Food Systems

Background

Food systems encompass everything involved in feeding the world's population — how food is produced, processed, transported, distributed, consumed, and discarded. Understanding food systems requires examining a wide range of interconnected factors: agricultural land use and productivity, the environmental impacts of different farming methods, global trade in food commodities, household and national food security, dietary patterns, and the enormous quantities of food that are lost or wasted at every stage of the supply chain.

Food production is one of the largest drivers of environmental change on Earth. Agriculture occupies approximately half of the world's habitable land, accounts for around 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, and is responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). At the same time, nearly 800 million people remain chronically undernourished, while obesity and diet-related disease affect hundreds of millions more — a phenomenon sometimes called the "double burden" of malnutrition (FAO et al., 2023). Food is also deeply unequal in its global distribution: the food that is produced is not evenly available, and what reaches consumers depends heavily on trade networks, infrastructure, income, and policy.

Food loss and waste add a further dimension to these challenges. Approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, representing not only an economic loss but a major unnecessary source of environmental harm (FAO, 2011). Open data on food systems — from crop yields and trade flows to dietary surveys and retail waste — allows researchers to study these patterns across countries and over time.

References:

FAO. (2011). Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/3/mb060e/mb060e00.htm

FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, & WHO. (2023). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc3017en

Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987–992. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa0114

Data Sources

Food Production and Agriculture

1. FAOSTAT https://www.fao.org/faostat/

• The primary open database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

• Covers crop production, livestock, land use, fertilizer use, pesticides, and agricultural emissions for almost every country from 1961 to present

• Data downloadable as CSV; customizable by country, year, and indicator

• Good for: Long-term trends in crop yields, comparing agricultural output across countries, land use change, emissions from agriculture

2. Our World in Data – Food and Agriculture https://ourworldindata.org/food-and-agriculture

• Curated, pre-processed datasets and visualizations drawn from FAO, academic, and UN sources

• Topics include crop yields, meat production, food supply per capita, and environmental impacts of food

• All underlying data downloadable as CSV

• Good for: Accessible entry point into food data; ideal for comparisons across countries and time periods

3. World Bank – Agriculture and Rural Development Data https://data.worldbank.org/topic/agriculture-and-rural-development

• Country-level indicators on agricultural productivity, land use, rural employment, and food import/export values

• Good for: Combining food production data with economic indicators; studying food systems in relation to poverty and development

4. USDA Economic Research Service https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/

• Detailed data on US agricultural production, food prices, food security, and dietary patterns

• International data also available for major commodities

• Good for: US-focused research or global commodity market analysis (grains, soybeans, meat)

Food Security and Nutrition

5. FAO – Food Security Indicators https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS

• Data on prevalence of undernourishment, food supply adequacy, and access to food by country

• Annual data covering most of the world

• Good for: Researching hunger, food access inequality, and progress toward SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

6. Global Food Security Index (GFSI) https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/food-security-index/

• Annual index ranking countries on food affordability, availability, quality, and sustainability

• Historical data downloadable; covers 113 countries

• Good for: Cross-country comparisons of food security; identifying which dimensions of food security differ most between countries

7. Global Dietary Database https://www.globaldietarydatabase.org/

• Data on dietary intake patterns by country, age group, and income level

• Covers consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar, processed food, and more

• Good for: Studying how diets vary across countries and relate to income, health outcomes, or food availability

8. WFP VAM Food Security Monitoring https://vam.wfp.org/

• World Food Programme data on food insecurity in crisis-affected regions

• Near-real-time monitoring data, particularly for conflict zones and low-income countries

• Good for: Studying acute food insecurity, the relationship between conflict and hunger, and humanitarian food aid

Food Trade and Supply Chains

9. UN Comtrade Database https://comtradeplus.un.org/

• Comprehensive data on international trade, including food and agricultural commodity flows

• Covers imports and exports by country, product, and year

• Good for: Studying global food trade networks, dependency on food imports, and the geography of food supply chains

10. FAOSTAT – Food Balances https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FBS

• Country-level food balance sheets showing production, imports, exports, and consumption for hundreds of food items

• Shows how much food enters a country's supply and how it is used (human consumption, animal feed, waste, etc.)

