WRI report offers menu of silver bullets for sustainable food

The ‘World Resources Report: Creating a Sustainable Food Future’ is out and the news is that “there is no silver bullet.” Rather, there’s a whole list of things that need to be done. For example, we need “[g]enetic tools allowing farmers to select for size, flavor, and temperament of vegetables.”

No wait, that’s The Onion, my mistake. It’s National Geographic I was looking for.

Here’s the actual, very sensible, menu:

  • Reduce growth in demand by cutting food loss and waste, eating healthier diets, and more
  • Increase food production without expanding agricultural land area via yield gains for both crops and livestock
  • Protect and restore natural ecosystems by reducing deforestation, restoring peatlands, and linking yield gains with ecosystem conservation
  • Increase fish supply by improving aquaculture systems and better managing wild fisheries
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production through innovative technologies and farming methods

Needless to say, agricultural biodiversity underpins pretty much all of the above, including attitude-free vegetables. Maybe there is a silver bullet after all?

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