Building the next food system

Solvable Syndicate invests in early-stage FoodTech and AgTech impact startups that help transform the food system. But what do we mean by this? And why does the food system needs fixing?

Let’s sort it out.

What is the food system, and how did we get here?

Simply put, the food system is how we produce, distribute, consume, and discard food. It’s a global web of millions of actors, connecting agriculture, supply chains, markets, policies, and consumers.

At its core, food provides the energy and nutrients necessary for survival, growth, and well-being. Historically, humanity has struggled to feed itself. Until the middle of the 20th, the threat of starvation was constant, and millions of people died every decade. This was due to both natural disasters like droughts, as well as political decisions (e.g. forced labor during colonialism). For example, in 1900-1909 alone some 27M people died of famine and mass starvation.

Many assumed humanity would always be plagued by famines and starvation. The population was increasing and experts didn’t see how the world could ever feed itself. Paul Ehrlich for example famously wrote (in The Population Bomb, 1968) that:

“The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate…”

But as the above chart shows, something important started to happen in the 1960s. The Green Revolution introduced high-yield (and disease resistant) crop varieties, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, new machinery, and advanced irrigation. Countries like Mexico, India, and Pakistan became self-sufficient and eventually exporters of grain, and the Green Revolution rapidly spread across Asia and Latin America, transforming global agriculture and food security. The scientist Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his contributions to the Green Revolution; he’s often credited with saving over 1 billion lives from starvation, and promoting peace and stability through food security.

Powered by the Green Revolution, undernourishment in developing countries fell from over 30% to about 10% between 1970 and 2015.

OK, so all is well then?

Well, the modern food system — from agriculture subsidies and R&D dollars to novel crops, chemical fertilizers, machinery and irrigation — was designed to deliver cheap calories in high volumes to help eradicate hunger. And it has been very successful at that.

But consumers everywhere have adopted unhealthy diets, and these diets typically consist of unsustainably produced foods. The global food system has a $10 trillion hidden cost, according to the FAO. Over 70% of that hidden cost is health-related, and about 20% is linked to environmental damages.

That’s sick

Let’s start with health. Poor diet is the #1 global risk factor for disease, disability, and premature death (taking the lives of 11M people annually). Non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, high BMI, high blood pressure, and diabetes are all closely linked to suboptimal diets. We even know what’s causing this. People everywhere underconsume food that protect human health from disease — whole grains, fruits, seeds & nuts, vegetables, seafood omega-3, fibers, unsaturated fats, and legumes (and yes, we overconsume sodium as well).

It’s not getting better. For example, almost 550M adults lived with diabetes in 2021, and this number is expected to balloon to almost 800M people in 2045. And this is costly. The total estimated cost for diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. alone is $400B+, every year.

Our food system is not only making us sick. It’s driving our healthcare systems bankrupt.

The environmental costs

The food system also has massive environmental impacts, from farm to fork:

• It’s responsible for 25-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions

• It’s using 70% of all global freshwater, and fertilizer/pesticide runoffs causes water pollution and leads to dead zones

• It’s a leading cause of deforestation (for e.g. soy, palm oil, cattle, cocoa, and coffee)

• It’s promoting monocropping, intensive tilling, and overgrazing, which depletes soil health

• It’s a leading cause of biodiversity loss, due to overuse of pesticides and other harmful chemicals that kills pollinators and other beneficial organisms

• It’s led to a situation where the oceans on average are fully exploited (over half of seafood today therefore comes from aquaculture)

• It’s promoting the use of fossil plastics to extend shelf life of e.g. produce

And about 30% of food produced is never even consumed, due to post-harvest food loss and food waste.

Beyond the impacts on human and planetary health, the food system also results in other challenges. For example, it triggers virus outbreaks and pandemics. It’s also using large number of animals to produce food (e.g. 75B+ chickens, 1B+ pigs, 300M+ cattle for meat, hundreds of billions of fish, 7B egg-laying hens, and 250M+ dairy cows) — and all of this comes with significant animal welfare issues.

The food system also isn’t resilient; it’s built on the premise that we’ll always have access to cheap energy and water, as well as a stable climate and geopolitical stability — but these things are not true. In 2024-2025 we saw supply chains for e.g. coffee, cocoa, and egg come under pressure, which led to skyrocketing prices and sometimes empty supermarket shelves.

…and what if we continue down this path?

We know that as people’s disposable income rise, they want to consume more calories. This has been true for every region, and every country. People with more disposable income also change their dietary patterns toward more animal protein. The FAO forecasts a demand increase of 60% of beef, poultry, pork, aquaculture, and dairy between 2010 and 2050. This results in additional changes to human and planetary health.

The food system needs transformation. We need to increase productivity while at the same time cutting post-harvest food loss and waste, and we need a shift toward more nourishing, sustainable dietary patterns. Expert groups like EAT-Lancet have explored this extensively.

Tech and innovation can help transform food systems

If we want to advance an environmentally sustainable and nourishing food system, there’s several tools we can use.

• Policy and regulation: Governments already shape food systems through for example agricultural subsidies, ag R&D, grants & investments, taxation, trade policies, food safety and labeling laws, and environmental regulations. Policy and regulation can therefore be adjusted to promote other system outcomes.

• Consumer behavior and market demand: With education and awareness campaigns on e.g. sustainable diets and food waste, certifications and labels influencing purchasing behavior, and all kinds of nudging, consumer behavior can change, which shifts market demand.

• Ecosystem collaboration: Collaboration between governments, businesses, and non-profits to drive system change can be powerful. One succesful example of a public-private partnership is the Danish Whole Grain Partnership, which is credited with doubling per capita whole grain consumption in Denmark to 63 grams/day between 2008-2018.

• Technology and innovation: New products, services, and business models powered by innovations in science and technology can help advance a better food system. Examples include precision agriculture, biotech, AI, alternative animal feeds, fossil-free fertilizers, food as medicine, alternative proteins, upcycling waste to value, functional food and beverages, robotics, automation, sustainable packaging, supply chain data, and more.

Transforming our food system is urgent and important. Solvable Syndicate contributes by investing in the next generation FoodTech and AgTech startups that leverage technology and innovation. We then support these founders over several years to help them succeed, because if they win, we all do.

If you’re e.g. an angel investor or family office, join us in our mission. Apply to join Solvable Syndicate and invest with us to back the founders building the future food system.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE: Most early-stage investments result in partial or complete loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This information is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offering of securities would be made only through private placement memorandum, subscription agreements, and other related documents.