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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 5, 2025

A Venturi Effect Can Help Cure Our Trees

A Venturi Effect Can Help Cure Our Trees

Published on: October 1, 2013

Transforming food systems with trees and forests.

Amy Ickowitz¹, Stepha McMullin², Todd Rosenstock³

¹Center for International Forestry Research, Situ Gede, Bogor, Indonesia.

The Lancet. Planetary Health

|July 9, 2022

Summary

Trees and forests are vital for a sustainable global food system, offering nutritious food, ecosystem services, and climate change mitigation. Integrating trees into food systems can improve diets and environmental health.

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Area of Science:

Agroecology
Forestry
Sustainable Food Systems

Background:

The current global food system is inadequate, failing to provide sufficient nutrition and harming the environment.
Unsustainable resource depletion and environmental degradation are linked to food production methods.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the essential role of trees and forests in addressing global food system challenges.
To recommend strategies for integrating trees and forests into sustainable food systems for improved nutrition and environmental health.

Main Methods:

Analysis of current contributions of trees and forests to the food system.
Development of recommendations for policy and investment shifts.

Main Results:

Trees and forests provide nutrient-rich foods, enhance food security through income generation, and offer crucial ecosystem services.
Forests contribute to biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration.
Resilience in food systems is strengthened by the presence and integration of trees.

Conclusions:

Trees and forests are indispensable for transforming food systems towards healthy diets and environmental sustainability.
Key strategies include scaling up tree-based food production, shifting investments to nutrient-dense foods, and integrating nutrition into conservation programs.
Further action is required to fully realize the potential of trees and forests in global food system transformation.