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Food Systems, Health and the Environment
Generating knowledge to develop a food system that provides healthy affordable human nutrition while supporting thriving biodiverse terrestrial and aquatic environments, and reduces carbon emissions from the agricultural sector.
Food systems are responsible for approximately a third of total greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, red meats, sugary beverages, and diets high in processed foods contribute to the rise of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
Nearly 9% of the global population experiences undernourishment. This disparity is exacerbated by unequal access to nutritious and affordable food, with marginalized communities facing the brunt of food inequities due to socioeconomic factors, geographical constraints, and systemic inequalities.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food systems while improving food security and healthy diets can be achieved through development of lower-emission production technologies and policies and practices that reduce emissions and land-use intensity, promote soil health, and support lower-carbon diets.
View HPH's Food Systems, Health and the Environment Publications
Food Systems, Health and the Environment research highlights:
- Globally, seafood provides nearly 3 billion people with vital nutrients, yet it is often left out of food system discussions. The Center for Human and Planetary Health partnered with the Stanford Center for Oceans Solutions to launch a Blue Foods Action Lab in which students partnered with the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning to build blue foods into Indonesia’s national development strategy.
- The typical U.S. diet – heavy on beef and dairy products – has a significant adverse environmental impact. The Stanford Plant-Based Diet Initiative (PBDI) and research led by Christopher Gardner, with contributions by a number of investigators across campus including Dr. Tamiko Katsumoto, focuses on scholarship and research to reap the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet.
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Of the many impacts of the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis, damage to the global food system is one of the most terrifying, keynote speaker Solomon Hsiang illuminates.
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Dozens of faculty members at Stanford are working to transform the way the world grows, distributes, and consumes food, with research and scholarship spanning topics including sustainable food systems, food security, health equity, culture, and diet.
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Much of the research and conversation surrounding coal power's negative environmental impact centers on its contributions to warming temperatures and the health-harming pollution it creates. But a new study from India warns that coal's effects on crops are just as worrisome.
