India Food Systems Summit

Problem Statement

As per UNEP, the global food system is plagued with several issues such as high environmental cost/footprint, facilitation of diseases from animals to human (zoonotic diseases), fostering of microbial resistance, use of pesticides, effect on human health due to contamination of water and soil, creating epidemics of obesity and chronic disease, inefficient use of land, entrenching of inequality, and a host of other problems. It is critical that awareness about the problems of the food system is brought forth and actors across the spectrum come together to find solutions.

GSG collaborated with the Act4Food, Act 4 Change campaign to bring together youth, businesses, governments and other stakeholders to conduct the India Food Systems Summit on 12th August 2021, to spread awareness on issues with the national and global food system, and what businesses, policymakers and the youth can do to help fix the broken food system.

Beneficiaries

• Government representatives

• Business leaders

• Youth leaders

• General audience of the summit (The Sustainable Development Goals community, NGOs, Civil Society groups, and the UN Food Systems Summit stakeholders along with a youth audience)

Solution

• A panel for policymakers was conducted with Tarun Vij, India Country Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Dr Rajan Sankar, Director, The India Nutrition Initiative- Tata Trusts, Hemant Kumar Meena, Director-  WCD, Niti Aayog and Meetu Kapur, Executive Director, Food and Agriculture Centre of Excellence, Confederation of Indian Industries, where youth leaders Prabhu Kunwar Singh (GSG) and Prachi Shevgaonkar asked questions to the policymakers on improving food systems.

• A panel for business leaders and innovative start-ups was conducted with Athang Jain (Director, Jain Farm Fresh Foods), Varun Deshpande (Managing Director India, Good Food Institute), Somit Mukherjee (Senior Vice-President, Central Purchase & Head – Central Procurement and Planning Department, Dabur) and Yash Kotak (Co-Founder, BOHECO) where  youth leaders Anurit Kanti (GSG) and Manan Kalra (GSG) asked questions to the panelists about the solutions businesses are presenting towards improving food systems

• The summit was conducted by Priya Prakash (GSG), who was chosen as the India Ambassador for the Act4Food Act4Change campaign by the campaign anchor (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition).

Impact

The Indian Food Systems Summit was attended by 15+ participants

Partners

United Nations Food Systems Summit

Act for Food Act for Change

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition

HealthSetGo

Food Future Foundation

Good Food Institute

CII

Team members

Priya Prakash, Prabhu Kunwar Singh, Daniel Nath, Anurit Kanti, Manan Kalra, Prishta Grover

Impact Areas

Health and Well-being, Food Systems, Nutrition, Climate Action, Sustainability

SDGs

Food systems have an impact on all SDGs (https://www.un.org/en/food-systems-summit/sdgs), however, from an advocacy and direct impact standpoint it was SDG 2, 3, 4, 13, 17.