FAQ

Codex Planetarius is a set of minimum performance standards for globally traded food that address the 6-8 most significant environmental impacts of food production.

Codex Alimentarius was established by 18 countries in 1963 as a set of minimum mandatory health and safety and phytosanitary standards for global food. It was then embraced by the WTO and adopted by more than 160 countries as the food health and safety standard for globally traded food and is still in force today. The goal of Codex Planetarius is to measure and manage the key environmental impacts of food production, acknowledging that even renewable natural resources aren't being maintained if they are consumed at rates that are faster than the planet can renew them. Codex Planetarius is expected to be piloted in a half dozen countries and then introduced through bi-lateral and other trade agreements. Governments need to approve Codex Planetarius, but when it is formally launched and where it is housed are not known at this time.

The global production of food has had the largest impact of any human activity on the planet. But the impacts of food production are not spread evenly among producers—the least-efficient 10-20% of producers account for 60-80% of the impacts but only 5-10% of the product. Moreover, continuing increases in population and per capita income, accompanied by dietary shifts, are putting even more pressure on the planet and its ability to regenerate renewable resources. Codex Planetarius will reduce food production's key impacts by instituting performance standards on globally traded food, which accounts for a growing portion of total consumption.

This initial phase is designed to shape and support an informed, global discussion about Codex Planetarius. The topics of discussion fall into five general categories: 1) what the 6-8 key impacts to be addressed are, how they will be measured, where and how a performance standard will be established for exports, which systems exist already and which need to be created, and what it will cost; 2) what commodities will most likely be included initially and why, and which might be added over time; 3) what we have learned about private and public voluntary standards and standards-holding bodies; 4) what the likely impacts are of Codex Planetarius on producer income, domestic prices where some product could no longer be exported, export prices and global consumer food prices, and global food security; 5) what a few carefully chosen pilots looking at different types of producers and countries, as well as different types of products, can tell us about the state of metrics and systems in different countries, what they cost, and what the local impacts would be in producing countries as well as the impacts in countries that are more dependent on food imports.

The current multiyear proof-of-concept is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and led by World Wildlife Fund. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with a number of global organizations and experts. Many organizations are also providing in-kind contributions to explore key issues and convene on-going discussion groups around specific topics. In addition, some governments have already begun to show interest in exploring what this would mean for them.

Once the initial research has undergone peer review, we aim to develop 6 to 8 pilot programs to test Codex Planetarius in target commodity markets and geographies. Each would explore and analyze the metrics and systems to measure them, estimate costs, identify gaps, address assumptions, and assess the impacts of the proof-of-concept research for globally traded food. In addition, the pilots would look at possible ways to address any key issues that arise, assumptions that do not seem to hold or that need to be adjusted, or areas that need further research to address any gaps identified in the Codex Planetarius as proposed. Once completed and analyzed, the findings will be published on CodexPlanetarius.org. We will also encourage those countries engaged in the pilots (either exporter or importer) to speak out about their findings, encourage discussion and, as they deem warranted, promote traction for Codex Planetarius in global trade negotiations.

To date, voluntary environmental standards have generally focused on the better producers. In some cases, the focus is on practices, more recently it has been on results. The impacts include the most significant ones, but due to the multi-stakeholder approach the number of standards is much larger than 6-8 impacts, generally including many others that are less significant. In addition, how impacts are measured needs to be simplified to be more precise and cost effective. Also different is that Codex Planetarius is focused on the poorer performing, most impactful producers not the better ones. Where to draw the line will vary from one country to another.

Most global producers will readily exceed the required performance. And many countries that import product may well already have performance standards that exceed those of Codex Planetarius. Codex Planetarius is intended to identify those producers that need to improve. The bottom 10-20% of producers account for 60-80% of the impacts associated with producing any commodity globally, even though they produce only 5-10% of the product. If we want to reduce the global impact of the food production system, we need to focus on the bottom. The goal is to measure impacts the same way and to create an escalator of continuous improvement.

Food production has had the largest impact on the planet of any human activity. The available science and the private voluntary standards suggest that 6-8 environmental impacts are the most significant across food commodities globally. All are in production. These include habitat loss, biodiversity loss, soil health, water take, water effluent and GHG emissions. Some commodities are also linked to specific agrochemicals that pose threats to the environment as well and should be considered case by case. The best available science to date suggests that we need to reduce key global environmental impacts absolutely by 50% by 2050, but for GHG emissions the target is 80% absolute reductions. The only way to do this is to move the bottom. That is why Codex Planetarius is focused on the poorest performers, not the best ones.

There are two other important impacts that we will consider. The first is illegality. The WTO principles for global trade or for any credible standards require that the product being traded is produced legally. Today, our research suggests that as much as half of globally traded food is not produced legally or is mixed with illegally produced food in exporting countries. Codex Planetarius could also be used as an additional screen to identify and reject illegally produced food.

The second impact to be considered is food loss and waste (FLW). Globally, we waste 35-40% of food, and these levels are increasing, much of it at the farm level. In addition, recent research suggests that climate change has been responsible for a 5% loss in food on average over the past 30 years, but that number globally is more recently 10% and in some regions like Sub-Saharan Africa nearly 30%. While producers should not be penalized for the impacts of climate change, this does suggest that reducing FLW rates for post-harvest losses, supply-chain shrinkage, and consumer loss in consuming countries is even more important. Post-harvest losses already penalize producers. The question to be considered, however, is whether food importing countries should be allowed to continue to import foods if they waste 35-40% of it. This will be explored to determine whether food waste in importing countries implies a waste of renewable resources in producing countries. That is precisely what Codex Planetarius is trying to address.

