DATE: July 2026
SECTOR: Global Agriculture, Food Systems, Sustainability
SOURCE: Nature, Cornell University, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
TOPIC: The potential impact of food systems transformation on global agriculture
SUMMARY: A global modelling study examines how healthier diets, improved productivity and reduced food waste could reshape agricultural production, land use and emissions by 2050.
Description: An international research team, including researchers from Cornell University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, modeled the potential impacts of transforming the global food system through healthier diets, higher farm productivity and a halving of food waste.
The study finds that by 2050, such a shift could reduce agricultural land use by around 6% compared with 2020 and cut direct agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 34% compared with a business-as-usual future. However, it would also fundamentally reshape agricultural markets: the value of global agricultural production could be 26% lower than projected under business as usual, with livestock particularly affected while production of vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes expands, highlighting significant trade-offs for global agriculture.
Read more: The diet that could remake modern agriculture – Cornell Chronicle
Access the study: Food systems transformation would reshape global agriculture – Nature
