Water, soils, biodiversity, climate... all these aspects of our planet are now affected by our food production methods. Today s agriculture is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses 70% of the fresh water consumed every year. A contributor to climate change, it is also one of its main victims , under the effects of drought, falling yields, etc. Above and beyond agriculture, the entire food chain impacts our environment from food processing and transport, to the challenge of food waste (which represents a third of the food produced worldwide).
A radical transformation of our food systems and patterns is therefore required if we are to succeed in producing more, better food in the future while respecting the environment.
Minimising the environmental footprint of our production methods: agroecology
Awareness is growing at all levels of the food chain of the need to better consider ecological imperatives and manage resources better.
From Africa to Latin America and Europe, the principle of agroecology is gradually gaining
strength: a set of environmentally friendly agricultural techniques, which maintain biodiversity, limit soil erosion, reduce post-harvests losses or recycle biomass and waste.
Optimising water management, the cornerstone of the food chain, is one example of an imperative where significant progress are being achieved, in a context of growing resource scarcity. In Italy, the Milan San Rocco treatment plant irrigates over 22,000 hectares of agricultural crops with recycled wastewater. In Chile, wastewater sludge from the La Farfana wastewater treatment plant is transformed into fertiliser for farmers, who therefore have a major role to play in the sector s transition towards the circular economy. As producers of organic waste, farmers can now also become producers of new resources. A solution such as Organix, the first digital marketplace in France for organic waste, enables these waste producers
Worldwide, we use 1,500 km3 of water every year
70% for agriculture
20% for industry
10% for domestic use
Quantity of water (in litres) needed to produce
1 kg of potatoes
290 L
1 kg of cotton
10,000 L
1 kg of beef
15,415 L
Water reuse (after treatment) by type of use
29% other
19% for industry
20% for irrigating green spaces
32% for agricultural irrigation
2019
Environmental impact of the global food system
2030
+ 25 % d émission de GES
+ 14 % de prélèvement d eau
69 % de prélèvement
d eau
28 % d émission
de GES
Global population Global hunger
suffers from hunger, which represents 821 million people
one human being in nine
151 M d enfants de moins de
cinq ans sont trop petits pour leur
âge en raison de malnutrition
2.5 billion
6.1 billion
9.8 billion
205020001950
Quantity of feed needed to produce 1 kg of animal mass
10 kg Beef
2.5 kg Chicken
1.7 kg Crickets
Worldwide, we use 1,500 km3 of water every year
70% for agriculture
20% for industry
10% for domestic use
Quantity of water (in litres) needed to produce
1 kg of p tatoes
290 L
1 kg of cotton
10,000 L
1 kg of beef
15,415 L
Water reuse (after treatment) by type of use
29% other
19% for industry
20% for irrigating green spaces
32% for agricultural irrigation
2019
Environmental impact of the global food system
2030
+ 25 % émission
de GES
+ 14 % e prélèvement
d eau
69 % de prélèvement
d eau
28 % d émission
de GES
Global population Global hunger
suffers from hunger, which repres nts 821 million people
one human being in nine
151 M d enfants de moin de
cinq ans sont trop p tits pour leur
âge en raison de malnutrition
2.5 billion
6.1 billion
9.8 billion
205020001950
Quantity of feed needed to produce 1 kg of animal mass
10 kg Beef
2.5 kg Chicken
1.7 kg Crickets
Worldwide, we use 1,500 km3 of water every year
70% for agriculture
20% for industry
10% for domestic use
Quantity of water (in litres) needed to produce
1 kg of potatoes
290 L
1 kg of cotton
10,000 L
1 kg of beef
15,415 L
Water reuse (after treatment) by type of use
29% other
19% for industry
20% for irrigating green spaces
32% for agricultural irrigation
2019
Environmental impact of the global food system
2030
+ 25 % d émission de GES
+ 14 % de prélèvement d eau
69 % de rélèv ment
eau
28 % d émission
de GES
Global population Global hunger
suffers from hunger, which represents 821 million people
one human being in nine
151 M d enfants de moins de
cinq ans sont trop petits pour leur
âge en raison de malnutrition
2.5 billion
6.1 billion
9.8 billion
205020001950
Quantity of feed needed to produce 1 kg of animal mass
10 kg Beef
2.5 kg Chicken
1.7 kg Crickets
Worldwide, we use 1,500 km3 of water every year
70% for agriculture
20% for industry
10% for domestic use
Quantity of w ter (in litres) needed to produc
1 kg of pot toes
290 L
1 kg of cotton
10,000 L
1 kg of beef
15,415 L
Water reuse (after treatment) by type of use
29% other
19% for industry
20% for irrigating green spaces
32% for agricultural irrigation
2019
Environmental impact of the global food system
2030
+ 25 % d émission de GES
+ 14 % de prélèvement d eau
69 % de prélèvement
d eau
28 % d émission
de GES
Global population Global hunger
suffers from hunger, which represents 821 million people
one human being in nine
151 M d enfants de moins de
cinq ans sont trop petits pour leur
âge en raison de malnutrition
2.5 billion
6.1 billion
9.8 billion
205020001950
Quantity of feed needed to produce 1 kg of animal mass
10 kg Beef
2.5 kg Chicken
1.7 kg Crickets
Source: World Water Council.
Source: The United Nations
Source: United Nations.
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