Our unequal global food system is unsustainable for people and planet. We urgently need to rethink how the world feeds its people. The food crisis we are facing is not new. Extreme inequality and poverty, rights abuses, conflict, climate change and inflation – exacerbated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine – mean that hundreds of millions of people do not have enough to eat. While millions of people are struggling to find their next meal, the world’s main food traders have made record profits, adding billions to their collective wealth.

This paper debunks 10 myths about our food system and provides an alternative framing that will lead to better outcomes for the long term. We must shift our current food system from an industrial, exploitative and extractive model to a local and sustainable one that contributes to climate resilience and realizes people’s right to food – one that reduces inequality and poverty.