This chapter explores the trends in major external drivers that will probably present major challenges and raise risks for food systems in the world over the next 20 years. This chapter focuses on only three main categories of trends because they are the easiest to predict and the least uncertain: environmental, demographic and socio-economic. This chapter describes some of the major trends for which we have some data available, although they are still debated by scientists. It will show how Low-Income (LI) and Lower Middle-Income (LMI) countries will experience some of the major challenges.