The aim is to provide a baseline for environmental performance in global production and trade of food and soft commodities. The assumption is that the focus will be on primary products that are used directly as food, feed, or ingredients for other food products. The initial focus will be on those commodities that occupy the most land globally, have the largest impacts (including cumulative impacts), and are the most exported. These would include wheat, rice, maize/corn, soy, coffee, sugar, palm oil, and cocoa. However, there is also a desire to include beef, hides and milk solids to address land use and enteric fermentation. (Pork and poultry are consumed more, but their primary impacts tend to be in feed production and manure.)

We also believe a wild-caught fish species (e.g. tuna or a white fish) and an aquaculture species (e.g., salmon, shrimp, tilapia, or seaweed) should be included. In addition, agricultural crops that are not for food consumption could also be considered, e.g., cotton, rubber, or pulp and paper. Commodities of concern will be identified in the impact metrics, pilot studies, and an ongoing consultation and discussion with researchers and governments. It is unlikely that fresh fruits and vegetables will be included, but nuts could be. The shipment of commodities by air freight would eliminate nearly any food from export based on GHG emissions criteria alone.

At the end of the proof-of-concept research, analysis, pilots, and global consultation, WWF will work with global institutions, country representatives, key advisors, and researchers to examine the evidence available to determine whether Codex Planetarius should continue to be pursued or not. If not, all the information will continue to be maintained and made available so that if/when the time becomes right, it can provide useful information and analysis about how to proceed. If the decision is to move forward, then the decision would need to be made about where and how the next phase of the work should be undertaken and supported, what should be the focus of that work, and who should be engaged in the work. At this point in the initial phase, there is enough invested interest from key global parties to pursue the proof-of-concept.

If the decision is to move forward, then it is likely there will need to be a continued effort to analyze the impacts of a Codex Planetarius and how to best address them in order to have a continuous feedback loop for improvement. The way to move Codex Planetarius forward is for individual countries to pilot and test it within specific trade agreements. This will take some time to create, to test, and to analyze the results. It is the results and the willingness of those countries to endorse Codex Planetarius that will encourage others to get engaged. Countries will need to build support for changes in how the WTO might address the environmental impacts of producing food within trade and the global food system. While the WTO might be sympathetic to such a move, it is the member states that would need to individually require it for Codex to become something that the WTO governance body might consider adopting as it did with Codex Alimentarius. With the right institutions, partners, and international collaborative framework, we estimate an effort of this magnitude could begin to gain ground over the next decade, unless there is a global food crisis triggered by climate change and Codex Planetarius is considered and fast-tracked as part of a way to address that and make the global food system more resilient.

Through the end of the proof-of-concept work, Codex Planetarius> will be “housed” at WWF and all of the research will be made public on the Codex Planetarius website. Once the proof-of-concept work is completed and it is decided that the work should continue, then it is likely that the work will need to be more independent. However, it will still require funding and institutional independence to better explore where it should be housed and how it might be best managed going forward. Credible standards are generally not created by the same institutions that house them later. In the second phase of Codex Planetarius, it will be important to maintain two things—independence and scientific rigor. Both will be important to attract the talent, funding and global participation needed to move the effort forward.

The in-kind and direct funding for the proof-of-concept phase of Codex Planetarius will be $6 million-$8 million. If the conclusion at the end of the proof-of-concept phase is to move forward, then the next phase of work over 5-10 years will cost $90-$120 million with a large percentage going to in-kind pilots or independent research undertaken to re-examine some of the earlier findings and assumptions. If the work moves from the second stage of work to the creation of a legal entity (stand alone or within another entity) then the costs would be borne by the governments that have endorsed it, both for their own direct costs, but also for some of the indirect costs of funding a secretariat to run the body.

Furthermore, we estimate it would probably cost approximately $1 billion per year for each of the impacts to be measured once Codex Planetarius is established, but this would depend on how many countries are involved, what the metrics are and how they are measured, how many countries do not currently already measure those metrics, etc. In the past, such costs have been born by the exporting country and are often passed on in one way or another to the producer. However, the consensus is beginning to shift on this. There is an increasing sentiment that if countries depend on the natural resources of other countries for food and other basic items, they should cover the true cost of production. It is only when the actual costs of production are covered that producers can afford to make the investments that will make them more resilient and more reliable sources of food in the future.

A related, additional question is what will be the impact of not making food production more sustainable and failing to reduce the biggest global environmental impacts of food production on trade, business and economies? We know that we need to reduce the GHG emissions of producing food by 80% absolutely if the food system is going to make a positive contribution to reducing GHG emissions. And if we are to meet the global food needs of increased population with more income and which consumes more and different foods, then we need to reduce the other impacts of how we produce food by an estimated 50% absolutely from current levels. If we do not, we will be drawing down on the planet's renewable natural resources. If we don't begin to systematically reduce the impacts of producing food globally we will not be able to make food production more resilient. The point is that we cannot grow our way out of this so long as the impacts continue or even increase.

Codex Planetarius is one strategy that will make food production and global trade as well as the businesses and economies that depend on them more resilient in the face of climate change. The research being done at this point will help us better understand exactly what the impacts will be on producer prices, income, exports and export values, and importing country consumer prices. The amount of food that is affected is that which has the biggest impacts, but it is a small percentage of global trade even if most of it is exported. However, it is likely that most exported food commodities will include product linked to some of the biggest impacts. And, as the portion of production that is exported increases, so will the amount linked to the largest impacts. That is not to say that there will be no other impacts. There will be. Product that does not meet the Codex's minimum impact requirements will remain on domestic markets. It is possible that sufficient suitable material can be found that will make up for rejected product, but this will create inefficiencies, and probably depress local product prices to some degree. However, once producers address their impacts, they will be able to export on global markets. Governments will also have a vested interest in addressing this issue quickly as well.