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Tag Archive for: Food Systems

Chairing a Dialogue at Davos on the Future of Food

February 1, 2023/0 Comments/in News

As part of efforts to scale up and accelerate innovation for a food systems transformation in the lead up to COP28, 4SD Foundation’s Strategic Director, David Nabarro, chaired Bayer and Clim-Eat’s 2nd Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogue (FSSD) event ‘Cooking-up something new: Innovation to shape the future of food’, on 17th January, 2022, in the SDG Tent at Davos.

The dinner dialogue event gathered 75 participants representing key global organizations to discuss the innovations needed to shape the future of food, realize the food systems transformation, and also identify key opportunities and bottlenecks for scaling and accelerating innovation.

Cooking up Something New: Innovation to Shape the Future of Food from Slidecrew/Slidefair on Vimeo.

This event is a continuation of a series of events that began as part of the United Nations 2021 Food Systems Summit Dialogues process.

https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dialogue-at-Davos-ClimEat.jpg 635 1500 thuy.nguyen https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg thuy.nguyen2023-02-01 09:37:542023-02-01 09:39:24Chairing a Dialogue at Davos on the Future of Food

Engaging thousands with Food Systems Summit Dialogues

October 25, 2022/0 Comments/in News

In collaboration with the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) Special Envoy, Dr Agnes Kalibata, and the Secretariat for the UNFSS, 4SD designed, prepared and assisted with encouraging the convening, curation and facilitation of Food Systems Summit Dialogues throughout 2020 and 2021.

At the time of the Summit in September 2021, the Summit Dialogues process had engaged over 100,000 people, whose contributions remain readily available to be explored, referenced and synthesised on the Summit Dialogues Gateway. The Official Feedback from the Dialogues remain a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers and changemakers in food systems.

Remarks of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the UNFSS included praise for all who had engaged with the Dialogues process, stating, “Over the last 18 months, you’ve been part of a remarkable global engagement. As the pandemic physically pushed us apart, the preparations for this Summit brought us together. Through national dialogues, governments gathered together businesses, communities and civil society to chart pathways for the future of food systems across 148 countries. Over 100,000 people came together to discuss and debate solutions – many of which are now being shared at this Summit. You injected new life into multilateralism.”

Outcomes from Food Systems Summit Dialogues were used by national governments to develop pathways to sustainable food systems within the locality in which they take place. By the time of the Summit, over 80 countries had formed national pathways for food systems transformation, which Dr Kalibata described the potential of these as, “the development of national pathways for transforming food systems will create the opportunity to reflect and respond to unique climate, economic and social circumstances facing each country.”

Based on Official Feedback Forms submitted by national Convenors, the Summit Secretariat and 4SD developed syntheses reports of the Member State Dialogues to provide an analysis of progressions and trends across countries. These reports were made available publicly to contribute to national pathway development, as well as provide insights for the different workstreams preparing for the UN Food Systems Summit: the Action Tracks, Scientific Groups and Champions as well as for other dialogues.
Read the reports here:

  • Description of the inception period
  • Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 1
  • Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 2
  • Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 3
  • Member State Dialogues Synthesis REPORT 4

For more information about the Summit and it’s follow-up, led by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, visit https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit.

https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/summit-dialogues-update.jpg 476 850 thuy.nguyen https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg thuy.nguyen2022-10-25 09:15:082022-10-27 14:51:13Engaging thousands with Food Systems Summit Dialogues

Supporting Local Voices and Dialogues for Food Systems in the USA

October 4, 2022/0 Comments/in News

Following a massive year for food systems globally, 2022 has been monumental at the national level for the United States with the Biden-Harris Administration Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. For the first time since 1969, the US government had a watershed moment to focus on catalyzing the public and private sectors around a coordinated strategy to end hunger for millions and Americans, improve nutrition and physical activity, and close the disparities surrounding them.

4SD was proud to partner with Food Systems for the Future to mobilise efforts in the lead up to the Conference. Notably on launching the Good Food Dialogues concept and Platform, which was established to drive national efforts to energize and empower communities around grassroots solutions to the nation’s hunger crisis and improve federal policies to more equitably address hunger, nutrition and diet-related disease needs.

