For the first time in its existence, the United Nations today convenes a Food Systems Summit as part of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, aimed at addressing what has become a global crisis. Food scarcity on the one hand and the shift to starches, fats, sugar and salt on the other have practically tilted the world on its head, resulting in starvation and obesity and finally there is recognition, at least in some quarters, that it cannot continue to be business as usual.
In 2019, just ahead of World Food Day, which is observed in October, the UN released statistics revealing that globally, almost 800 million people are considered obese and over 40 million children under the age of five are overweight. On the flip side, it noted, 821 million people are suffering from hunger and one in three children are malnourished and, as a result, not developing properly. In the face of the threat this imbalance poses to health in general as well as making the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 unattainable, Secretary-General António Guterres had announced that he would convene a Food Systems Summit in 2021, having held high-level talks with the Food and Agricul-ture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme in July 2019. Mr Guterres felt it would be apropos to bring together heads of state, scientists, farmers, youth, environmental activists, and ordinary people to find solutions that would help usher in a more sustainable world.
In 2020, even as the UN was still making pre-parations for what was already going to be an historic event, that had been likened to others held by the organisation though not at this level, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. Initially, there may have been concern about the summit’s viability, given the fact that travel ceased as borders closed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, but with the concomitant expansion in the virtual world, it was soon on again.
Unlike previous food summits, which saw the creation of the FAO (1945), the founding of the International Food Policy Research Institute (1975), acceleration of the human right to food (2002) and the establishment of monitoring systems to warn of food-price crises (2009), this one has had to be reconfigured to include the fallout from COVID-19. This pandemic has heightened the deficiencies in global food systems, which involve production, processing, distribution and consumption, exposing wider vulnerabilities than were originally known. In addition, the fragile state of the planet also has to be given serious consideration, hence the call for sustainability and the inclusion this time around of more stakeholders than ever before.
In order to formulate cohesive responses, some countries have, over the last 18 months, hosted dia-logues with the aim of developing national strategies for more inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems. Further, a hybrid pre-summit — involving live and virtual presentations — was also held in July in Italy.
It is expected that at least 85 heads of state and government will make announcements on the way forward as regards their territories’ food systems, although as of Monday this week some 148 countries had reportedly completed engagements.
There is no evidence of any such consultations being held in Guyana, though this country has a strong agricultural base. One hopes that this is not indicative of a decrease in emphasis on food production. On September 18, the Department of Public Information (DPI) stated that President Irfaan Ali was physically attending the UN General Assembly in New York along with Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd, Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud and Press Secretary at the Office of the President Suelle Findlay-Williams. The DPI also said that President Ali was expected to deliver an address and would speak at the UN Food Systems Summit.
One assumes then, since it was not otherwise stated, that the President’s address will illuminate the way forward for Guyana possibly based on the current policies in place. It may have been felt that a national conversation was unnecessary and perhaps that is the case. Nevertheless, food is more than protein, carbohydrate, and fat used to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy. It is an increasingly controversial topic on which debates can rage about farming methods, which crops to plant, the danger of genetically modified organisms, and the list goes on.
What is vital, however, is that transformation takes place so that where they exist, food systems are no longer vulnerable to failure. Restoration of food systems must also move beyond what existed pre-pandemic as there was a marked lack of resilience to crises. We all must eat to live and therefore food education is also key. Ahead of the summit, Mr Guterres had called on governments to “feed hope for a better future”. We can only hope that this resonates with them all.
