From Mine to Meal: How Critical Minerals Shape the Future of Food

Abstract

ABSTRACT Food systems are increasingly recognised as material‐intensive socio‐technical systems rather than solely biological or land‐based systems. Yet, critical minerals, which underpin both agricultural inputs and emerging clean energy technologies, remain an under‐recognised determinant of modern food security. Recent global disruptions like the 2021–2022 energy and fertiliser price shocks, recovery pressures following the COVID‐19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, have demonstrated how mineral and energy supply vulnerabilities rapidly translate into fertiliser scarcity, rising production costs and food price volatility. These events have exposed the close interdependence of mineral, energy and food systems, which highlights the reliance of agricultural production on stable access to energy and mineral‐based inputs. At the same time, the global energy transition is increasing demand for critical minerals, particularly copper and other conductive and structural materials required for electrified irrigation, cold‐chain infrastructure and agro‐industrial processing. However, the concentration of mineral supply chains and export restrictions increase the chances of bottlenecks and price volatility, particularly in regions that depend on imported fertilisers, energy technologies and agricultural equipment. Based on recent empirical and policy literature, this narrative review synthesises three principal pathways through which critical minerals influence modern food systems: (i) fertilisers and soil nutrients (ii) energy and cold‐chain infrastructure and (iii) digital agriculture. It further examines how mineral supply concentration, geopolitical risks and overlapping global shocks reshape food system resilience. The review proposes a mineral‐smart approach to food system governance that explicitly integrates fertiliser security, sustainable mineral management, circular resource use and equitable access to technology while linking critical mineral policy to food security, nutrition and environmental justice.