The 2023 UN Food Systems + 2 Stocktaking Moment

At the conclusion of the 2021 Food Systems Summit, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres undertook to hold a stocktaking moment once every two years to review progress on the implementation of the commitments towards food systems transformation, made at the FSS 2021.

In keeping with this commitment, the Secretary General will convene from July 25-26 the first Stocktaking Moment, entitled FSS+2 Stocktaking Moment. The Stocktaking Moment will be held at FAO Headquarters in Rome and will be co-hosted by the Government of Italy, in collaboration with the Rome Based Agencies, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the wider UN system.

This Stocktaking Moment is expected to continue to build on the momentum created by the 2021 Food Systems Summit and will allow for Member States and Stakeholders to review progress on the commitments made in 2021, to identify where there are persistent and new challenges and to create a space for new and innovative ideas and strengthened collaboration towards food systems transformation.

Further, the Food Systems Coordination Hub has indicated that “It will also be an opportunity to further socialize the powerful role of sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems as critical SDG accelerators and advocate for urgent action at scale, building on the latest evidence that sustainable food systems contribute to better and more sustainable outcomes for people, planet and prosperity leaving no one behind.”[1]

In 2021 the world embraced the Food Systems Summit in recognition that the way we produced and consumed food was unsustainable and should we not embark on a transformation in the way we produce and consume we were certain to doom future generations to increased hunger and poverty.

The 2022 Report of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the world removed any doubt that progress in ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition was being reversed and our collective hopes of achieving SDG 2 on ending hunger, was rapidly slipping from our hands. While we live in a world of never-ending crises, hunger and food insecurity certainly ranks among the most severe. Life cannot exist without food. Transforming our food systems is therefore crucial.

In keeping with this recognition, the time between the 2021 Summit and 2023 Stocktaking Moment, Member States and stakeholders alike have continued to take action at various levels to transform our food systems, to become sustainable, efficient and to create food systems where healthy food is available and accessible to all. These actions are an important step forward, but more is required and it is in this regard that the Stocktaking Moment is an important moment for all stakeholders – Member States, Private Sector, Civil Society, Academia, among others – to come together once again to further the initiatives that have begun, such as those that address climate change,  gender inequality, create decent work and living incomes, improve nutrition, etc. and to see where these initiatives can be brought to scale for greater action.

Further, the discussions must allow for the strengthening of collaboration between and among stakeholders, for the identification and creation of new and innovative solutions to age old problems in the food system, for example in what is one of the great ironies of the world it is the people who grow and produce our food who are often the ones who comprise the majority of the world’s hungry. Why does this persist to this day and how can we solve this.

These are some of the questions we must address at the Stocktaking Moment and our answers must continue to build on our efforts to achieve transformation in the world’s food systems and towards our achievement of the SDGs as we seek to make the world a better place for all, one where all peoples, regardless of geography, socio economic status and any other characteristic, is able to access healthy and nutritious food and have a healthy diet.

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[1] Overview and Updates (unfoodsystemshub.org)