Some of the best sustainable food sources for the future are fairly obvious; others may not be on many people’s plates just yet. Read on to find out more about them, and how we can create a sustainable food future.
What are the best sustainable food sources for the future?
These eco-friendly options provide high nutritional content with minimal environmental impact – some even improve atmospheric, water or soil conditions through natural processes.
Algaes
Algae is a standout sustainable protein source. This diverse group of organisms, including macroalgae (like seaweeds) and microalgae (like phytoplankton), thrive in a wide range of ecosystems and play a crucial role in global food chains.
Seaweeds are often regarded as a ‘net zero’ feedstock, and research highlights that microalgae require only 2.5 m² of land to produce one kilogram of protein. That’s up to 100 times less space than beef and significantly less than plant-based proteins like nuts.
Cereals and pseudocereals
Cereals like oats and pseudocereals like buckwheat offer a highly sustainable future food solution due to their adaptability, high nutritional value, and lower environmental footprint compared to traditional staples.
Oat is an effective cover crop – it can be integrated into no-tillage systems by providing surface residues to improve soil quality and conservation. It can also be grown as a sustainable forage crop in areas that aren’t great for cultivating grain, like colder regions with shorter growing seasons.
Like oat, buckwheat works well as a cover crop and is also popular as it grows so quickly that it can ‘smother’ weeds and other unwanted species to halt their growth. Its fast maturation cycle (10-12 weeks) makes it an easy crop to grow in rotation after the primary harvest.
Leafy greens
Leafy green vegetables are prime candidates for future sustainable food production as many can be grown in hydroponic farms.
This method of production, in which plants are grown in nutrient rich water under optimal artificially controlled conditions, can be significantly less taxing on the environment than conventional farming, especially if powered by renewable energy.
One study found that closed environment agriculture (CEA) techniques like hydroponics can use land and water 38–60 times more efficiently than open-field production. Another study found that soil-less systems yielded 3-4 times more lettuce than soil systems and that the crop was also better quality.
Legumes
Legumes, including lentils, beans, and peanuts, also enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and supporting eco-friendly farming practices.
Lentils are among the most sustainable protein sources, providing 23.6g of protein per 100g—exceeding even pork loin. They thrive in diverse climates and soils while using significantly less water compared to other protein-rich foods like nuts.
Bivalves
Bivalves, including clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, boast higher protein content than many meats and plant-based crops, along with essential omega-3 fatty acids and key micronutrients like zinc, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin B12.
Bivalve farming is highly sustainable, requiring almost no land or freshwater as it relies on seawater, producing lower carbon emissions than many cereal crops, and contributing to the restoration and protection of coastal ecosystems.
Additionally, bivalve reefs and farms can mitigate the effects of nitrogen pollution, enhance water clarity, serve as nursery habitats for fish, offer coastal flood and storm protection, and capture carbon through shell production.
Creating a sustainable food future
Creating a sustainable food future requires collaboration between actors at all levels. We should, among other things, encourage the adoption of climate resilient crop varieties, develop new sustainable agricultural technologies, reduce food waste and pressure governments to implement progressive policies.
Climate resilient crop varieties
Utilizing climate resilient crop varieties is an important part of securing a sustainable food future. Crops with high heat tolerance, lower water requirements and better resistance to pests and disease can produce dramatically higher yields than traditional varieties.
One recent ‘seed resilience’ project in Rwanda, supported by the NGO Fair Planet and the International Seed Federation helped local farmers to increase crop yield by 880% on the same land just by swapping old seeds for new varieties.
Collaboration between international NGOs and governments is key in the adoption of climate resilient crop varieties, which is often inhibited by the availability and effectiveness of extension services and outreach.
New technologies that support sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is advancing through innovations addressing environmental challenges. For example, digital sensors and drones can provide precise monitoring of crop and soil conditions and gene editing technologies like CRISPR are creating more resilient plant varieties.
Transitioning to low-emissions equipment and clean power sources is also important for achieving sustainability in agriculture. One fifth of agri-food businesses in the EU already use predominantly renewable energy to power their production processes and 33% also say they are planning to implement predominantly renewable energy over the next two years.
Reduced food waste
Halving the amount of food waste worldwide could save 88.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over the next 30 years. Food is wasted throughout the production process, with the retail and consumption stages perhaps the most important to address.
Products with short shelf life such as meat, dairy, vegetables and bread are all susceptible to wastage. Reusing unsold products – such as this supermarket/brewery collaboration reusing unsold bread to create beer – is one way to limit wastage at the retail stage.
Storing food properly, creating meal plans and composting leftovers are all easy ways to reduce food waste in the home. Improving general knowledge about just how much food is wasted can also be effective – one study found that information campaigns had up to 28% food waste reduction.
Progressive policy making
Progressive policy making can drive sustainable agriculture through strategic interventions across research, economic, regulatory, and educational domains.
Governments can accelerate technology adoption and support farmers’ transition to climate-smart practices, by establishing targeted funding and green finance mechanisms combined with clear regulatory frameworks.
Denmark’s Green Tripartite Plan is a standout example. It targets environmental sustainability through forest expansion, habitat restoration, and agricultural innovation. The strategy includes a global first CO2e livestock emissions tax, a €1.34B investment in agricultural tech, and aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 2.6M tonnes by 2030.