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1) More concise and targeted destination of COVID-19 recovery funds to solve the urgent food crisis while laying the foundations for a long-term transformation of global financial architectures so that they may sustain resilient and inclusive food systems. 2) Renew recognition of food security as a fundamental human right and empower local communities as key drivers of change 3) Universal church must be active in mobilizing its resources to connect COVID-19 recovery plans with the people who need support, and enrich global discussions with values that can promote systemic change towards the ac... Read morehievement of the Sustainable Development Goals once and for all Read less

In light of the "human rights, finance and technology" levers of change, this dialogue emphasized the importance of dignified work, finance and innovation in rebuilding sustainable food systems in the post-COVID future and how they can be effectively used in a way that serves everyone equally. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified pre existing structural injustices in global labour and financial markets, that have made some better capable than others to navigate the pandemic. According to the latest Oxfam report, while hundreds of millions of jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic -... Read more with direct consequences on access to food and nutrition -, by the end of 2020 stock market activity had increased the collective wealth of the world’s billionaires by $3.9 trillion. The 10 richest billionaires in the world witnessed an increase of $540 billion in their collective wealth; a figure exceeding the amount necessary to guarantee universal access to COVID-19 vaccines and food security. Moreover, greenhouse gas emissions continued to increase throughout 2020, determined to be the warmest year on record globally, thereby threatening the integrity of ecosystems and their capacity to sustain agri-food systems in the future. As environmental and social disparities are more evident than ever, there is an urgent need to find new ways of re-articulating and re-building food systems to become more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. When employed in the right way, innovation and finance can be essential tools for developing models of economically-viable food production, capable of recognizing farmers’ rights, strengthening supply chains and ensuring the integrity of ecosystems for future generations. While the Church rejoices in the capacity of technological innovations to serve the common good as they are the fruits of God-given talents and creativity. “Technology has remedied countless evils which used to harm and limit human beings. How can we not feel gratitude and appreciation for this progress [...]?” (Laudato Si’, 102-103). Moreover, it embraces finance as an “instrument directed towards improved wealth creation and development” (Caritas in Veritate, 65) by connecting those with innovative ideas to serve the common good, with those with the resources to bring them to life. Applied to food systems, this entails ensuring equitable access to financial services for food producers to enhance food security and food justice, while also nurturing innovations that are designed and used in a way that cares for our common home and respects human dignity, of which labour is an essential component. “All this calls for an alternative way of thinking. [...] if we accept the great principle that there are rights born of our inalienable human dignity [including the right to food and nutrition: Fratelli Tutti, 189], we can rise to the challenge of envisaging a new humanity. We can aspire to a world that provides land, housing and work for all.” (Fratelli Tutti, 127). Therefore, the objective of this dialogue was to listen and share experiences on the role of dignified work, finance and innovation in ensuring fair and sustainable food systems, while addressing the need for a new development paradigm that could guide their application and use in favor of regenerative models of food production. Read less

A consensus was reached on the following : In central Africa sub-region, small scale farmers are dominant, and crop productivity is generally affected by conflicts and climatic shocks. Demographic pressure is relatively high except for Gabon. This is likely to contribute to food insecurity. The majority of the people are employed in the agricultural sector and yet production has remained very low, with high post-harvest loss. In addition, the region has very low value added index, infrastructure index (road, energy and irrigation, supermarket per capita and consumption index; and higher malnut... Read morerition, stunting and obesity. Recommendations Increase crop productivity and production, enhance value addition, promote linkage to the market and youth participation; and creation of multi-stakeholder platforms which include decision makers. There is also need to: • Improve our crop systems and monitor on a regular basis the consumer needs, improve the visibility of what is produced in the region. • Establish capacity gaps in the region and develop strategy to address them • Promote the SDG in secondary school and churches • Strengthen the supply chains • Strengthen the small-scale farm groups • Improve food storage and transport systems • Improve access to credits • Create and strengthen partnerships in the food systems • generate data to assist decision making and particularly on climate change risks and adaptation Read less

1. Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all: a. Ensure increased food production b. Reduce post-harvest losses and improve food transformation and packaging c. Create multi-actors platforms for concerted decision of food and food products d. Promote linkages between producers, transporters and markets and increase participation of the youth to agriculture 2. Shift to sustainable consumption patterns a. Sensitization SDG through secondary and churches and mosques b. Promote research c. Enhance access to existing market d. Create more awareness on food nutrition e. Use of school and chu... Read morerches to create awareness on health food 3. Boosting Nature-Positive Production at Sufficient Scale • Promote crop suitability studies and develop and implement policies on of land use • Strengthen farmers’ groups • Encourage dialogue between decision makers and other land actors • Government to provide incentives to farmers in form of reduce taxes and credits 4. Advancing equitable livelihoods and value distribution Panelists agreed that inclusivity and equity is key to ensuring better food livelihoods in rural areas for vulnerable groups including women, youth, indigenous peoples and other communities. Several panelists noted that skill development, including digital skills, use of earth observations tools will be useful to improve access to information (market, inputs, extension), hence increase agricultural production and create the necessary transformation. 5. Building resilience to vulnerability, shocks and stress The panelists agreed that the region is one of most fragile on the continent and is experiencing several climatic shocks (drought, landslides, floods, heavy storms etc). It is therefore important to strengthen people capacity to monitor and assess vulnerability. To enhance resilience, there is also need of policy reforms and harmonization, coordinated investment, leverage resources to support ongoing efforts, improve governance, use of traditional and scientific knowledge to trigger innovation, generate sufficient data for evidence based recommendations and actions, and need to empower women and youth. Read less

Presentations covered the following aspects: • Overview of the Food Systems in Africa with particular focus on Central Africa-needed actions to improve productivity, inclusiveness and resilience • Highlights of current status, challenges and opportunities of food Systems in Burundi Cameroon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, DRC & Gabon • Ensuring Access to Safe and Nutritious Food for all • Shifting to Sustainable Consumption Patterns • Boosting Nature-Positive Production at Sufficient Scale • Advancing Equitable Livelihoods and value Distribution • Building Resilience to Vulnerabili... Read moreties, Shocks and Stress Read less

During the discussion session, the opportunities identified were cross cutting across the action tracks, where if one opportunity is well implemented, it can have rippling positive effects across the different action tracks. Question 2: What instrumental policies, incentive mechanisms and initiatives can be adopted to spur systemic transformation of Accra’s City-region food system? We have a number of good policies and regulations in place in Ghana that are directly or indirectly related to the food system. There is a good system of generating policies but not implementing them. For instance... Read more the whole of Accra Metropolis has only three extension officers. Moreover, the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP 2017-2024) is a good policy. However, there is a challenge of implementing these policies due to poor accountability and lack of monitoring and evaluation frameworks for some of the rolled out policies. •Financing and resource mobilisation strategy at local level is important: Currently there is a programme that is looking into food and jobs - from 2017 to 2022. The programme is being funded by the Government of Canada. Donor funds have become more regular and reliable but have a short lifespan. Local government needs to step up its financing responsibility and formulate creative financing mechanisms especially for small scale and informal actors. For example partnering with savings cooperative societies could help to close this financial gap. In addition, Accra Metropolitan Assembly must lobby at the national level to have more resources allocated towards the transformation of the food system directly or indirectly. Especially through financial support and skills development. •There is need for regulation and oversight in terms of food environments and awareness as there is rising obesity in the nation including Accra. Hence regulation on advertising is important in order to disincentive promotion of unhealthy foods •Food Safety Guidelines adopted at national level and localised to assist local governments with ensuring that food handling and preparation across the food value chain is safe for consumers •Enforcement of spatial planning legislation for the city and review of land tenure system to accommodate farmers to ensure balance and access to land for food production as well as other activities across the food value chain. The Urban Policy (currently being reviewed - opportunities to include food systems elements in specific action plans at local level) •ICT policy: this will be useful in highlighting a way forward for access to services such as the internet which is essential for creating opportunities across the food value chain but also increasing efficiencies Read less