• Good for: Understanding food self-sufficiency and dietary supply at the national level

11. Our World in Data – Environmental Impacts of Food https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food

• Data on greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use by food type, drawing on Poore & Nemecek (2018)

• Covers the full supply chain from farm to consumer

• Good for: Comparing the environmental footprint of different foods; studying the impact of dietary choices

Food Loss and Waste

12. UNEP Food Waste Index https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2024

• UN Environment Programme data on food waste at retail and consumer levels by country

• Covers household, food service, and retail waste

• Good for: Cross-country comparisons of food waste; studying where in the supply chain waste is concentrated

13. FAO – Food Loss and Waste Database (FLW) https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/flw-data/en/

• Collects empirical measurements of food loss and waste from studies worldwide

• Covers different stages of the supply chain: production, post-harvest, processing, retail, and consumption

• Good for: Identifying which stages of the food system generate the most waste; comparing food loss across commodities and regions

14. WRAP – Food Waste Data (UK) https://www.wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/data

• Detailed data on household and commercial food waste in the United Kingdom

• One of the most comprehensive national food waste datasets available

• Good for: In-depth study of consumer food waste patterns; comparing food types most commonly wasted

Japan-Specific Data

15. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) – Japan https://www.maff.go.jp/e/data/

• Official Japanese government data on agricultural production, food supply, and food self-sufficiency

• Japan's food self-sufficiency rate (around 38% on a caloric basis) is a significant policy topic

• Data on food loss and waste in Japan also available

• Good for: Food production and security in Japan; comparing Japan's dietary patterns to other countries

16. Statistics Japan – Family Income and Expenditure Survey https://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kakei/index.html

• Household spending data including food expenditure by category in Japan

• Good for: Studying dietary spending patterns in Japan; comparing food spending to other household expenses

Example Research Questions

To answer some of these questions, you may need to combine food datasets with other sources (e.g., income data, climate data, population figures, or trade statistics).

• How does per capita food supply vary across countries, and what is its relationship to income level?

• Which food types have the highest greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram, and how does this vary across production systems?

• Is there a relationship between a country's food import dependency and its food security score?

• How has the global production of a specific crop (e.g., wheat, soybeans, or rice) changed over time, and what factors explain these trends?

• How do rates of food waste at the consumer level compare between high-income and low-income countries?

• What is the relationship between a country's food self-sufficiency rate and its vulnerability to global commodity price shocks?

• How does Japan's food self-sufficiency rate compare to other high-income countries, and how has it changed over time?

Tips for Using Food Data

Getting Started:

1. Start with FAOSTAT or Our World in Data — both are comprehensive and user-friendly

2. Decide early whether you are studying production, trade, consumption, or waste — these require different datasets

3. Use food balance sheets (FAOSTAT) to get a full picture of how food flows through a country's system

4. Download data for a limited set of countries or food types first to make the dataset manageable

Understanding the Data:

• Food supply (kcal/capita/day): The average daily calories available per person in a country; does not measure what is actually eaten

• Food self-sufficiency ratio: The proportion of a country's food consumption that is domestically produced

• Food loss vs. food waste: Loss typically refers to food discarded before it reaches the consumer (e.g., at harvest or during transport); waste refers to food discarded at the retail or consumer stage

• Dietary energy supply: The amount of food energy available from the national food supply, expressed in kilocalories

• Commodity: A basic agricultural product traded in bulk (e.g., wheat, maize, soybeans, beef)

Data Quality Considerations:

• Food production and trade data quality varies significantly by country; lower-income countries often have less complete reporting

• Food waste data is particularly difficult to collect reliably — estimates vary widely depending on methodology

• National food supply data does not account for distribution inequalities within a country

• Dietary survey data reflects what people report eating, which may differ from actual intake

Making Comparisons:

• Always normalize production figures by population when comparing countries of different sizes

• Be aware that caloric availability differs from caloric intake — supply figures include waste and other non-food uses

• When comparing emissions from food, ensure the same supply chain stages are included (farm only vs. farm-to-fork)

• Account for differences in climate and geography when comparing agricultural productivity

Combining Datasets:

• Crop yields + climate data + fertilizer use

• Food trade flows + country income levels + food security scores

• Food waste data + retail infrastructure + consumer income

• Dietary patterns + health outcomes + food prices

Useful Additional Data Sources

When studying food systems, you may also want to use:

• World Bank Poverty and Inequality Data: For relating food security to income and economic development (https://data.worldbank.org/topic/poverty)

• IPCC Reports on Land Use: For context on agriculture's role in climate change (https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/)

• NOAA Climate Data: For combining food production data with temperature and precipitation trends (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/)

• Eurostat Agriculture Statistics: Detailed food and agriculture data for European Union countries (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/agriculture/data/database)

• Global Burden of Disease Study: For linking diet to health outcomes (https://www.healthdata.org/gbd)

Questions? Need Help?

• FAOSTAT is the single most comprehensive source for global food production and trade data

• Our World in Data is the best starting point if you are new to food data — it presents pre-processed data clearly

• For food waste specifically, the FAO FLW Database and UNEP Food Waste Index are most relevant

• Japan-specific food data is well-covered by MAFF, which publishes in English

• Combining production data with environmental data (emissions, water use) is a rich area for research

• Food systems data often requires you to think carefully about units — calories, tonnes, and per capita figures all tell different stories