Stories
Global Food Systems Off-Track for 2030 Goals, Urgent Action Needed
- •The 2026 Food Systems Countdown analysis reveals insufficient progress to meet 2030 goals across health, environment, livelihoods, governance, and resilience indicators.
- •Most countries will not meet internationally agreed 2030 targets, with no country projected to meet the greenhouse gas emissions target from food systems.
- •The study, published in Nature Food, is the most comprehensive assessment to date, covering 197 countries and 44 indicators.
- •Only one of 30 indicators (mobile phone subscriptions) has been met by most countries, while 22 indicators show fewer than one-third of countries on track for 2030.
- •Despite the bleak 2030 outlook, 2050 goals remain achievable with accelerated and consistent action, and some indicators show positive global trends.
Key Questions Answered
The 2026 Food Systems Countdown analysis reveals that progress is too slow to meet 2030 global goals across most indicators, though 2050 remains achievable with accelerated action. Out of 30 indicators, only mobile phone subscriptions have been met by most countries, while indicators like food system greenhouse gas emissions have massive gaps where no country is projected to meet the target.
The analysis shows that civil society participation, governmental accountability, ultra-processed food sales, agricultural water withdrawal, pesticide use, and changes in emissions from food systems are moving in the wrong direction.
The Food Systems Countdown Initiative (FSCI) is a global interdisciplinary research collaboration co-led by Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
