Centrality Of Water In Food System Sustainable Transformation

Water is used in every stage and task within the entire food system chain, from production to consumption, through food storage and processing. However, despite its centrality in food systems, water has not yet received sufficient policy and academic attention. This has practical and policy implications for the food system's transformational agenda. With worsening climate change and food insecurity, the study of water within the food system is indispensable. Drawing on secondary literature in both grey and academic formats and underpinned by qualitative latent content analysis, this article (i) examines the uses of water across the food system chain, (ii) identifies the challenges of water sustainability, and (iii) explores how food system actors can shield food system water 'breaks'. The article shows water is among the key ingredients within the food system, being used to water crops and livestock during production, and is used for various purposes in storage, processing, and consumption. Without water, the food system is dysfunctional. To shield food systems from water ‘breaks', the article argues that food system actors should focus on (i) Improving agricultural water management, (ii) Reducing water and food losses beyond the farm-gate, (iii) Increasing the environmental sustainability of food systems; (iv) Explicitly address social inequities; and (v) Improve data quality and monitoring for water-food system linkages.