Environmental impacts along food supply chains
Methods, findings, and evidence gaps
Food systems exert major pressures on the environment. This paper reviews what is
known and not known about environmental impacts along food supply chains, looking
at the contribution of different stages of the supply chain, the impact of different
products, heterogeneity among producers, and the role of international trade. This
review shows that most environmental impacts in food supply chains occur through land
use change or at the stage of agricultural production. Livestock (especially ruminant
livestock) has a higher footprint than plant-based food. However, there is also important
heterogeneity among producers, even within the same region. A significant share of
total environmental impacts is "embodied" in international trade, although considerably
less than half. In terms of evidence gaps, some impacts (e.g. biodiversity, soil carbon)
have been less studied, and there are geographic and product blind spots. Moreover,
existing evidence is not sufficiently granular. While important evidence gaps thus
exist, the overall picture that emerges is one of a rapidly growing evidence base,
which can inform innovative supply chain initiatives to reduce impacts.
Published on September 27, 2022
In series:OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papersview more titles