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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly and key local stakeholders shared their experiences and strategies for a more resilient city-region food system that seeks to build and maximize the benefits of rural- urban linkages. Discussions moved beyond the short term responses to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Accra’s food system, to more long term approaches for ensuring continued access to nutritious and safe food in the face of climatic shocks. Additionally, the city and stakeholders discussed potential opportunities for strengthening Accra’s role across the whole food value chain for a re... Read moresilient and nutritious City-region food system. Aim of the dialogue On the overall the dialogue explored strategic ways in which Accra City can strengthen its role across the food value chain as well as maximise the benefits of integrated city- region linkages for long term resilience of the food system. Discussions and presentations were guided by these key questions: •What is the vision for Accra’s City-region food system in the short and long term? Does it contribute towards building robust rural-urban linkages? •What are the key factors that support or undermine the sustainability and resilience of Accra’s city-region food system? •How can Accra strengthen its role in the food system? What are the opportunities for Accra across the food value chain? •What are the main shocks affecting the local food system and how prepared is the city to handle these as well as other climate and health related shocks? •What policies, institutions and technologies can enable locally driven design of resilient city-region systems integrating multiple actors? •As a food systems stakeholder, how can your work contribute towards building a more resilient Accra city-region food system? Read less

Rural-urban linkages were identified as relevant for the continued access to nutritious food for Accra City especially after the impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown regulations. Most of the foods consumed by Accra residents is produced and transported from rural areas. As the population is rapidly expanding, there is an urgent need for the city to be innovative about how it is collaboratively working with key stakeholders to secure access to nutritious food and meaningful livelihoods for its citizens. The Mayor of AMA offered a great provocation: “Imagine the rooftop of the City Hall at the Met... Read moreropolitan Assembly converted into a lively rooftop garden growing organic vegetables. We can if we put our minds to it. We can make intensive backyard gardening especially of vegetables and fruits more attractive and accessible to city residents. Importantly, the context of digitization needs to be discussed and promoted by government.” In addition, the model of the dialogue was recognised as a valuable way for local governments to engage with different stakeholders such as the CSOs, academia, business, among others, and the city would like to draw in additional stakeholders and dialogue around particular issues affecting the local food system. These were some of the priority food system areas that were identified by different stakeholders for Accra City: •Nutrition and access to food within the city: obesity and malnutrition were identified as key concerns as well lack of sufficient food within the city •Environmental sustainability: managing organic waste pollution, sustainable agricultural practices •Infrastructure development: transport and market infrastructure •Capacity building across the food value chain from urban food producers, municipal officials, agricultural extension officers, waste collectors formal and informal traders, among others •Sourcing adequate funding and finance to support especially the small scale food systems actors. •Food sensitive urban planning that is geared towards building territorial resilience of Accra A representative from Accra metropolitan Assembly noted that the city is committed to looking into the different ways in which the above issues can be systemically addressed. Importantly, the city is committed to increasing efficiencies across the transport sector within the city as well as networking more with different stakeholders to ensure that food security, food availability, and good nutrition for all is achieved. Read less

