Latest IRP report lists 12 ways to use natural resources more efficiently, improve human health and reduce the environmental damage caused by food systems. A major overhaul of the global food system is urgently needed if the world is to combat hunger, use natural resources more efficiently and stem environmental damage, the International Resource Panel (IRP) says. In its latest report, the IRP - a consortium of 34 internationally renowned scientists, over 30 national governments and other groups hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - calls for a switch to a "resource-smart" food system that changes the way food is grown, harvested, processed, traded, transported, stored, sold and consumed.
Current food systems, which the IRP says are "inefficient" and "unsustainable", are responsible for 60 per cent of global terrestrial biodiversity loss and about 24 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. They are also responsible for the overfishing of 29 per cent of commercial fish populations and the overexploitation of 20 per cent of the world's aquifers.
Read more: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=27074&ArticleID=36191&l=en .
