Explore Official Dialogue Feedback

In the Dialogue and the post-webinar surveys, there were a few areas of mild divergence. These include the prioritisation of issues and the applicability of mentioned solutions. In the Dialogue, the panellists highlighted challenges and solutions for sustainable aquatic food production, including overfishing, post-harvest loss and marginalisation of small-scale farmers. Participants suggested other issues to be addressed (e.g. social inequality, lack of funding, and high cost for sustainable production). The panellists and the participants had a thorough discussion on the solutions suggested i... Read moren the Dialogue. And a few participants expressed their concerns about the applications of these:  Regarding the solution to convert food waste to fish feeds via black soldier flies, a few participants showed their concerns about the financial feasibility of this approach. In addition, the essential fatty acid levels in black soldier flies were insufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the consumers. Thus, the substrates should be improved for the black soldier fly larvae.  Seaweed farming has been applied in multiple regions/countries to enhance different aspects of the society. A few participants shared their concerns about heavy metals and other contaminants potentially found in marine algae. Further research is required prior to scale-up seaweed faming.  The Voluntary Sustainability Standards labelling has improved the sustainable production. However, obtaining certifications might be time-consuming and costly. Read less

The Dialogue was a webinar with high level speakers and two panels, Q&A sessions, chat and a post-event questionnaire. Hence it was not designed with strict discussion topics. However, the Dialogue outcomes can be grouped under topics related to 3 questions: Discussion Topic 3: What can smallholders teach us about sustainability and the importance of accelerating and scaling-up the good solutions?  Sustainable solutions need to be context-specific (e.g. complement local solutions with new knowledge and innovations).  Advance our understanding of the value of small-scale fisheries (e.... Read moreg. Illuminating Hidden Harvests) and increase efforts to capture their contributions in national accounts.  Adopt seasonal farming to provide livelihoods and sustainable solutions (e.g. alternating between hilsa fishing and seaweed farming).  Apply multiple farming systems to increase resilience to changes in feeds, feeding practices, and environmental conditions.  Include multi-sectorial efforts (e.g. social, economic and environmental) to promote inclusiveness (e.g. the poor and marginalised, women and youth) and strengthen the circularity of agri-food systems. Read less

The Dialogue was a webinar with high level speakers and two panels, Q&A sessions, chat and a post-event questionnaire. Hence it was not designed with strict discussion topics. However, the Dialogue outcomes can be grouped under topics related to 3 questions: Discussion Topic 2: How can global aquaculture be upscaled; ensuring sustainable feed without challenging food security for others?  Generate knowledge and tools for sustainable feeds and feed systems.  Ensure that production of aquatic foods does not compete for arable land.  Further explore consumption of low trophic aquatic... Read more foods.  Adopt recirculating aquaculture systems in areas with scarce water resources.  Increase focus on the link between sustainable feed ingredients and the nutritional value of fish for consumers.  Utilise locally available feed ingredients.  Adopt circular approaches with better integration of agriculture and aquaculture.  Manage forage fisheries.  Utilise fisheries and aquaculture processing waste.  Replace fish feed ingredients with alternative sources (e.g. plant-based and other low trophic ingredients, terrestrial animal by-products, microbial ingredients, algae).  Increase non-fed aquaculture (e.g. seaweed and molluscs).  Optimise feeding management to reduce feed loss. Read less

The Dialogue was a webinar with high level speakers and two panels, Q&A sessions, chat and a post-event questionnaire. Hence it was not designed with strict discussion topics. However, the Dialogue outcomes can be grouped under topics related to 3 questions: Discussion Topic 1: How to scale-up production of sustainable aquatic foods as a provider of the nutrients we need at lower environmental cost, and as a provider of livelihoods?  Increase low trophic aquatic food production.  Develop and apply of circular food systems.  Integrate blue and green coproducts as feed ingredients. ... Read more Promote pond polyculture to reduce the need for feed ingredients from the global fish catch.  Enforce environmental standards and regulations.  Remove challenging regulatory barriers.  Increase expertise and capacity to maintain successful aquaculture operations.  Conduct Marine Spatial Planning.  Selective breeding of aquaculture species. Read less

