Food needs to be smart too
We live in a world of smart phones, smart cities and smart manufacturing, so why not Smart Food! On World Food Day, it's time to reflect on how our food system—from farm to table—has evolved and the urgent need to make it smarter.

Our food systems face numerous challenges. Ironically, some of the poorest and most food-insecure people are farmers themselves. There are concurrent increasing levels of malnutrition and obesity globally, agriculture accounts for 12% of greenhouse gas emissions, the UN has warned that 24 billion tonnes of fertile land are lost every year and 90% of the earth’s top soil is likely to be at risk by 2050. Furthermore, the global food system is the leading driver of biodiversity loss, with agriculture threatening 85% of species at risk of extinction. Clearly, we're not building a smarter food system.

We certainly won’t create a smarter food system if we keep working in our silos – our own specialties, and solving one piece of the food system puzzle without understanding the broader trade-offs and impacts. We need holistic solutions – a Triple Bottom Line approach, specifically tailored to food systems, offers a way forward.

It is common practice now that companies have Sustainability Strategies that are based on a Triple Bottom Line – Profit as well as People impact (positively impacting society) and Planet impact (positively impacting the environment). Adapting the Triple Bottom Line for food systems includes:

- Profit: Prioritizing farmer livelihoods, ensuring both economic viability and resilience, especially in the face of climate change.

- Planet impact: focused on Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture, mitigating climate change and ensuring healthy and sustainable use of natural resources like soil, water and biodiversity.

- People impact: contributing to Healthier Food and a more Inclusivity. This means promoting diverse, accessible, and affordable diets while reducing the dominance of ultra-processed foods. Inclusivity requires empowering marginalized groups, like women, youth and poorer communities.Research shows that gender-diverse and inclusive teams perform 50% better on average, underscoring the need for full empowerment to reach economic potential and address social inequities.

Smart solutions must balance these three dimensions. It’s at the intersection of Profit, People, and Planet where we can truly transform our food systems.

The evolution of Food Systems in development
In the 1950s and ‘60s, the Green Revolution in Asia brought higher-yielding crops, chemical inputs, mechanization and government support. This transformed agricultural productivity and improved food security, saving millions from starvation.

Later, the focus expanded to tackle not just hunger, but also “hidden hunger”—the lack of essential nutrients. Thus, Nutrition Security became vital. Despite these efforts, the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition report shows that global undernourishment has been rising since 2017, with an estimated 733.4 million people affected in 2023.

As awareness grew around the environmental impact of modern agriculture, the concept of Sustainable Diets emerged—diets that are healthier for both people and the planet. In Western industrialized countries, shifting to more plant-based diets was identified as a key step toward reducing both environmental and health risks.

Now, we must look ahead and focus on Climate-Resilient Diets, which have a lower carbon footprint to help combat climate change. Agricultural GHG emissions have risen by 20% since 1990, contributing around 12% of global emissions annually. Livestock and rice production are the largest contributors. Technologies and new production systems can reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture, and shifting to Climate-Resilient Diets and Low-Carbon Agriculture could significantly lower emissions.

The complexity of these challenges is undeniable, but if we want to be smart about our food systems, we must address them all—humanitarian, health, and environmental needs. By adopting the Food System Triple Bottom Line, we can transform toward Smarter Food Systems.

Joanna Kane-Potaka is former DDG IRRI, ADG ICRISAT, ED Smart Food.
Dr Raj Kumar Bhandari is a senior paediatrician and government advisor.