During the discussion session, the opportunities identified were cross cutting across the action tracks, where if one opportunity is well implemented, it can have rippling positive effects across the different action tracks. Question 1: Where do the opportunities lie in building a robust* city region food system that contributes towards the attainment of a robust and resilient city-region food system? •Large scale infrastructure development especially transport infrastructure (road and rail), ICT infrastructure and ideal food storage and retail infrastructure can go a long way in increasing ... Read moreefficiency across the food value chain as well as managing food loss. For the transport infrastructure, AMA needs to work closely with the national government to ensure that strategic road and rail infrastructure is built/ upgraded to support stronger city-region linkages. •Additionally, value-addition to agricultural produce to increase lifespan can be done in the city and this can also reduce levels of food waste as well as increase employment opportunities. As there are already initiatives to intensify agricultural production in the city, food processing and value addition initiatives should also be ramped up to support the production initiatives. •Education - extension services need to be improved and expanded with the greater Accra Metropolitan Area through Farmer-field schools (FFS). Education is needed in order to improve shelf life of agricultural produce. Also market extension officers should be deployed as food markets are very important in the Accra Metropolis. These officers teach food actors about food hygiene, food safety and food processing. This can be expanded and government support is important for this. •Engagement of multiple stakeholders. Not limiting it to producer-actors but manufacturers, retailers, market traders, informal traders, media outlets, food certification agencies, among others. Effective stakeholder consultation, collaboration and raising awareness. •Waste reuse to improve soil conditions (crop). Development of organic waste composting centres in different locations within the city. This should be made available to farmers at subsidised rates. Accra has carried out a waste characterisation exercise in the bid to produce energy from waste, if these projects are developed, the sludge from bio digesters can be sold to farmers at subsidised rates. •Explore alternative sources of water for irrigation for urban farming such as intensive rain water harvesting. •Promoting Agro-tourism as a way of encouraging agricultural production especially in indigenous food species, getting youth interested in agriculture and a means for creation of livelihoods. People need to be capacitated in business development for such unique agricultural business models. •Rooftop gardening, home gardening as well as other forms of intensive urban agriculture should be institutionalised and promoted across the city of Accra. Intensive system for livestock (grasslands - identify suitable spaces within city) - ditto for aquaculture •Links with educational institutions to promote awareness and build capacity on the opportunities along the food system value chain (primary, secondary schools and universities). Awareness programs should also be incorporated in institutions such as prisons and hospitals. In addition, explore utilization of available/vacant land adjacent to schools for urban agriculture as well as other activities along the food value chain Read less

Provide a platform for agri-food sector stakeholders for dialogue to generate solutions and actions to inform the deliberations during the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 To explore engagement opportunities and chart a common pathway for strengthening Africa’s Food Systems, considering the diversity of food systems on the continent The dialogue was exploring how national governments and regional bodies could contribute to sustainable food systems through investment in local institutions including universities and research institutions. This is one mechanism to ensure safe and nutritious food for... Read more all as well as building resilience to shocks, vulnerabilities and stress. Further noting that to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food systems, there is need to examine existing systems and policies. Government leaders and policy makers, the private sector, civil society, universities, research institutions, and smallholder farmers and other value chain actors have a stake in shaping pathways for resilient and sustainable national food systems aligned with SDGs and Africa’s Agenda 2063. . The dialogue looked at • Renewed commitment for US-Africa partnership on agricultural advancement in Africa • Perspective from European Union Commission • World Bank efforts to rebuild and strengthen agricultural development and food systems in Africa and globally • Current status of food systems in Africa and implication for poverty, food and nutritional security in the continent Focus was on providing feedback on what emerged from the dialogues and country assessments, opportunities foreseen from the different member states for strengthening the food systems; recommendations on the key actions towards the five action tracks; and, developing key messages for consideration by the Presidents Summit on 1st July 2021 Read less

