Alliance of Philanthropic Foundations Calls for Action for a Better Future of Food

TORONTO — This week, the Global Alliance for the Future of Food launched "How to Transform Food Systems: 7 Calls to Action" to catalyze food systems transformation in the build-up to international events such the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021 and COP26. As a set, the alliance said, the Calls to Action center on transformed food systems as a solution to global challenges: climate, COVID-19, health, poverty and the risk of future pandemics. 

 

Inclusive, participatory governance; research for the public good; accounting for the environmental, social and health impacts of food systems; unlocking investments — both public and private — toward ecologically-beneficial forms of farming, nutritious, sustainable, whole-food diets and resilient livelihoods and communities, make up the seven pathways to structural change. the alliance said.

 

Each Call to Action is paired with a "Beacon of Hope" case study and underpinned by a commitment to equity, inclusion, social justice, radical engagement and collaboration amongst diverse agents of change. Testimonial case studies include Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture, tackling COVID-19 food shortages through subsidies for local farming, and a dividend-based approach for farmers to protect wildlife and biodiversity in Zambia.

 

“The time for bold action is now," said Ruth Richardson, executive director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food. "Food systems transformation is urgent; it is unavoidable, and pick-and-choose piecemeal measures are simply not enough, especially in light of COVID-19. Each of the Calls to Action address the critical underlying structures that hold back much-needed systems transformation, and these seven statements will be the demands we will make at every forum to boldly realize the change so critically needed for people and the planet.”

 

To further support tangible transformation, the alliance said, the document is accompanied by the publication of "Principles for Food Systems Transformation: A Framework for Action." The aim is that other like-minded individuals and organizations working on systems transformation can use guiding principles to help inform and guide the work they do for a better future for all.