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The ‘toxic cocktail’ of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate and conflict has slowed progress on nutrition. Where long-standing budgets for nutrition have been constrained in these times, broad stakeholder engagement and non-traditional approaches to nutrition financing are needed.
Basic and applied research too often remain divided in agriculture. With stagnating and, in some cases, declining research funding, the innovation we need in agriculture for food systems transformation calls for greater connection and communication between the two.
The UN Food Systems Summit brought together a breadth of civil society, scientists, industry and policymakers. Its legacy requires ongoing efforts for innovation, inclusivity and trust, and accountability to ensure high-level commitments are honoured.
Current market prices do not fully capture the impacts of food, leading to inefficiencies and propagating unsustainable behaviour. True cost accounting offers an opportunity to change that, but will only deliver on its promise if understood as part of a set of tools.
Increasingly globalized food systems increase risk for the spread of infectious disease in animals and zoonotic transmission to humans. Greater international harmonization for measures and governance in the area of biosecurity for infectious disease is needed.
The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research Act signed by United States President Joe Biden in April, and Natasha’s Law, which will be enforced from October in the United Kingdom, highlight incomplete knowledge within society on how to manage food allergy in a fail-safe way.
Technological innovation is an important contributor to food security and sustainability. But traditional knowledge and behavioural change are vital to solve today’s food crisis.
Nutrition is a relatively young and evolving science. Political will to reform food systems can be shown by shepherding nutritional science towards population priorities and preventing its commodification.
