2023 UN Food Systems Summit +2 in Rome

The UN hosted the inaugural Food Systems Summit on September 23, 2021, uniting global leaders in a drive to find novel ways to produce healthy fare for the world’s growing population without harming the planet. It was a virtual meeting held during the UN General Assembly in New York. The summit brought together governments, businesses, farmers, indigenous peoples, youth, academics, and citizens to produce a detailed roadmap to a world where good food is affordable and accessible and produced with minimal damage to the natural systems that sustain life on Earth. The UN Food Systems Summit saw over 51,000 people tuned in from 193 countries, all ready to tackle global hunger, climate change and biodiversity loss for true food systems transformation. Five primary action areas emerged for accelerating action to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through food systems: 

• Nourish All People 

• Boost Nature-Based Solutions of Production 

• Build Resilience to Vulnerabilities, Shocks, and Stresses 

• Advance Equitable Livelihoods, Decent Work, & Empowered Communities

• Means of Implementation.

The UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment took place in Rome in July 2023. The purpose of this meeting was to build on the momentum of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and create a conducive space for countries to review progress on the commitments to action and identify successes, enduring bottlenecks and priorities in order to close the implementation gap by effectively and efficiently utilizing the Means of Implementation for food systems transformation. 

2000 participants from 180 countries explored the challenges and opportunities to transform agrifood systems. Over three days of deliberations, participants advocated, among other measures, for decent work opportunities, respect for Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and more extensive social protection systems.

The meeting closed with the UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action for accelerated Food Systems Transformation. This focuses on six concrete objectives: 

• embedding food systems strategies in national policies; 

• establishing food systems governance with a whole-of-society approach; 

• investing in research, data, innovation, and technology capacities; 

• promoting business engagement and accountability for sustainability; 

• including full participation of marginalized groups; 

• ensuring long-term, concessional finance for food systems transformation.  

The next meeting, the UN Food Systems Summit +4, will be held in 2025.