Global food trade can mitigate substantial health burdens attributed to ambient PM_2.5 pollution

Current estimates of PM_2.5-related mortality associated with global food systems primarily focus on local food production, overlooking the impacts of food trade and food consumption across distant regions. Here we integrate four advanced global models to investigate how international food trade relocates air pollutant emissions from food production and its subsequent impacts on global air quality and public health. Our findings show that food-related emissions were responsible for an estimated 840,400 deaths due to PM_2.5 pollution in 2017. Of these, approximately 11% (or 94,100 deaths) were linked to the global food trade, representing an economic value of a statistical life of around US$3.15 trillion. Shifting food exports from sparsely populated to densely populated countries has helped prevent 44,900 deaths in 2017. These findings underscore the potential of food trade partnerships for optimizing trade routes and thereby reducing global food-related health risks.