ACTION TRACK 1 : Access to safe and nutritious food for all

Background

The food choices people are faced with and the choices they make are profoundly determined by the food system3 of which they are part. Food systems must change dramatically if we are to reverse the negative trends noted above and accelerate positive trends, instead. Food systems need to present people with affordable safe food, made accessible and desirable in healthy dietary choices, and make it easy for them to make these choices. Food systems need to do this while being mindful of the environmental, livelihood, equity, and resilience implications of these choices. They need to be grounded in a local reality and serving the needs of local citizens while also recognizing the interactions that exist between countries and how, when supportive and non-distortionary policies are in place, those can be leveraged for the good of all through trade. We want a food system that generates co-benefits for society and nature across all of these dimensions.

This action track will develop game-changing and systemic solutions to make this happen. Our work will aim to (1) accelerate the reduction of hunger and inequality, (2) make nutritious foods more available and affordable, and (3) make food safer. In line with the focus of the discussions underpinning the negotiation of the Committee on World Food Security's Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems for Nutrition and with the Action Track 1 Science Paper, our work will address malnutrition in all its forms by ensuring access to healthy diets: the first strand of this work will address undernutrition (i.e., stunting and wasting), while the second will address undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight/obesity as well as diet-related NCDs (with a focus on their dietary causes). The third focuses on food safety as an integral part of food security4 while recognizing that unsafe food can also increase the risk of undernutrition and certain NCDs.