Evidence for Transforming Food Systems JUNE2025 Copyright © 2025 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bankand the World Food Programme of the United Nations This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank and the World Food Programme ofthe United Nations (WFP) with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, andconclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of WFP orThe World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank and WFP do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency ofthe data included in this work and do not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions,or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to usethe information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. The boundaries, colors,denominations, links/footnotes and other information shown on any map in this work donot imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank or WFP concerning the legal statusof any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The citation of worksauthored by others does not mean the World Bank and WFP endorse the views expressed bythose authors or the content of their works. Nothing herein shall constitute or be construed or considered to be a limitation upon orwaiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank or WFP, whose privileges andimmunities are specifically reserved. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is subject to copyright. This work may be reproduced, in whole or inpart, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The WorldBank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. Cover design: Veronica Gadea, GCS, World Bank Group; Template and accessibility: Will Kemp,GCS, World Bank Group Contents Acknowledgement1 Executive Summary2 Background2Main Messages3 1Introduction 12 2Methods 16 2.1.Analytical framework162.2.Multi-objectives linear optimization and selection of best basket172.3.Current consumption and optimized healthy diet baskets182.4.Data: types, sources, and limitations20 3Results 26 3.1.What does the current Cambodian diet look like?263.2.From current consumption to healthy sustainable diets:characterizing dietary shifts283.3.How to shift diets toward higher fruit and vegetable consumption343.4.What can interventions to improve resilience to climate changecontribute to mitigating the environmental impact of diets?45 4Summary of findings, discussion, and recommendations70 4.1.Summary of findings704.2.Discussion and implications of the findings724.3.Recommended priority actions74 Bibliography 77 Boxes BOX 1Promoting vegetable production improves value chain – AcceleratingInclusive Markets for Smallholders38BOX 2TheMahob Brojam Krousar(Family Food Game) social and behaviorchange campaign43BOX 3Fortified rice52BOX 4Insects60BOX 5Food safety in Cambodia63BOX 6Climate-resilient water management in Cambodia66 Figures Figure ES.1Summary of shifts from current dietary patterns to healthy diets4Figure ES.2Required increase of fruit and vegetable supply to enable consumptionat population level as required for the healthy diet, and barriers toincreased consumption that should be addressed by social and behaviorchange strategies focused on healthy eating5Figure 1Food systems conceptual framework16Figure 2National average of current consumption and estimates of greenhousegas emissions and water use by major food groups27Figure 3.APareto-efficient solutions calculated based on the three objectives andhealthy diet basket criteria29Figure 3.BCurrent diet and healthy diet basket (selected inflection point for reference)by composition, greenhouse gas emissions, fresh water use, and land use29Figure 4Comparison of modeled healthy diet baskets and current nationalconsumption for selected food groups (grams per person per day)30Figure 5.ABasket groupings by set of criteria32Figure 5.BHeatmap reporting average quantities of each food categorycorresponding to sets of baskets according to inclusion criteria32Figure 6Trade-off curves from four sets of tri-objective optimizations based ondifferent combinations of objectives34Figure 7Dietary shift from current to healthy diets – fruit and vegetables intake35Figure 8Getting to a healthy diet: current per person consumption of fruit andvegetables versus requirements of healthy diet36Figure 9Supply and demand gap for fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet37Figure 10Socioecological model40Figure 11Barriers to increased fruit and vegetable intake41Figure 12Greenhouse gas emission intensity of rice (units in kg CO₂ eq./kg ofrice product at retail)48Figure 13Impact of climate-smart agriculture practices on the reduction ofgreenhouse gas emission intensities from rice (units in kg CO₂ eq./kgrice