The role of food trade in mitigating biodiversity loss

Summary Global food trade redistributes biodiversity impacts along supply chains, yet whether it ultimately alleviates or aggravates biodiversity loss remains unclear. Here, we quantify its effects using an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output model, coupled with local self-sufficiency counterfactual scenarios. We find that current food trade reduces global biodiversity-loss risk by 75% relative to a domestic-supply baseline but with strong regional and sectoral heterogeneity. Trade in staple crops lowers biodiversity loss by 67% across most Asian countries, whereas trade in animal products and tropical crops increases local biodiversity-loss risk by 14% in Oceania and South America. Only 17% of countries currently exhibit trade patterns favorable to biodiversity conservation, indicating substantial room for improvement. Reallocating trade toward lower-impact supply chains could further reduce global biodiversity loss by about 20%. These findings highlight the need for region- and commodity-specific trade policies to better align food security with biodiversity conservation.