Exploring changing food attitudes to respect planetary boundaries

Healthier, more sustainable and more equitable food systems have a key role to deliver progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aims at assessing the impact of behavioural changes with regard to food consumption with a focus on the objectives of SDG target 12.3. As a stylised representation of our finite planetary resources, the study employs a recursive dynamic global computable general equilibrium simulation model known as MAGNET, which is ideally suited to examining forward-looking medium- to long-term scenarios. The scenarios selected represent important targeted synergetic directions for tackling the most pressing challenges of today and the future, put in place on a global policy agenda with the SDGs and the Paris agreement. From a European perspective, within the context of the European Green Deal and related strategies, the market driven dynamics explored in this report constitute a relevant building block toward the realisation of a sustainable 21st century vision of European agriculture. For example, there is a clear complementarity in pairing the attitudinal changes toward more sustainable food consumption examined in this report, with environmentally friendly and, albeit, potentially productivity reducing farming practises. The implications for food affordability, sustainable usage of resources and the protection of rural livelihoods through payments linked to efficient and socially responsible agricultural production practises, offers great promise and should constitute a line of inquiry for further research.