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International agricultural trade: Leopoldina discussion paper on positive effects for biodiversity, climate and food security

The way humans use the Earth’s land has a major impact on food security, biodiversity and the climate. High demand for soy as animal feed or palm oil as a cheap, versatile vegetable oil, for example, leads to land being intensively farmed or newly developed. This is often accompanied by a loss of biodiversity and accelerated climate change. However, the mechanisms of international agricultural trade can also be used to positively influence these conflicting goals, according to the authors of a discussion paper published today by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In the paper ‘How can international agricultural trade contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate protection and food security?’, they describe the political, legal and financial framework conditions for positive leverage. The digital dossier ‘Agricultural Trade and Consumption’, published at the same time, illustrates the topic using the examples of soy, coffee and palm oil. Prof. Zengerling is one of the authors.