Actionable strategy issued to fix ‘broken global food system’

The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation (BCFN), an independent foundation that works on solving issues around global food systems, has issued a 10-point actionable strategy calling on governments, businesses, academia and civil society to come together to tackle the ‘broken global food system’.

The Barilla Foundation’s statement – “Post Covid-19 – The Time to Fix Global Food Systems is Now: 10 Actions to Reset the System from Farm to Fork” – has laid out a strategy to create a more equitable, sustainable and resilient global food system that will tackle the current global health and environmental crisis.

Marking World Environment Day (5 June), the strategy’s objective is to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system and help to mitigate climate change as a result, by highlighting the importance of sustainable food and agriculture. The statement is said to build on the European Union’s New Green Deal and ‘From Farm to Fork’ strategy, that aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly. 

“As the pandemic continues to impact public health systems and economies around the world, there is a heightened awareness of the link between the health of people and planet and our food systems. The current pandemic sheds a light on problems our food systems have been facing for some time and a proposed solution: a global, systemic and interdisciplinary approach to food from farm to fork,” said Marta Antonelli, Head of Research of the Barilla Foundation.

“In the same way as the economy will have to be restarted, the COVID-19 pandemic provides an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild and recreate a resilient food system that can’t be broken, is healthier for people, and leaves no one behind.”

Amongst other recommendations, the statement requested that governments and businesses alike come together to create a better global standard for agricultural practices, encourage the use of technological and digital solutions in the food chain, and incentivise municipalities to enable healthy and sustainable food environments.

The statement also highlighted the impact of climate change, the need for increased education, and other vital topics that must be addressed.

The 10 actions suggested in the strategy are:

• Create better standards and terminology
• Improve measurement
• Encourage businesses to focus on health and sustainability
• Digitise food and agriculture information
• Identify the true cost of food
• Improve seed security, diversity, and soil regeneration
• Mobilise all actors
• Increase awareness and education
• Enable healthy and sustainable diets and empower eaters
• Build global resiliency.

In conjunction with The Barilla Foundation, authors of the statement included representatives from Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Food Tank, Climate Policy Initiative, University of Naples Federico II, University of Miami, European Foundation Centre, Milan Center for Food Law and Policy, Johns Hopkins University, University of Bologna, University of Tuscia and RUDN University of Moscow.