UPSC Civil Services Examination — Environment & Ecology (Prelims GS and Mains GS-III) · India · Union Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe food system from input to plate to waste: sustainable diets, food loss and waste, food environments and the transformation agenda. Post-harvest and processing technology are in the Food Technology and Agricultural Engineering tracks; this subject frames them as sustainability levers.
In the exams: MSc sustainable food systems programmes; SDG 2 and 12 topics in UPSC CSE and UGC NET Unit 10
How our questions for UPSC Civil Services Examination spread across the units of Sustainable Food Systems, Diets & Food Loss. Difficulty: 12 easy, 17 medium, 1 hard.
| Food security, nutrition and sustainability trade-offs | 6 | |
| Food system frameworks and drivers | 5 | |
| Sustainable and healthy diets: planetary health diet and critiques | 5 | |
| Food loss and food waste: definitions and measurement | 4 | |
| Food system transformation pathways | 4 | |
| Reducing food loss and waste: interventions along the chain | 3 | |
| Environmental footprints of different foods | 2 | |
| Urban and peri-urban agriculture | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
The EAT-Lancet planetary health diet was designed to feed about how many people in 2050 within environmental boundaries?
A. 10 billion
The 2019 Commission designed a reference diet for about 10 billion people in 2050 within six global boundaries for food production.
Further reading: Willett et al., EAT-Lancet Commission, The Lancet 2019
Which set lists the six environmental systems for which the EAT-Lancet Commission set food-production boundaries?
D. Greenhouse gases, cropland use, freshwater use, nitrogen, phosphorus and biodiversity loss
The Commission set boundaries for climate (GHG), land-system change (cropland), freshwater use, nitrogen cycling, phosphorus cycling and biodiversity loss (extinction rate). The other sets mix unrelated indicators.
Further reading: Willett et al., EAT-Lancet Commission, The Lancet 2019
What daily amount of red meat does the EAT-Lancet reference diet suggest, with its range?
B. About 14 g per day, range 0–28 g
The reference diet includes 14 g/day of red meat (beef, lamb, pork) with a range of 0–28 g — roughly one serving a week — alongside small amounts of poultry, fish, eggs and dairy. It is not meat-free and is far below 50–100 g a day.
Further reading: Willett et al., EAT-Lancet Commission, The Lancet 2019
What did Hirvonen and colleagues (2020) conclude about the EAT-Lancet reference diet?
D. It would cost more than the household income of at least 1.58 billion people
Their global analysis found the diet unaffordable for at least 1.58 billion people, mostly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Others raised micronutrient concerns for vulnerable groups; the diet is designed to lower, not raise, emissions.
Further reading: Hirvonen et al., Lancet Global Health 2020
In FAO and UNEP definitions, food discarded by a supermarket counts as:
D. Food waste
Food waste occurs at retail, food service and consumer level; food loss covers harvest up to but not including retail. Supermarket discards are therefore waste.
Further reading: FAO, SOFA 2019
What is meant by the 'triple burden' of malnutrition?
D. Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight or obesity coexisting
The triple burden is undernutrition (stunting, wasting), micronutrient deficiency and overweight/obesity, often in the same country or household. The other triads are drivers or supply-chain problems.
Further reading: SOFI 2024
According to FAO's State of Food and Agriculture 2023, the largest share of the quantified hidden costs of agrifood systems came from:
D. Health costs of dietary patterns linked to non-communicable diseases
SOFA 2023 found that most quantified hidden costs (of the order of 10 trillion PPP dollars a year) arose from unhealthy dietary patterns, followed by environmental costs from emissions and nitrogen. The other options are narrower components.
Further reading: FAO SOFA 2023
Which SOFI estimate describes global hunger in 2023?
A. Between about 713 and 757 million people
SOFI 2024 estimated that 713–757 million people faced hunger (undernourishment) in 2023. Two billion or more relates to moderate or severe food insecurity, a broader measure.
Further reading: SOFI 2024
According to Springmann and colleagues (2018), what is needed to keep the food system within environmental limits?
C. A combination of dietary change, technological improvement and food loss and waste reduction
Their modelling found no single measure sufficient; combined dietary shifts, better technologies and management, and halving food loss and waste were needed. Single-lever answers are rejected.
Further reading: Springmann et al., Nature 2018
A 2021 FAO, UNDP and UNEP report estimated global agricultural producer support at about what level per year?
A. 540 billion US dollars
The report 'A multi-billion-dollar opportunity' estimated about 540 billion dollars a year of support, most of it price incentives and output- or input-linked subsidies it judged distorting or harmful, and argued for repurposing.
Further reading: FAO, UNDP and UNEP 2021
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