United Nations Food Systems Summit
This summer, the United Nations is hosting The Food Systems Summit.
What does that mean for producers?
The goal of this United Nations Food Systems summit is to “transform the way we produce, consume and think about food.” By bringing together people from all over the world, all types of backgrounds, they hope to bring about positive change. Change in the form of actionable items to transform our food systems to be more sustainable in all aspects. This summit looks at our global and local food systems, and outcomes from this summit will affect farmers across the globe.
The Food Systems Summit will start with the Pre-Summit July 26-28, 2021.
Beyond enacting positive change and conversation, the Food Systems Summit is now part of a larger plan, the Decade of Action. These initiatives have been working on completing the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals are all based on these three ideas; healthier food, long-term sustainability in food systems, and equal food systems.
Animal agriculture must be a part of these discussions. And that the facts are represented when it comes to our role in the food and climate systems. Leading up to the Summit, I have attended several dialogues about the actionable items animal agriculture can take to be a force for positive change in our food system. Below are some of the most powerful quotes from those meetings.
➡️Investing in agriculture as a climate solution has a positive return on our investment.
➡️How you frame the conversations changes who supports it. Saying, “Is ag a part of the solution or part of the problem” changes the support you will receive from farmers.
➡️While agriculture is the single biggest threat to deforestation, it can also be the biggest protector.
➡️While there is room for improvement in agriculture, we can’t forget the centuries of work farmers have already put in to be more sustainable.
Sometimes with our food system, people like to assume it is bad and getting worse. When in reality, things are good and getting better. But we need to continue to improve and innovate. We need to make sure our local and global representatives know and understand how animal agriculture is a fundamental part of the future of our food system. Follow along with my Instagram posts on the UN event over at @newmexicomilkmaid.
Below are more resources on the United Nations Food Systems Summit:
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