In September 2024, the Milken Institute released Insights on Investments in Food Systems Transformation: Pathways to COP30, which explored the state of food systems investing, the risks and benefits, and the challenges and opportunities. Poised at the intersection of issues impacting finance and health, the Milken Institute’s Feeding Change, with support from Manulife Investment Management, was well positioned to provide greater context and direction to encourage progress toward achieving one of the three actionable opportunity areas identified in that brief: “make food systems conversations finance-forward."

With this aim in view, Feeding Change convened a series of five public and private discussions across Milken Institute events in Singapore, Mexico, New York City, and Washington, DC, as well as more than 30 interviews with diverse key stakeholders, to gain a better understanding of the challenges and levers to achieve this goal. This brief seeks to investigate and illuminate the approach of investing in natural capital through a food systems lens—by defining commonly used terms and use cases, discussing various perspectives on how this type of financing can be measured and deployed strategically, and highlighting challenges and opportunities for how the approach can be part of investment strategies that leverage food systems solutions to adapt to and mitigate climate changes.

Perspectives on a Natural Capital Approach to Financing Food Systems Transformation is intended to bridge a gap in understanding between two integral groups. The first is investors who are actively investing in climate solutions but are unfamiliar with how food and agriculture systems can serve as powerful climate solutions. The second is food systems stakeholders, who understand the key pain points throughout the food supply chain and what must change to reduce costs, improve health, and increase resilience, but who often struggle to communicate these challenges and investment opportunities in a way that resonates with investors.