 

The Good Food Dialogues Report

Amplifying Stories of Food Access and Affordability to Shape Equitable Food Policy, memorializes the thoughts and recommendations from a diverse group of stakeholders who are invested in reducing food insecurity and the rate of diet-related diseases in the United States.

All the themes, identified barriers, and proposed solutions in the report were  synthesized from more than 700 participants in the Good Food Dialogues (GFD) project and were submitted to the White House ahead of the Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on September 28, 2022 to inform the policy conversations taking place in Washington D.C.

 

The White House Strategy

The National Strategy details actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to hunger, nutrition, and health challenges. The Biden-Harris Administration has also released a fact sheet detailing more than $8 billion in new commitments as part of this Conference’s call to action. Read the fact sheet to learn more.

In the remarks made by President Biden at the Conference, he states, “I’ve released a national strategy to meet that bold goal.  The strategy that — has three key — three key principles. First, help more Americans — I’ll say this again — help more Americans access the food that will keep their families nourished and healthy.  A lot of food deserts out there. Second, give folks the option and information they need to make healthy dietary choices. Thirdly, help more Americans be physically active.  People want to be; lots of times of times there’s no places to go to be active from where they live.”

 Watch: An introduction to the Good Food Dialogues, including opening remarks from Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Founder and CEO Food Systems for the Future.

To learn more about the Conference and the Good Food Dialogues, follow these related links:

  • White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
  • Good Food Dialogues Platform
  • Food Systems for the Future
https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Good-Food-Dialogues.jpg 741 1500 info https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg info2022-10-04 13:05:212022-10-04 13:09:40Supporting Local Voices and Dialogues for Food Systems in the USA

Talking Food Systems and Inspiring Change at Harvard University

September 27, 2022/0 Comments/in News

Thanks to the Harvard Food Systems Initiative (HFSI) led by the Harvard University Dining Services in collaboration with Harvard Faculty and practitioners in the field, 4SD Strategic Director, Dr David Nabarro presented his view of the Future of Food Systems at an event on campus on 26 September 2022. The event was free and open to the public both in-person and through a zoom webinar. Attended by various faculty members and students from across various disciplines, the event played a key role in sharing knowledge and experience about food systems to further the mission of the HFSI education and experiential program.

The presentation was followed by a multi-stakeholder dialogue which brought together people from across the food chain – including food production, preparation and consumption. Many diverse perspectives and roles held by the participants meant discussions could lead in many directions. Nevertheless, there was one resounding consensus:  we are dissatisfied with the status quo and we can collectively “do better”.

Read the corresponding article, “Healthier options for people, planet“, where Harvard Correspondent, Gray Milkowski, learns about the HFSI from co-chairs Walter Willett and Smitha Haneef.

“I hope that HFSI will serve as a common place for knowledge exchange, knowledge generation, and community engagement.” — Smitha Haneef

Watch: The Future of Food Systems with David Nabarro.

4SD commends Smitha Haneef, Managing Director for Harvard University Dining Services, and her team for designing these events as part of the HFSI. They are creating spaces for collaboration, and enabling people, regardless of their status, to recognise and realise their role in changing the food system, for the better.

—

For more information about the HSFI, visit hfsi.harvard.edu.

Follow @HUDSinfo and @4sd_info on twitter to stay up-to-date on the follow up from the events.

https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Screenshot_20220927_235413.jpg 586 878 thuy.nguyen https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg thuy.nguyen2022-09-27 16:02:072022-10-04 13:12:27Talking Food Systems and Inspiring Change at Harvard University

Africa: from crisis to opportunity

January 26, 2022/0 Comments/in Reflections

Ad Spijkers worked as a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), among other places.

Africa: from crisis to opportunity

The picture is grim. Millions of people displaced and driven into poverty by climate change, COVID-19 and international conflict. An escalating food crisis, resulting from crop failures and rising costs of living. Africa has been particularly hard hit by this. Ethiopia, Somalia and eastern DR Congo, among others, are facing major problems. High inflation reduces purchasing power and the family budget in many countries is now largely spent on food and energy. Due to the crisis, fertilizer has become too expensive, so that the extra kilograms of grain that farmers obtained from a kilogram of fertilizer are now lost.

