The Impact of Food Systems and Nutrition Patterns on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

New York City, September 28, 2018 09:00 am - 5:30 pm

The event will be organized aside of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) and it will be co-hosted by The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN Foundation), in joint collaboration with the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN).

The global food system faces unprecedented challenges. Today, in the world 815 million people are starving while 2.1 billion people are obese or overweight, 1/3 of the global food production is wasted along the food chain, from field to table and a large portion of crop and food production is funneled into animal feed and biofuels despite widespread hunger.

How food systems and nutrition patterns will affect and/or contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

How do we ensure healthy diets while protecting the planet and ensuring peace and prosperity of all?

The International Forum on Food and Nutrition, which will be held on September 28, 2018 in New York, USA, is the global ideal platform to promote a dramatic change in the mindset of all stakeholders in a coordinated, unified manner.

Bringing together different stakeholders, from Governments to civil society organizations, research, science and the private sector, the BCFN Forum will held a series of interactive panels throughout the day to support the sharing of experiences and good practices, from a global to a local perspective.

The conference will be organized in three sessions.

The first one will be dedicated to understanding the key issues in order to find solutions for sustainable food systems and to discuss around the global nutrition crisis. The three food paradoxes represent a key touchstone, because they bring together highly contrasting sets of data, clearly highlighting the inconsistencies entrenched in our food system: An obese planet dying of hunger; competition for natural resource among people, animals and cars and food loss and food waste.

The second session will explore the key role agriculture, nutrition and food plays now and in the future, as an opportunity to frame the global phenomenon of migration, and specifically in the Mediterranean region, in order to develop sustainable food systems and promote rural development.

The third session will be dedicated to the concrete solutions, from a global to a local perspective, towards sustainable urban food systems to promote concrete engagement and inspire the debate.