07 Sep Food Systems Dashboard
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The Food Systems Dashboard has been developed by a range of global collaborators to help visualise and understand complex food systems.
The dashboard combines data from 35 sources to view over 150 indicators of food systems at a country or regional level. Indicators include food supply chain information, food environments, individual demographic factors, consumer behaviour, diets and nutrition, and macro drivers. The dashboard can help users visualise and prioritise improvements. Users can compare and analyse food system indicators globally, regionally, by country, food systems type, or income classification. Users can also track progress of changes or interventions over time.
The dashboard provides useful information and insights about global food systems, now and over time. This is similar to the DELTA Model®, which aims to create better understanding of sustainable food systems and how improvements can be made to sustainably feed the world with the nutrition required.
However, the dashboard does not tell users where key nutrient gaps lie against requirements. In addition, the dashboard can’t be used to identify what foods are required to close nutrient supply gaps, not just in isolation, but critically in combination. The DELTA Model® has the ability to do this, by generating food production scenarios and using food composition data to predict the nutrition available to the average global citizen both now and in the future. The DELTA model® also provides insightful information on contribution of different foods towards total nutrition and different individual nutrients.
On the other hand, the DELTA Model® does not have many of the indicators included in the dashboard, such as macro-economic, environmental and supply chain measures. The DELTA Model® is primarily focused on the nutrition aspect.
The models are different, but each take their own approach in understanding food systems and identifying opportunities for improvements.
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