Topic of year

Foucs 2025: Nutrition

Topic of the year 2025: Sustainable nutrition

Nutrition is a key aspect of sustainability because it has a major impact on the environment, economy and society. What we eat and how it is produced influences the climate, the consumption of resources, our health and social justice. That is why we want to devote more attention to this topic in 2025.

A sustainable food system helps to reduce our ecological footprint. It uses fewer pesticides and fertilizers, saves water and promotes healthy soils. At the same time, it supports biodiversity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and livestock farming. Furthermore, such a system plays an important role in combating hunger and food insecurity. Promoting local food production and creating income opportunities for small-scale farmers and agricultural producers strengthens local communities. This contributes to economic development and poverty reduction, which in turn improves access to food. Furthermore, a sustainable food system also has positive effects on our health.

Overall, it can be seen that sustainable nutrition has many positive effects on our environment, economy and society. By being more conscious and responsible about what we eat, we can contribute to a sustainable future.

Dimensions of sustainability

Food and environmental sustainability

The way we produce and consume our food has a profound impact on the environment. The current global food system puts considerable pressure on planetary boundaries and causes a wide range of environmental problems. Intensive agriculture and livestock farming cause deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. The excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides also disrupts the natural cycles of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. These disruptions lead to water and soil pollution and affect the health of ecosystems.

In particular, food production contributes significantly to climate change. Almost one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions (29%) come from the food system, which encompasses the entire food production life cycle – from cultivation and processing to disposal. More than half of these emissions are caused by the production of animal-based foods, although these account for less than 20% of the calories consumed worldwide. The high proportion of emissions is partly due to the fact that ruminants such as cattle produce methane, a greenhouse gas that is many times more harmful than CO₂.

In addition, the production of animal-based foods requires large areas of land for grazing or growing animal feed, which leads to deforestation and releases CO₂. This deforestation also destroys the habitats of wild animals, which is why over 70% of wild animal populations have disappeared in the last 40 years. European consumption of animal products in particular contributes to rainforest clearance in South America.

Nutrition and social sustainability

A sustainable diet should promote social justice and ensure that everyone has access to nutritious and healthy food. It is essential that this food is produced, traded and consumed in a fair and environmentally friendly way. Products made under fair labor conditions contribute significantly to social justice. Certifications such as Fair Trade not only guarantee fair wages and safe working conditions for workers in the Global South, but also strengthen the economic stability of these countries in the long term.

Consuming locally produced food also plays a key role. Local production supports the regional economy, strengthens the relationship between producers and consumers, and helps to reduce CO₂ emissions by reducing transport distances. At the same time, the increased use of regional resources promotes independence from global supply chains and ensures a more crisis-resistant food supply.

In addition, supporting smallholder farmers and farmers in the Global South is crucial in the fight against hunger, food insecurity and poverty. By promoting local production capacities and creating income opportunities, not only are communities strengthened, but the fundamental conditions for sustainable economic development are also created. These measures help to reduce poverty and significantly improve access to nutritious food.

Another important aspect is education and information about sustainable nutrition, both at the local and global level. By imparting knowledge about environmentally friendly farming methods, healthy nutrition and the importance of fair trade structures, people can consume more consciously and actively support the transformation towards a more sustainable food system.

Nutrition and economic sustainability

Economic sustainability is an essential component of sustainable nutrition. It ensures that the production and consumption of food is not only ecologically and socially acceptable, but also economically viable. This means that farmers and producers are paid fairly, local economies are strengthened and resources are used efficiently to create stable and fair food systems in the long term.

Farmers can benefit from sustainable agriculture in Germany, Europe and worldwide. When consumers buy more local and regional products, farmers can sell their products directly at local markets, reducing their dependence on international markets. In Germany or other countries in the Global North, higher prices can also be achieved for food produced in an environmentally friendly way. Furthermore, it is crucial that sustainable agriculture ensures a long-term livelihood for farmers, as avoiding harmful pesticides and fertilizers creates healthy soils and greater biodiversity. This in turn means that the products grown can better adapt to climatic changes, thus reducing crop failures.

The potential synergies are immense. For example, more efficient and targeted fertilization can save on fertilizer costs, while long-term economic viability increases due to better soil quality. Concepts for efficient land use, such as agrivoltaics, in which agriculture is combined with the generation of solar power, or agroforestry systems, which combine forestry and agriculture, diversify sources of income and increase land efficiency while also relieving the burden on local ecosystems.

Economic sustainability in the food sector also means reducing dependencies on monopolies in agriculture wherever possible – for example in the areas of fertilizers and seeds. These and other important steps towards a sustainable food system require global cooperation. If farmers, trading companies, governments, NGOs and consumers work together effectively, fairly and sustainably, high tariffs and subsidies that disadvantage farmers in particular can be avoided. International agreements and initiatives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, provide a framework for this cooperation.

