Building a better-equipped food supply chain will require global collaboration, according to new Lineage-supported research from London-based firm Economist Impact that explores the connection between food infrastructure and economic development in hard-to-reach geographies.
Enough food is produced to feed the world population of 8 billion people daily, yet around 733 million people still go hungry, 3.1 billion cannot afford a healthy diet, and 24% of the world’s calories go uneaten due to food loss and waste, Lineage reported. Providing everyone with access to safe, nourishing food while eliminating waste and driving socioeconomic progress will require robust infrastructure—from warehousing and cold storage to transportation networks—that spans the entire global supply chain.
“We are proud to partner with Economist Impact to shed light on the critical role that cold chain infrastructure plays in creating long-term solutions to hunger, boosting agricultural productivity, empowering communities and reducing waste globally,” Greg Lehmkuhl, Lineage president and CEO, said in a news release.
“This research speaks to the enduring quality of our purpose at Lineage to transform the world’s food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world, and why it informs every decision we make across our global team.”
The “Feeding the Future” report was conducted with Lineage’s support as part of Economist Impact’s “Food Imperative” initiative, which is designed to arm decision-makers with the data, insights, and tools they need to develop more sustainable and secure solutions in their commitment to transform global food systems for the future. As part of the initiative, Economist Impact also published a short, animated film illustrating how temperature-controlled supply chains enable global access to nutritious food from farm to fork, along with an article on the cold chain's role in feeding the world and transformative trends and technologies in the space.
"At Economist Impact, our mission is to drive progress on the world's biggest issues with world-class policy research and global media amplification,” said Pratima Singh, Economist Impact principal and Food Imperative lead.
“With the Food Imperative initiative and Feeding the Future report, we’re bringing critical attention to the need for sustainable, resilient food systems,”
To view the full report and accompanying content, please visit impact.economist.com/sustainability/feeding-the-future.
