Top place in the 2017 Food Sustainability Index goes to a repeat winner, France, followed by Japan, Germany, Spain, and Sweden, says the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which developed the annual index with the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation. The United States ranked 21st of the 34 nations on the list, which were rated based on three criteria: food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture, and nutritional challenges.
The 34 nations in the index generate 85 percent of world GDP and account for two-thirds of the global population. High-income countries tend to perform well in the index though there are “outliers,” says the EIU. Ethiopia, the poorest country in the index, “ranks a respectable 12th,” while “the United States languishes in 21st place. The country achieves only a dismal 31st place in sustainable agriculture. In terms of nutritional challenges, the United States ranks 24th, dragged down by elevated levels of consumption of meat, saturated fat, and sugar content,” says an EIU release. The sugar content of the U.S. diet was highest of the 34 nations.
France scored well in all three of the categories to take first place, with an overall score of 74.8. Japan was second, at 72.8, and Germany was third, with 70.5. The U.S. score was 61.5. France scored particularly well on the prevention of food loss and waste.
The 2017 Food Sustainability Index is available here.