• Key messages from the Technical experts, policy makers and in line with the Vice Chancellor’s Statement calling for a dialogue with policy makers to explore engagement opportunities and chart a common pathway for strengthening Africa’s Food Systems, taking into account the diversity of food systems on the continent. • Vibrant Agri-food-systems and institutions engaged in production to consumption of food, are key to delivery of the continent’s development agenda, Africa We Want, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). • COVID 19 was a wake-up call to the glaring fragilit... Read morey and inequality of the global, regional and national agri-food systems. This calls for considering sustainability, inclusivity and resilience of food systems an urgent matter which requires building existing systems and policies. All stakeholders in the agri-food system including smallholders have a role to play in shaping the pathways for resilience and sustainability • The future transformation of food systems in Africa requires innovativeness in research and education approaches that are rooted in local contexts • Universities in Africa need to adopt and create knowledge to strengthen and transform the food systems through strengthening links and improving productivity, processing, storage, transport, food quality and business that link them with consumers • Universities need to anticipate the skills set and knowledge demanded by the rapidly changing food systems and provide this information and skills in ways that trickle through the entire economy. Universities then need to translate the knowledge created into innovations that then transform and develop potentials that drive their own and Africa’s food system • There is need to reassess and redesign the African Universities and assist them to build their capacity to develop and deliver Africa’s food system transformation • Linkages amongst smallholder farmers need to be strengthened • Human capital development for sub-Saharan Africa is important in enabling Africa realize its full agricultural potential to boost its food system. There is also need for targeted investment in key productivity enhancing innovations to harness scientific solutions for the targeted growth. • Smallholder farmers have limited entrepreneurial ability, productive assets and skills potential for value addition. This warrants skilling such populations and improving the labor productivity. This will enable African Agriculture meet local and global food demand. • Member States have to strengthen production fundamentals including research and innovation that direct how we leverage production resources to generate relevant technologies; guide threat surveillances and inform policy design and accountability • Member States need to institute industrial policies that promote private investment and job growth in local non-farm sectors essential to attract investment in agri-food systems • Member States need to scale-up technologies developed by Universities to make them more available for the Youth and use within the different countries • Need to strengthen investments in the entire educational value chain to increase the numbers of Young people entering into the labor force • Member States need to work with their universities and other actors within and outside Africa to Marshall the needed response to strengthen Africa’s food system and scale out best practices • Member States need to foster global partnerships for sustainability and inclusivity, resilience and sustainability of the food system • Member States need to strengthen their commitment towards regional, continental and global frameworks by increasing investments, financing and implementation, including CAADP, STISA 2024, AGENDA 2063. Read less

i. Majority of the 1.4 billion population on the African Continent is very Youthful with over 60% of the entire population highly dependent on agriculture, thus warranting need for a vibrant agricultural sector; vibrant agri food systems and institutions engaged in the production-to-consumption of food. This is key in delivering the Agenda 2063 of the African Continent, the 17 SDGs and STISA 2024. ii. Investments in preparedness need to be increased to enable scientists forecast and build response capacities for African Countries to enable them manage emerging and future challenges. iii. Start... Read more-up venture capital funds are needed to enable young graduates to adapt agriculture as their careers iv. There is need to build the capacity for scientists to lobby for science for the development of a particular aspect of the respective country v. There is need for collaboration beyond the boundaries of jurisdiction and in particular within the East African Region. This will enable joint efforts towards tackling a challenge cutting across several countries vi. Very few countries have fulfilled the Malabo declaration of allocating 1% of the Gross Domestic Product towards agriculture. A different approach needs to be employed to ensure that the voices of the stakeholders are heard and the resources required are appropriated. Renewed commitment to pursue sustainable agri-food systems noting that 1. Africa’s burgeoning market is an opportunity for agriculture and food systems transformation but that challenges particularly poverty and malnutrition especially among rural households primarily smallholders in Africa remain high. 2. Agriculture, food product development and food accessibility need to be at the core of investment together with the knowledge and technologies to energize the transformation. 3. Co-developing, co-ownership and joint implementation of UNFSS agreed game-changers for food systems transformation on the Continent must be inclusive and provide equitable opportunities. 4. Commitment to Africa’s Agenda 2063, STISA 2024 and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA). 5. Urge the international community to support an African multi-stakeholder Capacity Strengthening Platform for Sustainable Inclusive African Food Systems (Capacity Strengthening Platform for African Food Systems). Read less