Aquatic foods provide solutions to hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Sustainable production of aquatic foods ensures the productivity of aquatic foods while minimising the environmental footprints. We identified key science- and evidence-based solutions that were applicable and scalable. More importantly, we recognized that the food systems are complex, thus, to tackle existing issues requires holistic approaches, cross-sectorial efforts, both when it comes to policy making and actions. In the Dialogue, international food system experts working in policy, research and innovation career fields ... Read moreprovided key solutions to scale-up sustainable aquatic food production for multiple stakeholders and sectors in low- to middle-income countries:  The current Voluntary Sustainability Standards provide a market-based tool for scaling-up sustainable production in aquatic foods, however such standards need to be tailored for small-scale producers to improve their access to trade and market, and this requires better governance.  Adopting circular economy approaches in aquaculture which recycle by-products from other industries/systems, including terrestrial, ones ensures that aquaculture can be scaled without putting pressure on the limited resources of the planet. It also lowers the production costs thus increasing the earning potential of poor farmers and decreasing the social volatility of a region in addition to providing nutritious foods to rural families.  Ecosystem-based approaches should be applied to reduce environmental impacts and protect adjacent natural habitats.  Social components are important for sustainable development of aquaculture, such as inclusion of female and the youth, providing small-scale female farmers and business leaders with access to finance (e.g. through hatching programs).  Scaling-up solutions requires cross-sectorial engagement, such as reaching out to terrestrial-focused colleagues, and bridging private, public and research institutes. The stakeholders in the dialogue called for technological innovations to scale-up solutions for sustainable aquatic food production, areas including:  Environmental-friendly feeds of good quality by utilising by-products of other systems (e.g. food waste, agriculture by-product) and/or locally produced low trophic ingredients (e.g., seaweeds);  Post-harvest loss reduction.  Circular economy approaches to improve both aquatic food production and other components (e.g., health, social inclusiveness, peace and justice).  Low trophic aquatic food production for feeds, human consumptions and other related industries.  Approaches to scale-up from small-scale production to large-scale production (e.g. black soldier flies for aquafeeds).  Traceability of aquatic foods to ensure food safety (e.g. block chain technology). The stakeholders also emphasised the need to establish better connections:  Among multiple sectors (government, farmers, consumers, and private sectors) to create scalable sustainable solutions across aquatic food systems.  Between researchers and the government to better inform environment-based policy making.  among different social components to improve inclusiveness and awareness, and improve the capacity of aquatic food production.  between the aquatic food producers and the government to improve efficiency of communication, enforcing of policies, and certification processing.  within local communities to scale-up community-based approaches in sustainable aquaculture (e.g. Fish Breeding Site project supported by TNC).  among countries to better share knowledge and technology that can be further tailored for national and/or regional needs. Read less

Sustainable, resilient food systems for healthy diets is one of the six cross-cutting, integrative action areas of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025). The Global Action Network: Sustainable Food from the Oceans and Inland Waters for Food Security and Nutrition, is established under the umbrella of the Nutrition Decade. The Network aims to mobilise actions to include aquatic foods as a key food source for achieving food security and improved nutrition in the Decade of Action on Nutrition and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The Network takes a holistic food chain ap... Read moreproach “from healthy waters to healthy people”, highlighting solutions for sustainable aquatic and food security (sufficient, safe and nutritious aquatic foods which meets dietary needs and food preferences, leaving no one behind). Aquatic foods will be important in transforming our global food systems. In the lead up to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the Network arranged a series of three Independent Dialogues. This Dialogue (together with the two others arranged by the Global Action Network Sustainable Food from the Ocean and Inland Waters) aimed to make aquatic foods better integrated in the current food systems debates and seen as contributing as a key food source for achieving global food security and improved nutrition. A dietary shift towards more aquatic foods will contribute to food security within the planetary boundaries. The Dialogue “Transforming food systems with aquatic foods: scaling-up sustainable production solutions” was an exploration of Action Track 3 (boost nature-positive production) but also interlinked to the other Action Tracks. The Dialogue brought together representatives from government, science and research, private sectors and NGOs that covered areas related to healthy oceans, sustainable fisheries and seafood production, food security and nutrition. Stakeholders working with science, policy and in action work were brought together as well as the UN Food Systems Summit Action Track leaders. During the event, we encouraged questions and discussion among and between panellists and participants, and ensured their voices were heard. All stakeholder groups engaged in the Dialogue. The panellists highlighted current issues and showcased successful solutions within aquatic food systems. The participants agreed with the urgent issues mentioned by the panellists and identified several other issues to be addressed in the future. The Dialogue acknowledged the need to increase the awareness of the contribution of aquatic foods in current food systems as well as addressing the interlinkages with terrestrial food production. There is a need to scale-up production of sustainable aquatic foods as a provider of nutrients (not just calories), at lower environmental cost and as a provider of equitable livelihoods. To achieve this, the Dialogue emphasised important aspects and identified actions for an increased sustainable aquatic food production in order to transform future food systems. This was delivered by multiple stakeholders from ministerial level, governments, private sector, NGOs, academia, UN-initiatives, and the Action Track 3 leadership. The Dialogue exemplified solutions and how to scale-up sustainable production of aquatic foods. It provided multiple stakeholders with options and innovative thinking on how to link aquatic food production with other aspects. The panellists disseminated approaches to bridge science, policy and actions and encouraged holistic approaches and cross-sectorial engagement to make aquatic foods more visible in current food systems. Read less

