CCICED Sustainable Food Dialogue | Opportunities and Synergies

On June 18, 2021, CCICED organized an expert meeting on sustainable food systems to discuss opportunities and challenges. More than 30 experts representing academic institutions, business sector, civil society organizations, and think tanks participated in the discussion. Topics discussed include, agro-ecological green development, natural and human capital, regenerative food systems, freshwater stewardship, supporting carbon neutrality and protecting natural assets.

The meeting was structured around three themes, 1) features and trends of China’s food systems, 2) main synergies and challenges of China’s food system, 3) synergies between the upcoming COP25, COP15 and UN Food Systems Summit. The opening session identified the key features of modern food systems, low-carbon pathways forward, and briefly introduced CCICED’s ongoing work on sustainable sourcing of soft commodities. Prior to the meeting, the organizer circulated a background note which highlighted the achievements of China’s food self-sufficiency and food security in the past decade. The background note also pointed to the mounting sustainability challenges that came with prioritizing outputs, hoping that the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit will provide an opportunity to prioritize these challenges and develop pathways forward.

Learn more in the CCICED /UN Food Systems Summit White Paper developed by Ning Dai, from the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Canada.

CCICED Sustainable Food Dialogue_MEETING SUMMARY