Sustainable food systems and nutrition in the 21st century: a report from the 22nd annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium

TLDR

Food systems face a brewing storm of climate change, rising hunger, malnutrition, and social inequities, yet offer opportunities to produce healthy, safe, and environmentally sustainable food if global commitments are made at the UN Food Systems Summit. The article synthesizes the symposium to highlight food systems’ role in tackling malnutrition, noncommunicable diseases, climate change, and associated economic and social inequities. The authors synthesized the 22nd annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium, hosted by Harvard’s Nutrition Obesity Research Center and Division of Nutrition, to discuss food systems and sustainability. They conclude that food system transformation is achievable and that nutrition and health communities must play a significant role in driving this change.

Abstract

Food systems are at the center of a brewing storm consisting of a rapidly changing climate, rising hunger and malnutrition, and significant social inequities. At the same time, there are vast opportunities to ensure that food systems produce healthy and safe food in equitable ways that promote environmental sustainability, especially if the world can come together at the UN Food Systems Summit in late 2021 and make strong and binding commitments toward food system transformation. The NIH-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard and the Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition held their 22nd annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium entitled "Global Food Systems and Sustainable Nutrition in the 21st Century" in June 2021. This article presents a synthesis of this symposium and highlights the importance of food systems to addressing the burden of malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases, climate change, and the related economic and social inequities. Transformation of food systems is possible, and the nutrition and health communities have a significant role to play in this transformative process.