Scientists find alarming findings during examination of worldwide food production: 'It is crucial to develop these systems'

A groundbreaking digital tool is offering scientists and policymakers a completely new perspective on the global food system while simultaneously revealing its vulnerabilities. Developed by the Better Planet Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder in collaboration with the nonprofit Earth Genome, the platform, named Food Twin, provides a detailed map of global food movement.

Created under the guidance of researcher Zia Mehrabi and his team, Food Twin charts nearly every significant port, road, railway, and shipping route, tracking how food travels from producers to consumers across 240 countries.

The platforms core mission is both simple and urgent: to increase transparency in the global food supply and bolster its resilience against climate-related disruptions. Droughts, floods, and extreme heat increasingly affect the availability of food, and the app allows governments and local producers to identify where their supply chains are most vulnerable and plan accordingly.

We need to develop these digital food twins to support decision-making, Mehrabi explained. The first step is collecting the data.

The initiative stemmed from Mehrabis concern over the scarcity of comprehensive, accessible data on global food flows. Previous studies typically focused on individual regions or isolated disruptions, rarely capturing the complexity of worldwide food transportation or the added risks posed by climate change. Partnering with Earth Genome enabled the project to transform fragmented data into a fully interactive global map.

The findings are striking: only 1.2% of countries account for half of all wheat exports, highlighting how a localized crisis could have global repercussions. Other critical chokepoints, including the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, and major inland waterways in the U.S. and internationally, manage substantial portions of the worlds trade.

Despite the alarming insights, the ultimate aim of Food Twin is empowerment. Mehrabi and his team have made the data open-source, encouraging communities to develop smarter food reserves and promote local food production, reducing shortages and stabilizing prices worldwide.

Author: Lucas Grant