The global food system is producing food scarcity in the midst of caloric abundance — a market failure rooted in how agricultural productivity is measured and incentivized. Farmers, seed companies, and government subsidies are optimized for calorie production per hectare, not nutrient-rich food per dollar spent.

The result: staple crops selected for high yield and disease resistance are nutritionally depleted versions of ancestral varieties. Children in calorie-rich regions suffer micronutrient deficiency because the food systems that feed them are not designed to deliver nutrition.