2. Ensuring consumers across the world can identify the source of food they buy quickly and reliably Food labels are heavily relied on, but consumers are often overwhelmed by labels. As diets change and people move away from traditional foods or cook less, our approach to food safety labelling also needs also change. Education can play a key role in raising awareness about food safety (labels and otherwise) and be tied into a broader education around food systems, climate and similar issues. We need better educational initiatives, such as early school education programmes on food and nutrition... Read more, as currently these are often woefully inadequate. This affects all parts of the world, even parts with abundance. Campaigns can be very pejorative. As the global population grows, food safety and food fraud are also more interconnected – we need to categorise food risks accordingly and make sure that consumers do not have an over-abundance of information and/or mixed messaging that impacts what they can assess and how. We need to do more to understand informal food markets with a lack of formal structure to ensure poorer populations are not affected. Government support is needed to help transition to higher standards and more understanding. In order to communicate well with consumers, we also need to have more transparent supply chains and understand what we need to communicate so consumers can make an informed choice when buying food. Proposed solutions put forward by the group were as follows: 1. Reviewing minimum standards for how government and industry work together in communicating food sources and factoring this into revised public health goals 2. Reviewing the potential to expand expectations around food labelling beyond nutritional sources to including food source and sustainability considerations 3. Encouraging, where possible, ‘eat local’ food campaigns and consider the agricultural and food production infrastructure needed to do this 4. Utilise technology and more holistic labelling to assist consumers when making food purchase choices that encompass food safety, nutritional value, packaging and sustainability along with value Read less

3. Ensuring food safety information will be trusted by consumers Food fraud information is shared in varying channels, but food safety data is not shared in the same way. The private sector needs to do more to be transparent on food safety incidents, why recalls happen and their role in keeping consumers safe from harm. More can be done to involve the private sector in food safety policy-making to take account of production needs with mutual sharing of research and data. In order for food safety information to be trusted we also need to be realistic about the fact that much of the world doesn�... Read more��t eat food that comes directly from large companies or complex supply chains, it comes from local producers who sell directly to consumers, for example through road stalls. In high-income countries there is a large organised supply chain with companies who oversee it. The challenges are very different in informal structures where there may be a lack of food hygiene. In order to increase trust, we also need to make use of and understand the changing use of media and how people access information. Proposed solutions put forward by the group were as follows: 1. Moving food safety up the public health agenda, especially in countries without stringent food safety production, monitoring and retail standards – moving from prevention to cure 2. Mobilising local and community training as a powerful tool to share knowledge with consumers, along with corresponding and continued training at the industrial level 3. Ensuring that food safety systems keep pace with the way food is produced and consumed, so that food is safer by the time it reaches consumers at their purchase point 4. Understanding where trust lies, for example by gaining insight into perceptions, behaviours and cultural norms to understand sources of trust that are not associated with regulation, the food industry or authorities such as the government 5. Looking beyond food labels and product information to how technology can support around the use of social media and traceability systems to increase consumer knowledge of consumed food products 6. Understanding that people obtain food safety information from multiple sources including friends, family, television and that therefore food safety information needs to be disseminated across multiple sources Read less