Although participants did not show divergent opinions on the need to promote a package of actions to address diet related NCDs and on the importance of dealing with conflicts of interest and food industry interference, it is important to note that the need to include more Member States in these discussions and to allow for other actors to take part of discussing policy challenges. Important to include people in the “supply” side of the issue. Hopefully the Summit will enable some of these discussion and perhaps some conflict, which would be healthy.

3. What are the immediate steps and necessary shifts to address the challenges - Talk about the true costs of ultra processed foods and the opportunity of healthy and sustainable industries to be genuinely part of the solution - Redefine economic growth as healthy and productive workforces is really important to consider Invite all sectors to think short and long term goals - Mobilize new allies (those who are not the regular groups involved in diet-related NCD prevention): This could include recruiting more economists into public health and partner with anti-corruption organizations to addres... Read mores conflicts of interest - Implement effective capacity-building actions for all actors involved - Manage conflicts of interest - Implement mechanisms for different countries to increase exchange and sharing of experiences in implementing these policies (including evidence, tips and lessons learned) - Increase transparency about what the trade-offs are when discussing these policies over the short and long term - Make sure that these policies are integrated into the pandemic response and take the opportunity COVID imposes to prioritize this agenda - Have a global coordination and accountability mechanism to tackle this issue (similar to tobacco) including a 5.3. article about industry interference for food policy (as it is the case of the FCTC) - Ban unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children - Involve more academia into policy making processes to make sure policies are evidenced-based -Include a regional approach (e.g. the success PAHO has had in implementing warning labels on food products) to move as a coherent global body - Increase economic evaluations and build the economic case of the benefits of implementing this package of policies (cost-benefits assessments) and the benefits on inequalities - Include civil society and marginalized groups such as Indigenous people within the Food Systems Summit - Building civil society competence around IP data and build legal frameworks and instruments to respond to that in order to protect consumer data and also protect targeting special audiences like children. Read less

2. Challenges to support a policy package to sustainably prevent diet related NCDs - Perception that health behaviour is a personal choice and government policy is made bearing that in mind - Infectious disease prevention, deficiency and treatment is a priority over health promotion and that is a bottleneck for policy promotion affecting also resources in place for the health promotion agenda - The economic narrative that these policies damage the economies - Silo policy-making within governments and the trade-offs between different government departments when implementing these policies - Not... Read more enough public pressure for the promotion of these policies - Globalization - The impact of the food industry lobby (especially large multinational corporations) in building the narrative, funding research and influencing policy making - For small countries it is difficult to implement healthy food policies (e.g. locally grown foods) as larger countries have a lot of influence on the marketing of unhealthy commodities. - Trade not prioritising, and thus undermining, public health -Need for more evidence (e.g. cost-effectiveness analyses) on policy action focusing on implementation of the package of policies rather than instrument by instrument -There is no single silver bullet, multiple actions on multiple fronts are required - No sufficient tools to manage conflicts of interest and industry interference in policy shaping and making (especially when having multisectoral participation) - Ministries of health do not have the lead on the promotion of these policies - Need for demonstrating and communicating the broad public support base for these policies and the demand for change up against corporate capture of consultation processes and lack of access and poor infrastructure for civil society to influence decision making - Misconception driving a siloed approach to food policies and regulations (not including a life-course approach). - Weak collaboration within governments regarding food and nutrition, eg. with education, agriculture sectors. -Absence of a clear definition of what is “healthy” and “unhealthy” - Reformulating existing foods is necessary but not sufficient -COVID has made NCDs fall down the list - Companies are not being targeted. There is a need for policies that address power imbalance. - Industry resources to dominate consultation processes (need for guidelines on consultation processes). -Persistent argument against regulatory measures and deference of responsibility to the individual -Industry actions on the pandemic: Social responsibility actions (e.g. Sponsoring vaccination) -No plan for obesity prevention and the need of civil society to speak out - Worsening of some behaviors due to the pandemic. Pandemic also increased barriers to healthy foods, influenced affordability and increased exposure to unhealthy food marketing. - Multisectoral collaboration/policy coherence is absent - coordination of government agencies is very difficult - e.g. trade/industry or agriculture will often adopt policies that make unhealthy food cheaper, or foreign affairs will take trade-motivated positions in diplomacy -Lack of transparency in policy processes Read less

