The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and partners have published an analysis of changes in food system indicator values since 2000, which offers “reasons for optimism.” According to the report, “of the 42 indicators with time trends examined, 20 have changed in a desirable direction, on average, globally.”

Positive trends are observed for indicators in all five Countdown themes: diets, nutrition, and health; environment, natural resources, and production; livelihoods, poverty, and equity; resilience; and governance. For example, access to safe water has shown significant increases across all regions. On average, nitrogen use in most regions’ production systems has also become more efficient.

At the same time, the report shows that seven of 42 indicators have demonstrated significant downward trends globally. Examples include increases in food price volatility and decreases in government accountability. Another 15 indicators have shown no signs of significant change – “despite the need for steady progress to meet key global goals.”

Titled, ‘The Food Systems Countdown Report 2024: Tracking Progress and Managing Interactions,’ the report is based on a peer-reviewed publication in Nature Food, identifying governance and resilience as “entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030.”

The Countdown report describes how changes in one indicator can cause changes in others, which may give rise to unintended consequences of actions and trade-offs between goals, revealing the need for coordinated, cross-sectoral approaches. The report uses case studies from Ethiopia, Mexico, and the Netherlands to illustrate the local relevance of these dynamics.

The report concludes that targeted improvements in the areas of governance and resilience could catalyze positive changes across other indicators, amplifying global progress.

The Food Systems Countdown Initiative aims to monitor the state of food systems transformation to help align decision makers around key priorities, incentivize action, hold stakeholders accountable, sustain commitment by demonstrating progress, and enable course corrections. Its annual publications measure, assess, and track the performance of global food systems towards 2030.

FAO produced the report in collaboration with Columbia University, Cornell University, and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). The report was released on 14 January 2025. [Publication: The Food Systems Countdown Report 2024: Tracking Progress and Managing Interactions] [Summary] [Publication Landing Page] [FAO Press Release]