The UN’s roadmap for ending hunger while aligning food systems with a 1.5°C climate trajectory omits the biggest avenue for curbing emissions: reducing the production and consumption of animal-sourced foods, a new commentary in Nature Food says.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued its first of a three-part roadmap at COP28 that aims to eradicate chronic hunger by 2030 and transform agriculture and food systems into a net carbon sink by 2050. The Nature Food commentary identifies major gaps in the roadmap that the authors say must be addressed to meaningfully reduce emissions and promote a healthy food system.

Animal agriculture accounts for 12–20% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is responsible for nearly 60% of the food system’s emissions. The FAO roadmap calls for a 25% reduction of methane emissions from the livestock sector by 2030. Yet, the report does not explore or recommend limiting the consumption of animal products, even in countries where they are currently overconsumed.

The authors also raise concerns about the transparency of the FAO’s publication process and the methodology used in the study.

Given that FAO’s roadmap will be followed by two more installments at COP29 and COP30 – one with a regional-level focus and one with a country-level focus – the commentary’s authors say it is crucial for the organization to address the shortcomings identified.