Counting on Nature: How should we value nature in our food systems?

Counting on Nature: How should we value nature in our food systems?

A panel discussion

Date: 2 June, 16:00

Location: Oxford Martin School, lecture theatre and online

Natural systems underpinning food production are being degraded at an unprecedented rate, with a rapid loss of biodiversity and an average temperature rise of almost 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels in 2023.  Most economists believe that these problems have arisen because the value of nature is not adequately reflected in policy and economic decision-making.

But what is nature's value? Some may view it as merely another economic asset, while others appreciate it in terms of identity, aesthetics, and even spiritual significance.  Can these values be incorporated into decision-making without diminishing the richness and diversity of our relationships with nature?  Can we forge markets in nature and categorise it as a type of capital without depleting our relationship with the environment, even if it acquires a nominal monetary value?  Can we commodify nature into tradable units while still acknowledging that much of the value of ecosystems arises from interconnections and networks?

Expert economists’ views on how to appropriately factor nature into decision-making vary considerably, with two main groups of environmental and ecological economists.  

The former focuses on translating nature’s values into economic terms and creating nature markets, which many pragmatic environmentalists support, if only because they believe that money influences politicians.  This approach has been institutionalised in Global North governments’ decision-making through cost-benefit analysis and derives from the neo-classical school of economic thinking that dominates economic teaching and research.

The latter emphasises the need for dialogue about nature's values and changes in the political-economic system to reflect nature's importance and create fairer outcomes.  They draw on non-mainstream economic thinking, which places greater focus on political-economic interactions and power inequalities.  These experts are supported by environmental justice organisations, who fear a continuation of green colonialism as the Global North seeks to greenwash the persistence of their destructive economic systems.