Our Work

Our Work

Food

Drive sustainable food systems to conserve nature and feed humanity

Overview

It’s time to reconsider food.

Around the globe, food production, distribution, management and waste threaten wildlife, wild places and the planet itself.

Today, 7.3 billion people consume 1.6 times what the earth’s natural resources can supply. By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 billion and the demand for food will double.

So how do we produce more food for more people without expanding the land and water already in use? We can’t double the amount of food. Fortunately we don’t have to—we have to double the amount of food available instead. In short, we must freeze the footprint of food.

In the near-term, food production is sufficient to provide for all, but it doesn’t reach everyone who needs it. About 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted each year—four times the amount needed to feed the more than 800+ million people who are malnourished.

By improving efficiency and productivity while reducing waste and shifting consumption patterns, we can produce enough food for everyone by 2050 on roughly the same amount of land we use now. Feeding all sustainably and protecting our natural resources.

WWF works to secure a living planet that will sustain a more affluent population. From refining production and distribution to combating waste and environmental impacts, we want to improve how the world grows, transports and consumes this precious fuel.

9 Billion

By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 billion and the demand for food will double.

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Priority Commodities

Bittersweet: chocolate's impact on the environment

At least 2,000 years ago, people in the Americas began cultivating the cocoa tree for its dark, bitter beans, which they brewed into a drink spiced with hot peppers. Today, we blend the beans with milk and sugar and call the stuff chocolate.

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Blog Posts

Why It Matters

In the next 40 years, increased demand for food will put pressure on agricultural, aquaculture and fishing resources that are already strained. The strain to produce crops and sell food at affordable levels will impact the planet and the world’s poor. Local communities, industry leaders, governments, and non-governmental organizations must work together to produce better and consume more wisely.

What WWF Is Doing

WWF works with partners to feed the world while conserving the earth’s precious natural resources.

From bait to plate

Preventing illegally caught seafood from entering our food chain

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Certification Standards

One of the biggest threats to biodiversity and ecosystems is where and how we produce food. WWF is working with retailers, buyers and producers responsible for key food commodities to establish credible, certification standards. These standards—including those already established for aquaculture, beef, soy, cotton, sugar and palm oil—measurably reduce key environmental impacts.

Increase Supply of More Sustainably Sourced Food

WWF is dedicated to building innovations for sustainability. We support producer improvement projects for priority food crops and promote sustainable supply chain solutions for food companies. These business solutions help companies reduce environmental impacts, become more profitable and provide cases to shape the way we think about becoming more sustainable in the future.

Increase Demand of More Sustainably Sourced Food

WWF is engages companies, platforms, sectors and governments to reduce key impacts of food production. This includes convincing priority companies and sectors to use purchases and investments to drive more sustainable food production.

Education and Action

Produce better and consume more wisely. That’s the message but it will take entire sectors, platforms or even countries to move the needle on sustainability. WWF encourages enabling conditions and enforcement of policies that encourage more sustainable and efficient food production and consumption. We help businesses understand how they can contribute to a more sustainable brand. And we create awareness of the issue for US consumers, from shopping wisely to reducing food waste.

Reducing Food Waste

An effective food strategy must address the issue of food loss and waste. In order to meet global food security needs, as well as the food demands of an increasingly affluent global population, we will need to both increase productivity and efficiency as well as reduce food waste.

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Press Releases

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WWF In The News

Food Labeling and Liability Laws Don’t Make it Easy to Feed the Hungry March 10, 2017 – Marketplace
North America’s Grasslands are Slowly Disappearing — and No One’s Paying Attention November 29, 2016 – The Washington Post
Little(R) Home on the Praiarie November 16, 2016 – Grist

Projects

The AgWater Challenge

In recent years, economic leaders have begun to recognize the significant risks posed by water scarcity and water quality declines. In response, governments are tightening water regulations in many growing regions, and investors and consumers alike are calling on global food and beverage companies to mitigate water risks in the food supply. Meanwhile, agricultural sustainability standards have experienced significant growth and have come to represent a key mechanism through which large multinational firms address their sustainability goals.
The Journey to Sustainable Sugar Begins Here

As one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugarcane has a significant environmental impact—particularly when it comes to water use and quality—on many critical regions, from Southeast Asia’s Mekong River Delta to Central America’s Mesoamerican Reef. Yet it can be produced in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways.

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