Food
Drive sustainable food systems to conserve nature and feed humanity
Overview
9 Billion
By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 billion and the demand for food will double.
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.
Priority Commodities
Beef
Dairy
Farmed Salmon
Farmed Seafood
Farmed Seaweed
Farmed Shrimp
Other Farmed Seafood
Palm Oil
Soy
Sugarcane
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable Seafood
Tropical Shrimp
Tuna
Whitefish
Wild-Caught Seafood
How produce delivered by mail could help both people and nature
What if you could get fresh fruit and vegetables from local farmers delivered along with your mail? In a new analysis, WWF looks at how the United States Postal Service—your daily mail carrier—could bridge the gap between farmers and food shoppers, in a proposed program we call Farmers Post.
Why It Matters
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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.
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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.
Press Releases
- WWF Statement on the Introduction of the AQUAA Act September 28, 2020
- World Wildlife Fund Joins the Walmart Foundation, Cargill, McDonald’s to Launch Million-Acre Grazing Initiative to Help Restore Grasslands, Address Climate Change September 22, 2020
- World Wildlife Fund Announces Investment in Seaweed Farming through Ocean Rainforest August 06, 2020
Projects
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The AgWater Challenge
Ceres and WWF created the AgWater Challenge. Together, we’re engaging leading food and beverage companies to provide examples of leadership and encourage stronger, more transparent commitments to better steward fresh water resources in agricultural supply chains.
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Mozambique’s Lifeline: Nature
Mozambique is instituting a five-year strategy that makes the sustainable management of natural resources and the environment a priority, and to the creation of a program that will focus on protecting the country’s natural capital.
Publications
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The Potential for Seaweed as Livestock Feed, Workshop Report 2020
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Bending the Curve: The Restorative Power of Planet-Based Diets
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Living Planet Report 2020
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Indoor Soilless Farming: Phase I: Examining the industry and impacts of controlled environment agriculture
Experts
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Jason Clay
Senior Vice President, Markets | Executive Director, Markets Institute
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Pete Pearson
Senior Director, Food Loss and Waste
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Stephanie Cappa
Deputy Director, Policy and Government Affairs
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Brent Loken
Global Food Lead Scientist, Global Science
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Melissa D. Ho
Senior Vice President, Freshwater and Food
