Voices for a Better Food Future
Animal agriculture is arguably one of the biggest issues of our time. Recent publications, such as the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land and the EAT-Lancet report highlighted the exigency to reduce our reliance on livestock production and consumption. Responsible for at least 14.5% of all GHG emissions worldwide, animal agriculture is exacerbating the climate emergency, water crisis, gender divide, biodiversity loss and food-related health disorders.
There is an urgent need to facilitate a just transition towards a fair, healthy and compassionate food system, delivering nutritious and predominantly plant-based food for all. However, transforming one of the most deeply embedded systems in this world presents complex and interlinked challenges.
Through the Global Engagement Summit- Voices for a Better Food Future, 50by40 aimed at gathering voices from across the globe to collectively examine these challenges and, as a result, turn them into opportunities to accomplish the change we are striving for. Held from December 8th -10th, the summit brought together a range of actors including farmers, youth activists, entrepreneurs, financial experts, faith leaders and civil society leaders to develop a strong and united approach to address livestock production.
Attended by participants from over 60 countries, the summit’s diverse program included 35 speakers, 4 panel discussions and action tracks, measured roundtable discussions and practical hands-on toolkit workshops. The event featured keynote speakers spanning four generations including legendary labour and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, bestselling author and sustainability advocate Anna Lappé, UN Sustainable Development Goal Advocate Hindou Omarou Ibrahim and 14-year-old vegan climate activist Genesis Butler.
As a follow-up, we look forward to organising regional summits to add depth to this critical conversation with key stakeholders across all geographies and use key findings to represent civil society engagement at the United Nations Food System Summit in 2021.
In this chaotic year, the summit showed the growing appetite for collaboration across sectors on the crucial issue of food systems. Speakers, panelists and participants showed a strong determination to let our similarities unite us and our differences strengthen us. With new bonds forged and old bonds deepened, and with new insights and renewed inspiration, 50b40 is looking forward to taking the conversation forward in the critical coming years.