Ensuring the food industry in all countries has sufficient skills and knowledge to prepare safe, nutritious and affordable food even in times of disruption. The food industry can do more, especially with regards to sharing information about the journey of food from a factory or food-service environment to the individual preparing the food, but consumers have an important role to play. Food safety needs to be discussed more holistically and within national cultural journeys, in the context of changing diets and around education. We need to fundamentally relook at how we build the future food sy... Read morestem. Food safety is a global conversation and as we have seen from Covid-19, the world is interlinked, as are our food systems. We are all consumers with a vested interest in food. More work is needed to join up local, regional and national government, policy, food manufacturing and producers, educators and the retail sector. Food safety also needs to be contextualised against the backdrop of broader global challenges around a growing population, sustainability, climate change and inequality. The public health sector, which has gained more prominence with Covid-19 may also have an increasingly important role to play if given the chance. We need to take a look at the bigger picture of food risk and the role of food safety within that, looking at food safety not just from the perspective of immediate risks and hazards, but also around the topic of changing diets and areas such as climate change. Proposed solutions put forward by the group were as follows: 1. Ensuring that food safety is tied in with food security and factored into the evolving need for resilience planning on a national level, as highlighted through the Covid-19 pandemic, and also taking into account international linkages due to food supply chains 2. Improving the educational and training framework around food safety 3. Reviewing the divergent frameworks under which the food industry across its supply chain is operating ‘from farm to fork’ 4. Greater data collection and sharing is needed at various levels, from the national to the international level and in tandem with this, looking at the role of technology in determining how food safety data might be shared 5. Looking at where international institutions can support and extend influence at the national level around building and developing better food systems and infrastructures, including laboratories and scientific expertise to respond to and prevent food safety risks across the food supply chain Read less

The key areas of divergence and debate were as follows: 1. Where responsibility for food safety sits between consumers, public health bodies, food safety authorities and regulation 2. How to put public health and food safety in a position where it is not seen as being in opposition to commerce and trade, as the private sector has a key role to play and carries investment and development costs 3. What role the growth of plant-based products has, the need for novel proteins and increased production of ultra-processed foods might play in triggering new food safety challenges in the future 4. How ... Read morethe gap between science, academia and the consumer is best bridged and how the sciences is made understandable and when 5. What the level of knowledge is that regulators need in order to better regulate and who holds ownership for communicating about food safety 6. What role technological advancements, digitisation, novel foods and evolving processing methods might play in enhancing food safety, and correspondingly, nutrition and livelihoods. In particular, food, being a basic human need and the emotional, cultural and economic sentiments attached to it generated debate around what role technology could play in food. Read less

This Independent Dialogue was titled ‘Food: Knowing What’s Safe’ which tallied with Action Track 1: Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all. Featuring participants from over 25 countries from science, industry, policy, healthcare and academia, it focused on how we could come together to discuss tangible and positive changes. The Dialogue adopted a positive, if urgent tone on how we might approach how the world produces, consumes and thinks about food in a safe and sustainable fashion. The Dialogue Convenor, Lloyd's Register Foundation, is an independent global charity that ha... Read mores a unique mission to engineer a safer world. This includes ensuring that people across the globe have access to information about food safety, that is accessible, trustworthy and understandable. The topic of Food Safety was chosen on the basis of the Foundation previously launching the World Risk Poll, surveying 150,000 people in 142 countries, statistically representing 98% of the world's population, including many people who don't usually have a voice, to look at perception and experience of risk in everyday life. It was clear that food safety - and specifically access to safe and nutritious food for all - was a major concern. Four percent worldwide, the equivalent of 300 million people said that unsafe food or water were among the two biggest threats to their safety. The Dialogue therefore looked at how we could manage the increasing demands of food safety, specifically relevant to the Action Track 1 and its relationship with Action Track 2 (Sustainable Consumption Patterns). However, the topic of Food Safety has significance across all tracks, including 3-5 in that it underpins all food systems. Participants were asked to consider what could be done to make information about safe food available to all, and the introductory session which framed the debate also highlighted the need for policymakers to have more accurate data, the needs of developing countries and the scarcity of data in low-income geographies. Other statistics and points brought to attention in framing the dialogue included: • Number of people who knew someone who had experienced serious harm from eating food • The UN has declared safe food to be a universal human right (yet the WHO estimates that 600m people fall ill yearly from eating unsafe food, 420,000 people die - with children and the elderly being particularly vulnerable) • Current perceptions of harm from food • Sources of trust around food and the sources of food safety information most trusted - often being heavily weighted towards family and friends, closely followed by food labels, then medical professionals, celebrities and religious leaders and correspondingly, low(er) trust in food safety authorities The dialogue also used expert testimony on how food safety is linked to population growth and its direct impact on food safety, along with the impact of climate change. Specifically: • The impact of climate change on increased crop infestation and subsequent loss of crops leading to an increased use of pesticides, causing issues around food safety and trading • The impact of climate change on the rise in fungal infections in crops • The melting of the polar ice caps, which contain the biggest source of mercury, now being released into seas and accumulating in fish that we consume • The shortage of fresh water available for one third of the world's population • The topic of sustainability and move to more plant-based diets/debate around eating less meat • The rise in ultra-processed foods, which can increase the risk of food fraud • The importance of transparency in the world food supply system and impact of the digitisation of food supply systems Participant groups, having gained these insights, then focused on 4 key areas in their groups: 1. Ensuring accurate, consistent and easy to understand information about safe food available to all consumers by 2030 2. Ensuring consumers across the world can identify the source of food they buy quickly and reliably 3. Ensuring food safety information will be trusted by consumers 4. Ensuring the food industry in all countries has sufficient skill Read less