From this Independent Dialogue and according to the questions discussed by the break-up groups, the main conclusions include de following: 1.Expectation of participants on what the UNFSS would achieve for diet-related NCDs: - That there is more policy cohesion between law, trade and nutrition - That the Summit considers health consequences of food systems - That nutrient-based approaches (deficiencies, fortification, reformulation) are balanced with a holistic approach including the consequences of food processing and food systems - That coalitions are formed to move the dial - That the Summit... Read more facilitates a shift to health and sustainability (human, animal and planetary health) as a primary objective for policymaking - That food systems narrative is changed, that silos are broken and the mindset around multi-stakeholder action (risks and benefits) is changed - That an agreement is established between food systems and links with climate change and economic growth. Nutrition should be seen as a tool that can support both agendas. - That policies that shape the food environment are identified and invested in, not expecting individuals to have full control over diet behaviour - That there is stronger ministerial will and strong leadership from governments, such that diet is moved to the top of the priority list at the summit. - That there is a common definition of nutrient profiling -especially for children. - That better fiscal policies to promote healthy diets are recommended. - That there is recognition of the negative role of ultra-processed food industry in policy promotion (Conflicts of interest) - That more Indigenous people’s voices are heard Read less

The following key messages and themes emerged from the interactive dialogue and plenary with guided discussions among representatives from governments, civil society: - Consensus on the need for complementary package of policies to address diet related NCDs (restrictions to marketing and taxation of unhealthy foods, and front-of-package labeling systems on food products). Given the regulatory nature of these measures, and the evidence of industry interference in these types of nutrition policy-making processes, participants noted a need for tools, transparency and protective mechanisms to mini... Read moremize risk of industry interference in public health policy and avoidance of conflicts of interest. It is not possible to have a one policy approach. A policy package approach is essential towards a vision of an environment that is coherent and all the messages that are coming from that environment come from a healthy direction. It is about saying to large food corporations what is acceptable and what is not and having a leverage playing field for healthier choices. - Participants recommended a common global definition of what is healthy or unhealthy food/diets, clarifying and including terms like ultra-processed food products. - Insights were gained on how India is responding to the double burden of malnutrition and building healthy food systems by recognizing that undernutrition and inappropriate nutrition (which contributes to diet related NCDs) are all interlinked. It was important also to recognize the need for good balanced nutrition policy during all the life course. India has an approach of eating healthy, eating safe and eating sustainably (including a health, environmental, sanitation, etc. connectivity). It was also highlighted the importance of bringing this connection to the SDG agenda and engage with multiple stakeholders across the country in a practical way at the district level (e.g. school meals). - The experience shared by Finland on notable wins and success factors in the country included the reduction of premature mortality through changes in the diet (e.g. reduction of salt and saturated fats); the adoption of a universal approach which targets the whole population and age groups: food belongs to everybody and every person need a good diet; the health-in-all-policies approach which is supported by legislation and intersectoral mechanisms; the economy of wellbeing approach emphasizing the interlinkages between social, economic and environmental sustainability; the political leadership for SDG’s in the Prime Minister Office nurtures coherent sectoral policies, supports government programmes, promotes healthy diets, coherent policies, and political leadership. As challenges, it was pointed out that the past 10 years it has become increasingly difficult to maintain success. School meals investment pays back (e.g. 1 dollar of investment pays 9 dollars back) but other approaches are needed (e.g., agricultural policies, fiscal measures, public procurement, warning labels, among others), Transforming food systems is a challenge but comes with opportunities and success stories. It is important that there is a joint effort towards better cooperation and coordination at the global level. - The majority of participants also showed interest in being part of a coalition in support of a policy package for healthy diets within the Summit context and beyond. Discussants also noted as main challenges to implementation of a package of policies: - Multiple stakeholders having a place at the table at the policy making level, including those with conflicts of interest. - The dominant prosperity/capita/development narrative being consistently focused on what will damage economies instead of also considering investment in health, environment and well-being aspects as keys to development and prosperity. - Silo policy making within governments and trade offs between government departments which are not fully transparent, understood and foster incoherence - The negative impact the food industry lobby has on political processes, funding and biasing research and driving the narrative and definition of what foods are unhealthy, coopting tenuous health and sustainability attributes as a marketing tool even when a product’s nutritional value is negligible or harmful. On immediate steps and shifts necessary to address the challenges participants agreed on the need to: - Engage and align with new allies from other sectors rather than only the health sectors. - Influence the influencers (the cooks, the bloggers, etc) to also influence policy making Build the bridge between academics and the policy makers to enable policy makers to be better informed. - Share tips and lessons learned between countries (peer to peer) and a global governance to encourage multiple country support - Increase transparency in policy discussions - highlight the iimportance of NCDs and dietary options, and making sure these are incorporated within the pandemic response. - Tackle and expose lobby power of food industry, build the evidence and take action - Build and grow civil society competency and national protection for underage consumers - Have more courageous Member States engaged in this agenda. Read less