Prolonged drought, heat, excessive floodings and epidemics of pests and diseases complicate food production for the 1.4 billion Africans. Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country – is facing increased insecurity, inflation and job losses. In addition, divergent views within the United Nations and other international forums disrupt the development of the African agri-food systems and undermine food security. These phenomena can fuel inequality, instability and mass migration to Europe.

For these reasons, it remains essential to support in Africa an agricultural policy that deals strategically and responsibly with water, fertilization, crop protection, available labor and sales opportunities. In order to meet increasingly pressing local food needs, above all local insights must be used to bring about a ‘transformation’ of Africa’s agricultural systems. Crucial to this is the sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture in particular. Local food production (also on a large scale), local processing and shortening Africa’s food chains can significantly reduce the escalating transport costs.

However, technical solutions alone will not turn the tide. Political vision, will and power at all levels of government is needed to face the growing humanitarian crisis. It is also in our interest, the ‘Global North’, to respect and promote Africa’s self-reliance. At the level of the African Union (AU), Africa itself is in charge of agriculture and food supply. Africans are also increasingly taking the lead at national and regional levels on the basis of their own education, knowledge, skills and experience.

We must respect and encourage this ownership, because a paternalistic attitude of the West is no longer appropriate. Western ideas, which are still part of project proposals and conditions, no longer resonate in Africa. In addition, other major powers are now more in charge, leaving the West geopolitically behind.

Due to the colonial past of many member states and the current agricultural policy and the associated protection, the European Union does not always promote African agriculture. If the Netherlands and the EU want to pursue a sincere development policy based on current geopolitical events, they will have to leave the familiar ‘belittling finger’ at home. The free sharing of knowledge and skills, and entering into egalitarian trade relations must be given priority, based on a greater respect for African ownership and leadership.

Europe and other Western powers can help shape agricultural research, education and development with and for Africa. Preferably orchestrated by the African Union and national governments and where necessary with input from multilateral institutions, development banks and universities. The starting point must be the specific needs and potential possibilities of African farmers. Co-financed with proceeds from Africa’s wealth of primary raw materials, the living conditions of the rural population could improve dramatically. Africa is as big as China, India, the United States and most of Europe put together. In Africa food security is synonymous with human security. Investments, are not enough and resources are needed to address the growing humanitarian challenge–where big powers need to work more actively on peace, security, climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.

What has succeeded elsewhere in the Global South during the past fifty years must also become a reality in Africa. African ownership, confidence in one’s own abilities, international cooperation and mutual respect are sine qua non. The continent embodies gigantic potential and the political class increasingly has the means to crank up its economic engine. The joint formulation of a ‘Marshall Plan’ for agriculture – the cornerstone of the African economy – offers Europe a golden opportunity to pay off its colonial debt and offer the continent a better future.

This article is a revision of a column which was published in the December 2022 issue of the Dutch magazine Vork (https://www.vork.org). Thanks to Orlando de Ponti, Martin Smith and Kris Wyckhuys.

About this 4SD Reflection

This article is a reflection by Ad Spijkers following the 4SD Foundation Open Online Briefings of Dr David Nabarro.Ad worked as Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. He is part of a group of Wageningen development veterans with extensive experience in Africa and Asia.

Participants of the 4SD Foundation Open Online Briefings are invited to share their reflections on how they are navigating complexities from their own perspectives. The views and opinions expressed in these reflections do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of 4SD as an organization or it’s associated personnel. Any content provided by authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Reflections.jpg 210 638 thuy.nguyen https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg thuy.nguyen2022-01-26 15:00:502023-01-26 22:00:49Africa: from crisis to opportunity

4SD supports the Food Systems Summit preparation process

October 14, 2020/0 Comments/in News

In 2019, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) called for a Food Systems Summit, underpinned by an inclusive engagement process to unleash the power of food to deliver progress on all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In preparing for the Summit a diverse range of stakeholders — from youth activists to indigenous leaders, from smallholder farmers to scientists and CEOs – are invited to identify the most powerful ways to make food systems stronger and more equitable.

