What is the FABLE Calculator?
The FABLE Calculator is a user-friendly Excel-based model that allows users to simulate future food and land-use scenarios. It helps answer key policy questions, such as:
- How will population growth and dietary changes affect food demand?
- What are the impacts of agricultural expansion on deforestation?
- How can we balance food production with climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation?
The tool provides insights by modeling:
- 88 agricultural products across crops and livestock.
- Land and water use for food production from 2000 to 2050.
- Trade, losses, waste, and environmental constraints.
Used by research teams with governments worldwide, the FABLE Calculator helps develop long-term integrated pathways, supporting decision-making, prioritization, and faciliating cross-sectoral dialogues to build a common vision for sustainable food and land-use systems.
How does it work?
The Calculator works in step-by-step calculations, where each step depends on the previous one. For example:
- First, human food consumption is calculated.
- Next, livestock production is modeled, considering feed needs.
- Finally, crop production is determined based on demand from both food and feed sectors.
The FABLE Calculator is free and publicly available. Get started by downloading the demo version and experimenting with different scenarios, including population growth, diets, trade, agricultural productivity, and conservation policies.
To access a country-specific FABLE Calculator, contact us at info.fable@unsdsn.org.
Explore the FABLE Calculator through our tutorials
More resources
- FABLE Calculator Documentation - Mosnier et al. 2020
- Video Training Materials - Available in English and Spanish
- FABLE Calculator Forum - Ask questions and learn from other users