the Future, and is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She is a Bosch Academy Robert Weizsäcker fellow and a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Food Security and Environment. Previously, Cousin led the World Food Programme and served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations agencies for food and agriculture in Rome.
Shenggen Fan
Shenggen Fan is chair professor and dean of the Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy at China Agricultural University. Prior to joining CAU, he served as director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute from 2009 to 2019. He holds a Ph.D. in applied economics and an M.Sc. in agricultural economics.
