Giving Compass' Take:

• Ruth Richardson shares her expert insights into the TEEBAgriFood report to help nonprofits, NGOs, funders, and social entrepreneurs use the information to improve their efforts. 

• How does the TEEBAgriFood report inform work you are involved in? What cost-effective changes can be made to improve existing systems? 

• Learn about the potential impact of the digital revolution on agriculture. 

Ruth Richardson is the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food and an expert in global agriculture and food systems. She is on the Steering Committee for the new report from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood).

What is the most significant consequence of our current food system that policymakers, funders, and donors ignore?

RR: There is a persistently narrow view of food systems that values yield and profit above anything else – like health or local economic development. This narrow approach contributes to many of the current problems we have in our food systems, such as deforestation and pesticide exposure because we don’t see or value these other impacts.

What is the best path towards sustainable agriculture to support a growing global population?

RR: Supporting a growing global population is not the right way to frame this conversation. The population is growing, and people need to feed themselves, but this twists the debate.  The best path towards sustainability is ensuring we attend to all necessary components or principles of the food system – environmental integrity, nutritious food, and equality for all people.

How will the TEEBAgriFood report be useful to non-profits and NGOs working on our eco-agri-food system?

RR: The report is useful to any stakeholder interested in changing the food system. It provides a framework which applies to policy, farms, landscape level systems, private sector businesses, and public finance. The application opportunities are endless. By providing information about the impacts and externalities of the eco-agri-food system, the framework allows for better decision-making.

Read the full article about learning from the TEEBAgriFood report by Iain Murray at Food Tank.