The overarching theme of this Independent Dialogue focused on creating healthier food environments by way of a package of effective and evidenced based policies (including front-of-package labelling, marketing restrictions and taxation of unhealthy foods) to help to address diet-related NCDs, leveraging the opportunity presented by the UN Food Systems Summit and beyond. Some of the key issues raised or emerging from this discussion were the need to identify common ground to improve diets, the importance of identifying the barriers and challenges that need to be addressed in order to pursue a f... Read moreood system transformation, also how policy packages can respond to specific local contexts. Further, the Dialogue emphasised the importance of strengthening appreciation that healthy or unhealthy diets are not a personal choice but rather a consequence of the food environment that needs to be shaped and nurtured with collective and coherent decisions around these policy areas, and how the pandemic has also shown the need to invest more in sustainable food systems and environments. The environment must enable and facilitate healthy choices and it must be coherent also in the sense that marketing restrictions, clear information on packaging and taxes of unhealthy products should be jointly promoted, while policies in areas such as trade, urban design and development and education should be complementary and coherent and not undermine the development of sound public health policy. It is important to level the playing field of competition, and incentives the availing of better options, so that unhealthy food steps back and healthy food comes forward. While the agenda influences consumers, producers and retailers, and supporting the environment, but also about changing the economic dynamics and levelling the playing field. It is difficult to prove large impact if the environment is not coherent. The idea behind a coherent policy package is that by implementation of it we are creating a health promoting food environment, and supporting all people’s right to health and food including children and those most vulnerable. Read less

The orientation for agriculture production, whether it is for businesses and profit or to fulfill the rights of the communities for food. The extent of the role of import as a source for domestic food supply. While some participants recognize the importance of import to fulfill domestic demands, some say that import should only be pursued as a complementary strategy.

a)Optimizing food domestic supply chain and availability to guarantee safe and nutritious intake, b) Strengthen community-based farming c) Share responsibility for more stakeholders participating in the food systems, engage more with the private sectors and smallholder farmers d) Fortification to increase nutritious value of locally produced food, e) Increase social protection to make nutritious food more affordable f) Change production orientation from productivity to nutrition-sensitive agriculture g) Education for behavioral changes on nutritional consumption amongst low-income families. h)... Read more Use import as a complementary strategy to meet national food demand. i) Create a clearer career trajectory to entice young farmers to enter the agricultural workforce and start the regeneration process. j) Collaboration with other agriculturally advanced Southeast Asian countries to learn best practices in agriculture Read less

a) Domestic food supply chain needs to be optimized and made more efficient for both the accessibility of food and the welfare of farmers. b) International collaboration is needed through opening up trade linkages as complementary sources of food supply and through best practices sharing. c) Education on nutrition is important as the biggest drive for malnutrition is consumption behavior. d) Ensuring welfare for farmers at the community level through regulation and strengthening community-based farming. e) Ensure that low-income families have access to food through better targeted social prote... Read morection. Read less

The breakout room discussions covered (1) the impact of the long domestic supply chain on prices and food safety, (2) balanced international trade to fulfill domestic consumption, (3) the health and nutritional values of the food circulated in the market, (4) food loss and waste, (5) Equitable food production, (6) Youth and agriculture innovation, (7) Food prices disparity between producers and consumers prices, and (8) inability of policies to respond to challenges of food systems on the ground