Consultation Forum on the Demographic Aspect of the Food System

As part of the Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs by 2030, the United Nation Food Systems Summit will convene on September 2021 in New York. It will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.

The Summit will ensure that all regions should work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food. This will be a summit that will require everyone to take actions to transform the world’s food systems.

During the UN-Commission on Population and Development (UN-CPD) 54th session, it was acclaimed that population patterns and trends cut across all five action tracks of the United Nations Food Systems Summit: (1) access to safe and nutritious food; (2) sustainable consumption patterns; (3) nature-positive production; (4) equitable livelihoods; and (5) resilience. Governments are encouraged to actively participate in preparations for the Summit and to engage with diverse stakeholders to identify opportunities for improved collective action at the territorial, national, regional and global levels.

In the Philippines, key stakeholders should come together to bring about tangible, positive changes to the country’s food systems. Key players to include the world of business, policy, healthcare and academia, as well as farmers, indigenous peoples, youth organizations, consumer groups, and environmental activists should act accordingly to achieve the objectives of the UNFSS.

As the National Convenor for the Philipines, the Department of Agriculture (DA) collaborated with the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) to generate significant action and measurable progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will also develop principles to guide government and other stakeholders looking to leverage the country’s food systems to support the SDGs.

To gather recommendations and decision points as inputs to the UNFSS, this Consultation Forum on the Demographic Aspect of the Food System will focus on population at the heart of sustainable development, including efforts to create sustainable and equitable food systems. An evidenced-based understanding of the interrelationships between demographic trends and food systems will also be the focus of discussion. Rapid population growth, urbanization, growing wealth and changing consumption patterns will be considered in
changing food systems.