Why Sustainable Food Systems Are Needed in a Post-COVID-19 World

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for reckoning the world’s food systems and has made evident that the global food supply chain—highly concentrated and operating on a just-in-time supply basis—is prone to falter in the face of shocks. Today’s food system also presents new food security challenges, with several countries, including an increasing number of low- and middle-income countries, facing a double burden of malnutrition and over-consumption, the overuse of chemicals in food production and in monoculture cropping systems, and intensive animal farming on land and at sea.  The rebuilding of economies after the COVID-19 crisis will offer a unique opportunity to transform the global food system and make it resilient to future shocks, ensuring environmentally sustainable and healthy nutrition for all. The Center for Global Development (CGD) is hosting this panel discussion to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead. Nicoletta Batini will open the panel with a presentation of her new edited book “The Economics of Sustainable Food.” The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion featuring sustainable agriculture and food security economists and sustainable development experts. https://www.cgdev.org/event/why-susta...