Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations

Beatrice I. Crona (), Emmy Wassénius, Malin Jonell, J. Zachary Koehn, Rebecca Short, Michelle Tigchelaar, Tim M. Daw, Christopher D. Golden, Jessica A. Gephart, Edward H. Allison, Simon R. Bush, Ling Cao, William W. L. Cheung, Fabrice DeClerck, Jessica Fanzo, Stefan Gelcich, Avinash Kishore, Benjamin S. Halpern, Christina C. Hicks, James P. Leape, David C. Little, Fiorenza Micheli, Rosamond L. Naylor, Michael Phillips, Elizabeth R. Selig, Marco Springmann, U. Rashid Sumaila, Max Troell, Shakuntala H. Thilsted and Colette C. C. Wabnitz
Additional contact information
Beatrice I. Crona: Stockholm University
Emmy Wassénius: Stockholm University
Malin Jonell: Stockholm University
J. Zachary Koehn: Stanford University
Rebecca Short: Stockholm University
Michelle Tigchelaar: Stanford University
Tim M. Daw: Stockholm University
Christopher D. Golden: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Jessica A. Gephart: American University
Edward H. Allison: WorldFish
Simon R. Bush: Wageningen University and Research
Ling Cao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
William W. L. Cheung: University of British Columbia
Fabrice DeClerck: EAT
Jessica Fanzo: Johns Hopkins University
Stefan Gelcich: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Avinash Kishore: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Benjamin S. Halpern: UC Santa Barbara
Christina C. Hicks: Lancaster University
James P. Leape: Stanford University
David C. Little: University of Stirling
Fiorenza Micheli: Stanford University
Rosamond L. Naylor: Stanford University
Michael Phillips: WorldFish
Elizabeth R. Selig: Stanford University
Marco Springmann: University of Oxford
U. Rashid Sumaila: University of British Columbia
Max Troell: Royal Swedish Academy of Science
Shakuntala H. Thilsted: WorldFish
Colette C. C. Wabnitz: Stanford University

Nature, 2023, vol. 616, issue 7955, 104-112

Abstract: Abstract Blue foods, sourced in aquatic environments, are important for the economies, livelihoods, nutritional security and cultures of people in many nations. They are often nutrient rich1, generate lower emissions and impacts on land and water than many terrestrial meats2, and contribute to the health3, wellbeing and livelihoods of many rural communities4. The Blue Food Assessment recently evaluated nutritional, environmental, economic and justice dimensions of blue foods globally. Here we integrate these findings and translate them into four policy objectives to help realize the contributions that blue foods can make to national food systems around the world: ensuring supplies of critical nutrients, providing healthy alternatives to terrestrial meat, reducing dietary environmental footprints and safeguarding blue food contributions to nutrition, just economies and livelihoods under a changing climate. To account for how context-specific environmental, socio-economic and cultural aspects affect this contribution, we assess the relevance of each policy objective for individual countries, and examine associated co-benefits and trade-offs at national and international scales. We find that in many African and South American nations, facilitating consumption of culturally relevant blue food, especially among nutritionally vulnerable population segments, could address vitamin B12 and omega-3 deficiencies. Meanwhile, in many global North nations, cardiovascular disease rates and large greenhouse gas footprints from ruminant meat intake could be lowered through moderate consumption of seafood with low environmental impact. The analytical framework we provide also identifies countries with high future risk, for whom climate adaptation of blue food systems will be particularly important. Overall the framework helps decision makers to assess the blue food policy objectives most relevant to their geographies, and to compare and contrast the benefits and trade-offs associated with pursuing these objectives.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05737-x

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