Global Interlinkages in Food Trade Systems

Food demand is increasingly satisfied with imported products from distant locations.

This makes countries and consumers more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price spikes, challenging food security.

Trade in food is also associated with the displacement of resource-intensive activities from industrialised to developing countries, influencing the distribution of land uses and related impacts on a global scale.

The goal of the project GIFTS is to develop an integrated framework for the assessment of the long-term sustainability of food consumption, capturing the global interconnections between agricultural expansion, crop management, climate change and food security.

The methodology departs from a physical Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) model developed by the host institution, with an unprecedented level of detail in agro-food products.

I propose to improve this model by developing environmental extensions with spatially-explicit carbon stocks across land uses and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production. Co-product flows between crop, livestock and energy sectors will also be implemented to represent reuse and recovery.

The extended MRIO table will be used to assess the mitigation potential of climate change adaptation strategies along global supply chains, considering increased resource efficiency and land use change.

The project involves training on the application of MRIO analysis for environmental evaluation as well as in spatial analysis at the host institution.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is involved in the secondment, providing training on the estimation of livestock emissions and fostering inter-sectoral research exchange between academia and decision-makers.

Overall, GIFTS can greatly promote my interdisciplinary research career for providing science-based evidence to assist policy-making towards a more resilient, sustainable and circular society in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.