New white paper on sustainability: Solving global food challenges with solutions of tomorrow
The global food supply is facing vast challenges: uneven distribution of food, too many feeling the impact of climate change, undernutrition and overnutrition. As the population continues to grow, this raises an important question: How will we ensure a reliable supply of sustainable safe, high-quality food to consumers all over the world in the future?
Today the white paper on Sustainability was launched by the Danish Minister for Food, Fisheries, Equal Opportunities and Nordic Cooperation of Denmark, Mogens Jensen at World Food Summit in Copenhagen. Developed in close collaboration with stakeholders in the Danish food cluster, Food Nation’s white paper presents Denmark’s competencies within sustainability and showcases different methods and solutions within sustainable food production.
The Danish food sector have succeeded in increasing the production volume by almost a third, while greenhouse gas emissions have declined by around 16% since 1990
Population growth and climate change increases the relevance of sustainable food production
The global population is growing so fast that over the next 40 years, we will need to produce as much food that we have done in the past 8,000 years to feed the whole population. Never has the need for sustainable means to produce safe, high-quality food been of this magnitude. Through the steady refinement of production techniques, Danish farmers have learned to make the most of the relatively small area of agricultural land available to them. Today, we have high-efficient food productions with some of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.
Food producers follow a similar path to continuous optimisation, honing their ability to produce more with less and transform raw materials into high-value products. Resourceful collaboration across industry, academia and authorities highlights the commitment to continuous improvement in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Across the Danish food value chain, there is evidence that these endeavors are not only beneficial to the future of the planet and its people. They are now also profitable business opportunities.