Walking the talk: EUFIC-FAO Food Systems Dialogue, February 25

Last Updated : 29 January 2021

On February 25 the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will co-host the Food Systems Dialogue "Walking the talk: healthy & sustainable food systems through aligned, evidence-based communication & policy’’.

In the context of the upcoming Food Systems Summit convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), the Dialogues mark an important step in shaping the pathways to deliver progress on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will lead to equitable and sustainable food systems by 2030.

A paradigm shift towards sustainable food systems can only be achieved if citizens are enabled and empowered to make healthier and more sustainable food and lifestyle choices. Against that backdrop, this Dialogue sets to bring diverse EU stakeholders around the table, to break the silos, to address the urgent need to combat all forms of malnutrition and environmental degradation, and at the same time, to empower citizens to adopt healthier and more sustainable behaviors – by increasing trust in science, and by securing aligned, evidence-based communication & policy.

The event envisages connecting the often fragmented nutritional and environmental conversations from policy to consumers, to understand positions across stakeholders, to communicate and agree on an aligned vision, proposing accurate & accountable actions that will lead to better policy coherence in the food system, and to a food environment that is inclusive, that benefits all citizens and the planet.

Touching upon key aspects to move sustainable food systems ahead in the transition from science to action, the Dialogue will be moderated by Milka Sokolović, Head of Food & Health Science at EUFIC, and will feature a series of high-level speakers:

• Martin Frick, Deputy to the Special Envoy for the UN Food Systems Summit
• Laura Fernández Celemín, Director General, EUFIC
• Rodrigo Lapuerta, Director of FAO Liaison Office, Brussels
• Jamie Morrison, Director of FAO’s Food Systems and Food Safety Division and Lead on Knowledge and Policy for the Food Systems Summit Secretariat 
• João Breda, Head of WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, WHO Europe  
• Carla Montesi, Director for the Green Deal and Digital Agenda, DG INTPA , European Commission
• John Bell, Director Healthy Planet, DG RTD, European Commission
• Isabel Carvalhais, MEP and Member of European Parliamentary Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition

Walking the talk: healthy & sustainable food systems through aligned, evidence-based communication & policy

Date & time: 25 February, 10:00 – 14:00 CET

You can find more information on the event here: https://summitdialogues.org/dialogue/1256/