Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
This year’s World Metrology Day is themed around the global food system. Beyond the need for metrics that can capture complexity, this is an opportunity to reflect more broadly on the quantitative paradigm that largely underlies food systems research.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminds us that unless mitigation and adaptation measures are implemented at the required pace, their costs will rise while their effectiveness will fall. Food systems are at the centre of this debate, offering opportunities for both.
Simplistic oppositions help elicit conceptual differences and may set an analytical framework, but can hardly capture the complexity of food systems or aid the design of systemic solutions.
