Hello from New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, which remains a shadow of its usual chaotic self. Food Systems Summit week is finally here, and I’ve been speaking with participants and stakeholders about what they expect to see once the event concludes — when some say the real work begins. I’ll be watching the virtual summit tomorrow and will bring you key takeaways in next week’s edition.
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While I’m in New York, my colleague Rumbi Chakamba has been covering the Global People’s Summit on Food Systems, a counter-event run by a coalition of groups including farmers and Indigenous people’s organizations that claim the official U.N. process is not as inclusive as it suggests. Rumbi tells me the spirited event kicked off yesterday with a food systems-themed rap and also included a more traditional harvest dance.
The GPS is organized by 22 regional and international organizations that aim to present “an actionable, pro-people and pro-planet alternative to radically transform the food systems” and have decried the connection to groups such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the World Economic Forum.
But not all Indigenous peoples and farming groups are boycotting the formal U.N. summit: Some brought these concerns to the pre-summit event stage in July to challenge organizers. I’ll be watching tomorrow to see their message for the main event.
Read: UN Food Systems Summit faces criticism at kickoff of counter-event
Latin America is the world’s largest food exporting region, and IDB Invest CEO James Scriven says he wants to accelerate innovation in its sustainable agricultural supply chains. I sat down with him to discuss reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment.
What needs to happen to make agriculture more sustainable at scale?
The bad news is that this sector does consume three-fourths of the region’s freshwater and produces almost half of greenhouse gas emissions ... So our focus is not only the production of these assets in a productive way — and at a lower price and make them more efficient — but to use less of our planet.
When you're having these conversations with CEOs of big companies and banks in the region, how difficult is it for you to convince people that sustainable agricultural supply chains must be at the top of the list?
Easier than before. If I go back maybe five, six years, it was one of the most difficult conversations that we had with owners, companies. They were aware of the effects of climate, they were aware of the effect that they had over land use and water use, but it wasn't top of their mind. At the top of their mind was price, price, selling.
There’ve been a number of things that have happened over the last few years that have changed their minds. I’d love to say it was us, but you go through a hurricane and you realize right away that you don’t have the luxury to go through a second one.
+ Pro subscribers can read the full conversation on Latin America leading sustainable agri-supply chains.
Last week, I asked Dish readers for one concrete outcome they want from this week’s U.N. Food Systems Summit. Here are a few of your hopes, edited for length and clarity:
“For our leaders to keep to the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals and accelerate action for people and planet by making bold commitments that are urgently needed to end child malnutrition, hunger, and poverty.” — Elizabeth Alonge, founder and executive director at Child Health Advocacy Initiative in Nigeria.
“That the global stakeholders finally wake up to the need to protect and secure smallholder producers’ land and resource rights as a prerequisite for a sustainable food system and invest in getting that done.” — Amy Coughenour Betancourt, CEO at Cadasta in the United States.
“I would like the UNFSS to be a catalyzing moment in time to recognize, position, and unlock the regenerative potential of agroecology as the way forward for our food systems worldwide.” — Hannes Van den Eeckhout, founder of The Regeneration Fellowship in Uganda and Belgium.
Cows can be bribed into urinating in a specific place, just like your toddler! Researchers in Germany used a sweet, molasses-based treat to train cows to relieve themselves in a particular pen, dubbed the “MooLoo.”
Urine contains nitrogen, which becomes ammonia when it mixes with feces — apologies if you’re reading this over your lunch break. Cows excreting urine onto soil can lead to emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. The animals produce about 8 gallons of urine each day, but according to researchers, capturing 80% of it could reduce ammonia emissions by 56%.
I always look forward to autumn as pumpkin season in the U.S., but it’s actually “report season.” I saw a slew of organizations putting out research in the weeks leading up to the U.N. General Assembly, but don’t worry if you lost track — I’ve got you covered:
Food system problems “are to a significant extent due to long delays between scientific warnings and policy responses.” [The Food Systems Summit 2021’s “Science Reader”]
Market incentives are needed so pricing systems reflect the full and true cost of food production. [International Fund for Agricultural Development’s “Rural Development Report 2021”]
Asia dominates global aquaculture production, accounting for nearly 90% of the total. [Asian Development Bank’s “Transforming Agriculture in Asia”]
Revising so-called nationally determined contributions ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference offers a “unique opportunity” for progress on food systems and climate. [CGIAR, WFP, and others’ “Climate Action to Transform Food Systems”]
Development Assistance Committee donors provided $12.2 billion in bilateral funding to food and nutrition-related sectors in 2019 — up 11% from 2015. [Donor Tracker’s “Hunger in Times of Crisis: Trends in Donor Financing for Food and Nutrition Security”]
From 2001 to 2018, yearly consumption of food and agriculture products rose at more than twice the rate of the increase in human population. [Tropical Forest Alliance’s “Forests, Food Systems and Livelihoods”]
Millions of people who depend on extensive livestock production but produce lower climate impacts are being overlooked in debates on the future of food. [PASTRES and co-publishers’ “Are Livestock Always Bad for the Planet?”]
Did I miss one? You can keep me updated on your latest work at dish@devex.com.