8 May 2025

This report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Chatham House, shines a spotlight on agribusinesses, on the potential role they could play in fostering transformative change in the food system at scale and at pace, and on the political and market structures, or “system lock-ins” – that are stifling this potential. The report analyzes three such lock-ins: the cheaper food paradigm; market consolidation and vested interests; and investment path dependencies. It looks at how these lock-ins create the rules of the game” for agribusiness that disincentivise shifting from business-as-usual practices to more sustainable business models. It also considers the actions that governments (with support from intergovernmental organizations, financial institutions, the private sector and civil society) must take to change these rules, firstly through signalling a political commitment to transformative, system-wide change and, secondly through building a strong business case for a sustainable transition.