Détang-Dessendre, Cécile, Guyomard, Hervé, Réquillart, Vincent and Soler, Louis-Georges (2020) Changing agricultural systems and food diets to prevent and mitigate global health shocks. Sustainability, vol. 12 (n° 16). p. 6462.

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Abstract

No one would dispute that agricultural systems and food diets are not sustainable from
an environmental and health point of view, and that increasing their sustainability must be a major
objective of farm and food policies. Simultaneously, climatic, environmental, and health shocks are
likely to increase in the coming years. This note defends the idea of an additional double benefit
of public policies, aiming at favoring environmentally friendly food systems and healthy diets
through two channels: by reducing the risks of developing shocks and by limiting their negative
impacts on populations when they occur. As a result, public policies should address, simultaneously
and consistently, supply and demand issues. This is illustrated in the case of the European Union.
Supply measures should favor the agro-ecological transition of agricultural systems through a
more rigorous application of the polluter pays principle, implying notably the taxation of the main
determinants of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (cattle heads and nitrogen fertilizers) and
biodiversity loss (mineral fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and antibiotic treatments). This would send
the right signals to farmers and would legitimize an extended use of the provider gets principle,
allowing the remuneration of positive externalities. Demand measures should favor the adoption of
healthier and environmentally friendly food diets by changing consumer behaviors through dietary
recommendations, information campaigns, nutritional labeling, and fiscal instruments.