Planetary boundaries

Planetary boundaries describe the extent to which we can pollute the environment without damaging the global ecosystem. There are nine such boundaries, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the use of fresh water. There are also ocean acidification, nutrient cycles such as nitrogen and phosphorus, land use change, air pollution, chemical pollution and ozone depletion. If we exceed these limits, we risk permanently jeopardizing the stability of our planet and thus our own livelihoods. The concept of planetary boundaries was developed to preserve the Earth's resilience and ensure that human activities do not irreversibly damage the environment. It serves as a guide for sustainable development and emphasizes the need to rethink our production and consumption patterns in order to respect planetary boundaries.

The “wedding cake model” by Carl Folke, Johan Rockström and other researchers from 2016 shows that the goals assigned to the environment and biosphere form the basis of all goals. Without respecting the planetary boundaries, neither the social goals nor the economic goals can exist.

Hochzeitstortenmodell Eng Klein

Source: Azote Images for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University CC BY-ND 3.0

Planetary Health Diet

The Planetary Health Diet strives for a balance between the preservation of our livelihoods and the promotion of human health. It provides for a switch to a predominantly plant-based diet. Such a diet, based on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and pulses, contributes to the prevention of diet-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. At the same time, it is more ecologically sustainable. One problem is that many of the recommended foods are currently not available in sufficient quantities to ensure a supply for everyone.

In order to prevent the destruction of planetary ecosystems and at the same time provide a healthy and environmentally friendly diet for 10 billion people, not only consumption habits must change, but agriculture, the food industry and trade must also adapt. By avoiding the use of harmful chemicals or monoculture farming, the quality of food will be improved. In Europe, meat consumption should be reduced by 75%. There is also a target of 50% less food waste.

The Planetary Health Diet can therefore be seen as a fundamental transformation of nutrition that ensures that everyone can live healthily and sustainably. A sustainable diet promotes general well-being and quality of life, and tastes very good too!

Grafik Planetary Health (1)

Source: KLUG e.V. | Nutrition in the context of Planetary Health | KLUG

The three dimensions of sustainable nutrition

At first glance, nutrition issues seem to take place primarily at the individual level, with a focus on health aspects such as a balanced diet. However, nutrition is also of central importance from a global sustainability perspective. Today's food system is inextricably linked to the global ecosystem, climate and biodiversity, both in terms of its impacts and its dependencies.

It is obvious that human well-being is closely linked to the state of the Earth and its ecosystems. The planet provides us with the natural resources and conditions necessary for life. When these resources are overused or an ecosystem is destroyed, there is a direct negative impact on human, animal and plant health. Furthermore, sustainable economic activity is only possible on a sustainable planet.

We need to rethink: ecological, social and economic perspectives are interconnected. Sustainable nutrition describes a diet that takes this into account and is both healthy for people and environmentally friendly. A sustainable diet therefore encompasses three main aspects:

Environmental sustainability: This means conserving natural resources and minimizing environmental pollution. This includes, for example, reducing the production of animal products, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of water and land, as well as promoting local, seasonal and organic foods. Promoting soil health and fertility also helps to protect biodiversity and ensure that soils can be used for agriculture in the long term. This is an approach that is being pursued by regenerative agriculture, among others.

Social sustainability: A balanced, nutritious diet promotes human health. A sustainable diet must therefore also be socially just, so that all people have access to healthy food that is produced and traded in a fair and ecological way. Fair trade certifications and supply chain laws also help to ensure that workers in the Global South receive fair wages and safe working conditions.

Economic sustainability: Economic sustainability in food means that food production and distribution are designed in such a way that they are financially viable and fair for all parties in the long term. This includes supporting local farmers and producers to ensure stable incomes for them while strengthening local economies. It also means that international trade is fair and that countries of the Global South have access to markets without being disadvantaged by high tariffs or subsidies.

Sustainability goals in focus

The topic of nutrition is anchored in the German Sustainability Strategy and in several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Primarily in SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”. This SDG defines further sub-targets that address the issue in more detail. These include, among others, universal access to safe and nutritious food, ending all forms of malnutrition, improving the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers, sustainable food production and resilient agricultural methods, and investing in rural infrastructure, agricultural research, technology and gene banks.

But this sustainability goal alone does not go far enough, because sustainable nutrition has many components. As a cross-cutting issue of the 2030 Agenda, it is also closely linked to: SDG 1 No poverty, SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 Climate action, SDG 14 Life below water, SDG 15 Life on land and SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals.

Food waste

Food waste is a major problem that not only wastes valuable resources but also has a significant environmental impact. Every year, around 11 million tons of food end up in the trash in Germany, which corresponds to about 75 kilograms per person. This waste occurs along the entire value chain, from agriculture to retail to private households (see BMEL - Food waste - Food waste in Germany: Current figures on the amount of food waste by sector).

On the one hand, overproduction and the purchase of too many products is a problem. Many people buy more food than they actually need in their daily lives, for a variety of reasons. However, this food often goes to waste. In addition, both retailers and consumers have high cosmetic standards: fruit and vegetables that do not look perfect are often not bought, disposed of more quickly or do not even reach the shops.

One way to reduce food loss is to store food correctly. This is because inadequate storage shortens the shelf life of food. After all, best-before dates on products are often set very early, causing many people to dispose of food that is actually still edible even after the best-before date.