Rome/Paris/Vienna, 6 July 2023 – According to a new joint report released by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), governments “must intensify their efforts” to meet global food security and environmental targets by the deadline for achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030.

FOUR PAWS says that Governments “Must Intensify Their Efforts”. The yearly report showed that global agriculture and food production would increase over the next decade but at a slower rate than previously forecast. The world's production of fish and livestock is expected to increase by 1.3 percent per year, which is a slower rate of growth than in recent years. Through 2032, it is anticipated that over half of the increase in global meat production would come from poultry meat.

FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organisation, said that even with the geopolitical unrest across the world which had caused major disruptions to the agricultural sector, the report rightly highlights that animal diseases and climate change pose even greater threats to the future of food and farming.

Sophie Aylmer, FOUR PAWS Head of Farm Animals & Nutrition Policy, said, “FOUR PAWS welcomes FAO’s message that we need to shift to more sustainable food systems, but emphasises just as the report does that livestock is estimated to account for 80% of the increase in agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Food systems make up a third of manmade greenhouse gases – including from our diets - climate action cannot just be about adapting production practices, we need urgent emissions reductions through holisitc transformation. With a significant increase in production, comes an increase in GHGs which are projected to increase by 7.6% in the next decade. So called solutions mentioned in the report such as animal genetics and feed technology improvements will not be sufficient.

Aylmer concluded, that while there has been progress it is “reliant on a piecemeal approach that adapts the animal to the system rather than the system itself.”

Warning, “Mitigation and adaption solutions for farmers based on carbon intensity is the wrong direction for food security and for farmers and it is a significant threat to animal welfare.”

Background

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023–2032 Report: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/oecd-fao-agricultural-outlook-2023-2032_08801ab7-en

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said, "The broad trends outlined in this report are heading in the right direction but need to be accelerated. Promoting a faster shift to sustainable agrifood systems will bring many benefits and help usher in better lives for all, leaving no one behind."

OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said, "Surges in input prices experienced over the last two years have raised concerns about global food security. Investments in innovation, further productivity gains and reductions in the carbon intensity of production are needed to lay the foundation for long-term food security, affordability and sustainability."

“The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023–2032 provides an assessment of the ten-year prospects for agricultural commodity and fish markets at national, regional, and global levels in a context of continued economic risks, uncertainty and high energy prices. The report is a collaborative effort between the OECD and FAO, prepared with inputs from Member countries and international commodity organisations.”