As the global population rises, we are projected to need up to 50% more food by 2050 than we needed in 2012. We face a huge challenge to feed the world while at the same time protecting our forests from agricultural expansion, which drives almost 90% of deforestation globally.
Yet this challenge presents a huge opportunity we cannot afford to miss. It is possible to transform the global food system so that agriculture and forests both grow, rather than one growing at the expense of the other. It is possible, essential in fact, for agriculture and forests to be mutually beneficial, not mutually exclusive.
If we move to this way of thinking and operating -- worldwide -- the result will be a sustainable food system that contributes hugely to fighting climate change, maintaining biodiversity and boosting the global economy. If we don't, the outlook is bleak.
