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STORY: FAO / SOFA 2024 REPORT
TRT: 3:01
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN ++ THE VIDEO IS ON STRICT EMBARGO until Friday 8 November, 10:00 AM Rome Time ++
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 4 NOVEMBER 2024, ROME, ITALY / RECENT
8 OCTOBER 2020, NJORO, KENYA
1. Wide shot, Food market
2. Med shot, Vendor counter
26-29 APRIL 2022, PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN PROVINCE, THAILAND
3. Pan right, vendor counter in a fish market
16 UNE 2018, CHIQUIMULA MUNICIPALITY, GUATEMALA
4. Wide shot, man buying vegetables at farmers’ market
4 June 2024, DOLLOW, SOMALIA
5. Wide shot, female seller in a street market
6. Close up, candies
7. Close up, processed food
4 NOVEMBER 2024, ROME, ITALY
8. Wide shot, FAO headquarters in Rome
9. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist: “When we look at the industrial and diversified economies, the agrifood systems have the highest global hidden costs, but they also have the highest level of health hidden costs, because of the practices and the diets they consume. If we look at the countries which are still diversifying the way they produce, they have the highest environmental cost, hidden costs. But when we look at the poorest countries, the countries which are in protected crisis and so on, they are the ones that have the highest social costs. So again, what this is telling us that the level of development of countries in the way they produce the agrifood system and the income that they generate as a result of that, will diversify the way the hiding costs are present.”
19-21 August 2022, DHAKA, BANGLADESH
10. Wide shot, meat seller cutting red meat
11. Close up, red meat being cut
2014, COOK ISLAND
12. Med shot, overweight person entering a fast food
13. Close up, overweight person walking in a street
17 MAY 2024, COLOMBIA
14. Tilt down, woman feeding children
2 JULY 2024, KAPOETA, SOUTH SUDAN
15. Wide shot, meals being distributed in a school
2019, ARARAT PROVINCE, ARMENIA
16. Wide shot, children eating lunch at the school canteen
NOVEMBER 2017, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA
17. Various of school lunch being served at Thane Municipal Corporation School: children queueing, details of dishes, children eating
4 NOVEMBER 2024, ROME, ITALY
18. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist:
“We have countries which are in the transition process towards becoming industrialized that they have increased their consumption of terrestrial animal foods, for example, red meat is one of those, and that will affect, if they overconsume, they will affect its health, and it will create non-communicable diseases. But also, we have the poorest countries, the ones which are in crisis, which don't have even the minimum nutritious intake that they need to be able to avoid these non-communicable diseases. And we can do change, we can change these. And one element of change is behaviour, of course, if you have the resources and you have the money to buy a healthy diet, we need to move your behaviour towards that. But also, we have to implement policies linked that will help also the other countries which are on the undernutrition side by, for example, increasing the amount of healthy content and nutritious content in the school feeding programmes, or creating the incentives in the system so that we can produce more products which are healthier.”
7-11 NOVEMBER 2022, PUNJAB, INDIA
19. Drone shots, farms with straw bales and paddy
20. Wide shot, women sorting bale
Hidden costs within global agrifood systems amount to approximately $12 trillion annually, and of this amount, around 70 percent arise from unhealthy dietary patterns and are linked to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, according to the State of Food and Agriculture 2024 (SOFA) report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
With 156 countries involved, the study utilizes true cost accounting to expose the full range of costs and benefits associated with food production, distribution, and consumption, including those that are not reflected in market prices, often referred to as “hidden costs and benefits”.
Historically, agrifood systems have transitioned from traditional to industrial, each with varied outcomes and hidden costs. For this reason, the report explores how hidden costs manifest themselves in different agrifood system types worldwide.
To facilitate analysis, the research introduces a typology that categorizes agrifood systems into six distinct groups: protracted crisis, traditional, expanding, diversifying, formalizing, and industrial.
FAO’s Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, explained that the SOFA 2024 report shows that the “hidden costs” manifest themselves in different agrifood system types worldwide.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist: “When we look at the industrial and diversified economies, the agrifood systems have the highest global hidden costs, but they also have the highest level of health hidden costs, because of the practices and the diets they consume. If we look at the countries which are still diversifying the way they produce, they have the highest environmental cost, hidden costs. But when we look at the poorest countries, the countries which are in protected crisis and so on, they are the ones that have the highest social costs. So again, what this is telling us that the level of development of countries in the way they produce the agrifood system and the income that they generate as a result of that, will diversify the way the hiding costs are present.”
In examining health impacts, the report identifies 13 dietary risk factors. These include insufficient intake of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; excessive sodium consumption; and high intake of red and processed meats, with notable differences across various agrifood systems.
For instance, while diets low in whole grains are the leading dietary risk factor across most agrifood systems, in protracted crisis systems (those experiencing prolonged conflict, instability, and widespread food insecurity) and traditional systems (characterized by lower productivity, limited technology adoption, and shorter value chains), the primary concern is a low intake of fruits and vegetables.
High sodium intake is another significant concern, exhibiting an upward trend as agrifood systems evolve from traditional to formalizing, peaking in the latter and then decreasing in industrial systems. Conversely, high consumption of processed and red meat steadily increases throughout the transition from traditional to industrial systems, where it ranks among the top three dietary risks.
Torero explained that there is room for action, but this requires taking into account the heterogeneity of agrifood systems and the development of tailored policies and interventions.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist:
“We have countries which are in the transition process towards becoming industrialized, that they have increased their consumption of terrestrial animal foods, for example, red meat is one of those, and that will affect, if they overconsume, they will affect its health, and it will create non-communicable diseases. But also, we have the poorest countries, the ones which are in crisis, which don't have even the minimum nutritious intake that they need to be able to avoid these non-communicable diseases. And we can do change, we can change these. And one element of change is behaviour, of course, if you have the resources and you have the money to buy a healthy diet, we need to move your behaviour towards that. But also, we have to implement policies linked that will help also the other countries which are on the undernutrition side by, for example, increasing the amount of healthy content and nutritious content in the school feeding programmes, or creating the incentives in the system so that we can produce more products which are healthier.”
The report calls for a value-driven transformation of agrifood systems to make them more sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and efficient. This requires going beyond traditional economic measures like GDP by utilizing true cost accounting to recognize hidden costs. With this approach, decision-makers can make more informed choices that enhance the societal value of agrifood systems, acknowledging their essential roles in food security, nutrition, biodiversity conservation, and cultural identity.
SOFA 2024 stresses that this transformation requires collective action, involving primary producers, agribusinesses, governments, financial institutions, international organizations, and consumers.
