This week’s standout figures span falling fruit and veg consumption among UK adults and children, a worrying forecast for global food production, a call to investors to support sustainable food systems and the value in policy makers embracing the circular economy.
17%. The proportion of UK adults eating their recommended 5-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables, according to new government dietary statistics. The figure for the period spanning October 2019 to July 2023 represents a considerable fall from the 33% who achieved the required 5-a-day during the previous National Diet and Nutrition Survey period between 2016 and 2019. Children fared even worse with just 9% getting their 5-a-day, down from 12% previously.
120. The reduction in available calories per person per day for every 1°C increase in global temperatures – equivalent to 4.4% of current daily consumption. That was the stark warning issued by a team of researchers who analysed the impact of climate change on food production in more than 12,000 regions across 55 countries. Wealthy nations like the US could potentially lose as much as 40% of their maize and wheat production this century, according to the study which was published in the Nature journal and reported by Forbes.
$1.1trn. Annual investments needed over the next five years for agri-food systems to transition to sustainable, resilient food production models and align with the goals of the Paris Agreement. That’s according to new analysis by Bain & Company and the World Economic Forum which concluded that food systems transformation is not just a climate imperative but a commercial opportunity too. The bad news: current annual investment accounts for only 5% of the required amount.
£25bn. The potential boost to the UK economy by 2035 should the government start embracing circular thinking. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Environment believes hundreds of thousands of jobs could also be created across the country by focusing on resource efficiency. Politicians of all stripes are supporting the group’s six point plan to kick-start the circular economy, published this week.
