Article published in July on Broadcast do Estadão
Globally, food production and land use generate hidden costs – so-called externalities – for the environment, health and poverty estimated at almost US$ 12 trillion/year. At the heart of the discussion about these impacts are food systems, which involve all processes related to food, from production, processing, distribution and consumption. The theme is still little present in the media, but 2021 promises to bring it to the fore, with the holding of the Summit on Food Systems, parallel to the UN General Assembly. The meeting was convened by Secretary-General António Guterres in 2019, with the aim of accelerating the agenda of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), making the necessary bridges between the global challenges of hunger, the climate emergency, the loss of biodiversity and of poverty and inequality.
This discussion is of interest to Brazil, for several reasons: agriculture has highlighted economic weight, as we are the third largest agricultural exporter in the world. At the same time, 32% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions derive from changes in land use, which include deforestation to convert forest areas into plantations and pastures. Due to the relevance of the topic, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) took the lead in this discussion by launching, in June, the CEO's Guide on Transforming Food Systems, a publication that aims to guide and engage great decision makers from Brazilian companies on this journey.
Of a didactic nature, the publication brings cases of Brazilian companies committed to the transformation of food systems and brings the goals already established by 17 organizations from different sectors, including global companies such as JBS, Danone, Bayer, Carrefour and Nestlé, for 2030 and 2050 These companies positioned themselves with seven objectives and programmatic points: scaling up low-carbon, regenerative agriculture, with greater productivity and precision; train farmers to adopt more resilient and sustainable methods; reduce losses and waste; ensure traceability and certification for sustainable production; raise consumer awareness about healthy and sustainable choices; increasing access to healthy and sustainable diets; and strengthen the production of scientific data and communicate them to the entire production chain.
In CEBDS' view, delivering these paths of transformation will guide Brazil towards a new economy, which could generate R$ 2.8 trillion in new business opportunities, with the addition of R$ 19 billion in additional agricultural productivity and the creation of two million jobs by 2030. This enhances our natural vocation of being a major food producer and exporter, while adding socio-environmental value, with a reduction in carbon emissions and more inclusive production chains.
The world already craves a different attitude from those who produce food: data collected by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a network of which CEBDS is part, point out that there is a generational factor in choosing more sustainable products: among those willing to adopting brands in tune with sustainability, 73% belong to generation Z (born between the end of the 1990s and 2010), 68% of the interviewees are part of the millennial group (born between 1980 and the mid-1990s), 55% from generation X (between 1965 and early 1980s) and 42% of the baby boomers (between 1946 and 1964). The time has come to include the hidden costs of production chains in the account and pave the way for a new pattern of food production and consumption, and the private sector is already leading this transformation with concrete actions and a long-term vision.
