Driven by strong economic growth and changing diet patterns, the food system in China is rapidly evolving, which leaves a profound and ever-growing impact on various interconnected global and local issues, including climate change, public health, animal welfare, and biodiversity, among others. At the same time, compared to its importance, this is still an area less well understood by the global communities.
This session will bring in voices from China from philanthropy, business, investment, and academic backgrounds, who are engaged in the food system transition on the ground in China. The session will start by presenting key data and facts that offer the audience an overall picture of the current status and key issues of China’s food system, with a particular focus on fast-growing meat consumption and industrial farming, as well as its large-scale impact locally and globally. This will be followed by panel discussions, during which speakers will share first-hand observations and insights on high-leverage initiatives and solutions that have been or need to be introduced, to reshape the food system in the right direction. The initiatives and solutions covered span across consumer engagements, business engagements, public policies, new technologies, and coalition building. The panel will review the effectiveness of existing solutions, identify key barriers and gaps, and provide thoughts on crucial next steps.
More about the “Bold Actions for Food as a Force for Good” event (co-led by 14 organizations):
With the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline fast approaching and the ongoing Covid-19 health crisis has further exposed the vulnerabilities in food systems – highlighting the insecurity of rural livelihoods, the tragedy of food loss and waste and stark inequities in access to healthy food.
The UN Food Systems Summit (FSS) in Fall 2021 presents a unique opportunity to bring together all stakeholders from across and related to the food value chains to address these challenges and unlock barriers to food systems transformation.
By working collectively to define “what” a positive food future looks like and “how” to achieve it, we can ensure that the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 signals a ‘turning point in history’ and helps catalyze the partnerships, policy changes, financial solutions, and innovations that will create long-lasting impact at grassroots and global level.
To accelerate the agenda, the virtual pre-event Bold Action for Food as Force for Good will mobilize multi- stakeholder action in pursuit of this future. The pre-event has 3 aims:
- To agree on an initial set of bold actions & science-based principles to change the food system, to be adopted between now and the UN Food Systems Summit 2021
- To identify a set of scalable, ‘game changer’ initiatives to achieve a sustainable food system; and to agree on the partnerships, funding and innovation hubs needed to implement these and accelerate their global scale-up in the run-up to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021
- To create a global network of leaders at all levels to drive transformative change for sustainable food systems and involve the next generation
The preliminary program is as follows:
- 23 November 2020: Virtual High-level Action & Expert Meeting (1 day) connecting with all regions
- 24 November 2020: Virtual Executive Round Table with CEOs and Head of Delegations, 13:30-
15:30 CET - 24 November 2020: Virtual Plenary Session & Key Notes, 15:30 -17:30 CET
For more information on “Bold Actions for Food as a Force for Good” event, please visit the World Economic Forum event website.
