Food systems prepare for revolution

Expectations are high ahead of tomorrow’s historic UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in New York that countries will step up to the challenge of fixing broken food systems. Announcements are expected from more than 85 heads of state, with ‘school meals for every child, zero food waste and an agriculture innovation mission for climate, among the raft of commitments expected.

“The UNFSS2021 will convene farmers and fishers, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and others to transform the world’s Food Systems.”

David Nabarro

Labelled The People’s Summit, it is an event the authors of this year’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report said ‘offers a unique opportunity for advancing food security and nutrition through transforming food systems’. It is an opportunity leaders need to grasp, after the SOFI report revealed 811 million people are undernourished; and a UN-backed study earlier this year estimated food systems are responsible for more than one-third of global greenhouse emissions.

“After 18 long months, the world is on the brink of a summit that aims to change the trajectory of global progress, uniting everyone in a shared commitment to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and the fundamental human rights at their core,” said Agnes Kalibata, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit.

Some 600 member state dialogues, involving more than 45,000 people, have fed into the 80 national pathways that have already been submitted, with more expected throughout this week.

“These Dialogues have become a critical foundation for the food systems transformation that is urgently needed to drive a recovery from COVID-19 and achieve our shared goals in this crucial decade of action to 2030,” said David Nabarro, Senior Adviser on Food Systems Summit Dialogues.

Anyone can sign up to join the virtual UNFSS tomorrow and be part of the revolution.

Food production

Dr Brent Loken, the Global Food Lead Scientist for WWF, spoke with Marc Buckley recently on the Inside Ideas podcast about the need for actions that can effectively address critical issues linked to food production.

“We need to think about how we actually produce the food,” he told Marc. “Because producing the food a lot more efficiently on land is something we have to do to ensure we are not cutting down more trees, which increases greenhouse gas emissions, increases biodiversity loss.”

Dr Loken has been charting food consumption patterns in G20 countries and exploring the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, research which will help decisions makers at UNFSS and beyond.

Catch up with the full Dr Loken podcast below.