To assist with the preparation of the Food Systems Summit, we are very pleased to announce that 4SD will support the opportunity for people, of every country, to engage with preparations for the Summit through “Food Systems Summit Dialogues”.

In collaboration with the Special Envoy and the Secretariat for the Food Systems Summit , we have prepared a standardized approach to the convening, curation and facilitation of Food Systems Summit Dialogues.

Background

At 4SD, we recognise that there are multiple ways in which powerful and thought-provoking dialogues can be conducted. People within different communities have found many of their own ways, through dialogue, to deepen their appreciation of each other’s perspectives, to make new connections, to resolve difficult choices and to seek agreement where possible. Based on this recognition and our dedication to systems leadership to address complex issues, we are proud to have been working with the Food Systems Dialogues initiative since 2018.

These Food Systems Dialogues were established as an initiative of  five partners – EAT, Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), World Economic Forum (WEF) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Over 40 dialogueshave been convened, in 23 countries, across 6 continents, engaging over 2200 food systems practitioners. The dialogues have allowed us to learn how people with different backgrounds and perspectives can interact with a systems perspective.

These classic versions of dialogues about food systems are a foundation and source of inspiration for the Food Systems Summit Dialogues. Our experience in working with this initiative has helped us identify the  skills required for convening, curating and facilitating discussions, and to develop a useful dialogue format that can lead to  valuable and constructive outcomes. We have also built a strong understanding of the logistics and operational requirements of holding events in multiple circumstances.

The Food Systems Summit Dialogues Approach

The standardized approach we have developed for Food Systems Summit is based on our experience with the classic initiative. The Summit Dialogues reflect the Summit’s principles of engagement and encourage all involved to consider the Food Systems Summit as a major milestone and a call to action to:

  • Listen to each other;
  • Welcome diverse perspectives;
  • Seek out new connections;
  • Explore both synergy and divergence;
  • Work together to identify promising options;
  • Debate their potential impact; and,
  • Over time, shape pathways and commitments for action towards food systems that will be equitable and sustainable by 2030.

The involvement of different stakeholder groups in the Food Systems Summit Dialogues is critical because our food systems touch every aspect of human existence. The health of our food systems profoundly affects the health of our bodies, as well as the health of our environment, our economies and our cultures.

Dialogues will be convened at three levels: Global Summit Dialogues will be convened alongside key global events, Member State Dialogues will be convened by national authorities, and Independent Dialogues will be led by self-appointed Convenors who can be individuals or organizations independent of national authorities who want to formally connect with the Summit through this process. Each Dialogue will be carefully curated and facilitated to encourage exploration, alignment and joint action.

The Food Systems Summit Dialogues are an exceptional opportunity for all people to contribute to shaping the pathways that will lead to sustainable food systems everywhere and indicate how they will contribute to making this vision a reality for all.

—

A website dedicated to the Food Systems Summit Dialogues launched on World Food Day, 16 October 2020. Visit summitdialogues.org.

To sign up to the newsletter, click here.

For more information about the Summit, visit https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit

For more information about the classic Food Systems Dialogue initiative, visit https://foodsystemsdialogues.org/

https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/food-systems-summit-2021.jpg 300 800 info https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg info2020-10-14 18:49:252022-10-27 13:10:234SD supports the Food Systems Summit preparation process

NEWS

Chairing a Dialogue at Davos on the Future of Food

February 1, 2023/0 Comments/in News
Read more
https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dialogue-at-Davos-ClimEat.jpg 635 1500 thuy.nguyen https://4sd.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Logo-white.svg thuy.nguyen2023-02-01 09:37:542023-02-01 09:39:24Chairing a Dialogue at Davos on the Future of Food

Hiring Now: Executive Assistant to David Nabarro

January 25, 2023/0 Comments/in News
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Engaging thousands with Food Systems Summit Dialogues

October 25, 2022/0 Comments/in News
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Supporting Local Voices and Dialogues for Food Systems in the USA

October 4, 2022/0 Comments/in News
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