The main findings of the Food: Knowing What's Safe are as follows: 1. There is a lack of coordination between key parties across the global food system around food safety 2. There is a need for better and in some cases minimum food safety standards in the developing world 3. There is a lack of public trust in authorities around food safety, with many people relying on friends, family, celebrities and religious bodies for their knowledge of safe food 4. Food safety is not a key focus area in discussions around food security, global food systems and climate change, even though an increase in foo... Read mored safety standards, knowledge and production methods would have a significant impact on much of the world's population 5. More collaboration is needed across different stakeholder groups to focus on tangible and positive outcomes around food safety Read less

Participants recognised that the global debate around food safety needs to be a core part of food security planning, considered against a backdrop of increased globalization of food production. They also noted that factors such as increasing global population growth and urbanisation required greater intersectoral and concerted international action in this area. Four key discussion topics were chosen, each of which gave rise to rich thinking on potential remedial action: 1. Ensuring accurate, consistent and easy to understand information about safe food available to all consumers by 2030. Peopl... Read moree are individuals living in individual communities – as a result we need more global, granular level detail around the perceptions and behaviours to determine who people trust, the corresponding communication methods and the channels required to overcome challenges around accessibility of information. There is no one-size fits all solution, but we should look at broader education about food and more transparent communications which are tailored to communities and which people can understand and trust. In many parts of the world, the consumer, who may be facing significant economic and environmental challenges will be under pressure around the food decisions they make so public stakeholders together with the private sector need to collaborate to develop better standardization and certification. This in turn will also increase trust. There is a schism between the level of understanding knowledge and standard of food safety in the ‘developed’ and the ‘developing’ world, , In the developed world, food safety standards are often taken for granted but here too, standards need to be raised and there needs to be a level of localisation. We need structured governance around food safety regulations especially if we see food safety as a universal human right. There is a lack of coordination between food regulatory authorities in different countries which can be confusing for the consumer, revealing a considerable opportunity to have more regulatory coordination which people across the world can understand. People rarely trust one source, they trust several, so public information that depersonalises information and presents it in a clear way can play a big role in food safety. We need to ensure that everyone purchasing, preparing and consuming food can access this information regardless of their situation. Proposed solutions put forward by the group were as follows: 1. The creation of an online database with food safety and food source information that could be accessed by multiple stakeholders including consumers 2. Ensuring that the private sector is encouraged – or required – to develop their food labelling practices and transparency around the source of food and potential risks associated therein 3. Encouraging the building of national and international farm to fork strategies, encompassing areas such as environmental standards to also have a food safety component 4. Reviewing how information is communicated and adapted to cultural and economic settings. This includes ensuring transparent, fit-for-purpose food safety information in geographies with and without access to digital communications. For example, using media such as radio, which is still a key source of information in certain parts of the world (especially where there is less digitization) to communicate with and educate consumers using influencing groups such as religious leaders and local celebrities 5. Incorporating food safety into campaigns around nutrition, diet and wellbeing Read less