Global food shift could free up land the size of Africa

Transforming the way we grow, eat, and waste food could halt and even reverse land degradation. A new analysis shows that cutting food waste and scaling sustainable ocean foods would free land on a continental scale.

Pair that with ambitious restoration, and the world could bend the curve on climate and biodiversity while strengthening global health.

The case comes from 21 scientists who lay out a food system roadmap to land recovery. The research quantifies how much land could be spared by 2050 and sets a higher restoration target.

To accomplish this, the authors argue that food must move to the center of climate, biodiversity, and land agendas.

Make food the priority

“Food systems have not yet been fully incorporated into intergovernmental agreements, nor do they receive sufficient focus in current strategies to address land degradation,” the authors wrote.

“Rapid, integrated reforms focused on global food systems, however, can move land health from crisis to recovery and secure a healthier, more stable planet for all.”

The scientists call for a 50 percent restoration goal by 2050, up from the current 30 percent by 2030. That level of recovery would add back about 5 million square miles of land – roughly 1.16 million square miles of cropland and 3.86 million square miles of non-cropland.

People on the land, such Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, women, and other vulnerable communities, should lead the work. It also means fair access to technology, secure tenure, and markets, backed by farm supports that reward stewardship, not depletion.

Transparent labels can guide better choices, while better data can track impacts in real time. Moreover, taxes and tariffs can favor low-impact producers and hold polluters to account.

Slash food waste, spare the soil

Globally, about 21.8 million square miles of land feed humanity. We lose roughly a third of that effort as waste -14 percent after harvest and 19 percent in stores, restaurants, and homes.

Cut food waste by three quarters and you spare an estimated 5.17 million square miles – land that need not be plowed or grazed.

Policy can drive the change, preventing overproduction and spoilage. Governments and businesses should expand donation channels and near-expiry discounts, and enforce public education that cuts household waste.

Additionally, small farmers could improve storage and cold chains. Spain, for example, now requires stores to donate or sell surplus food and asks restaurants to offer take-home containers.

Cutting food waste also mandates formal waste-reduction plans along the supply chain. Such steps show what rapid progress can look like.

Bring seafood into the menu

Red meat produced in unsustainable ways uses vast pasture and feed, and emits large amounts of greenhouse gases.

Nutritious seafood and seaweed can ease that pressure. Seaweed needs no freshwater and absorbs carbon as it grows. Replacing 70 percent of unsustainable red meat with sustainable seafood could spare 6.6 million square miles of land.

If seaweed-derived foods replaced just 10 percent of global vegetable intake, more than 154,000 square miles of cropland could be freed. This shift would open vast areas for other uses or restoration.

These shifts matter most in wealthy countries with high meat consumption. In some poorer regions, animal products remain vital for nutrition, so any change must be tailored and just.

Africa-sized land restored

Two big moves – waste cuts and ocean-based foods – could spare about 11.9 million square miles by mid-century, an area roughly equal to Africa.

Combine that with restoring half of degraded land, and the total spared or restored area reaches about 16.9 million square miles between 2020 and 2050.

The climate dividend would be large. The authors estimate about 13 gigatons of CO₂-equivalent mitigated each year through 2050.

Biodiversity would also benefit as habitats recover and pressure to convert remaining natural ecosystems declines. Food security and health would strengthen as soils, watersheds, and diets improve.

Working together for restoration

“This paper presents a bold, integrated set of actions to tackle land degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change together, as well as a clear pathway for implementing them by 2050,” said lead author Fernando Maestre from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia.

Transforming food systems, restoring land, promoting sustainable seafood, and fostering global cooperation can reverse land degradation and advance UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) goals.

“Once soils lose fertility, water tables deplete, and biodiversity is lost, restoring the land becomes exponentially more expensive,” said Barron Orr, UNCCD Chief Scientist. “Ongoing rates of land degradation contribute to a cascade of mounting global challenges.”

“Land degradation isn’t just a rural issue, it affects the food on all our plates, the air we breathe, and the stability of the world we live in.”

Joining forces to heal land

The authors urge the three Rio Conventions – on biodiversity, desertification, and climate – to align around land and food goals, share cutting-edge knowledge, track progress, and turn science into policy faster.

They note that Parties to the UNCCD have already agreed to avoid, reduce, and reverse degradation on agricultural lands, most recently at COP16 in Riyadh. Coordination can speed action on the ground, link national targets, and unlock finance.

The message is clear. Fix food systems, and land can recover. Do it fast, do it fairly, and the world gets a safer climate, richer nature, and healthier lives.

The study is published in the journal Nature.

—–

Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates. 

Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

—–