Progress on food security and nutrition stagnates in Europe and Central Asia

More than 14 million adults, and some 4.7 million children in Europe and Central Asia suffer from severe food insecurity – as defined by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said in a report released today.
/by

Unabated climate change will cause more conflict and hunger

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today warned of increased conflict and hunger if climate change is left unabated. He made the remarks at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2018 panel discussion on how to solve the climate crisis, with 2007 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former US Vice-President Al Gore.
/by

New report raises hopes for Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries

Although the main commercial fish species in the Mediterranean and Black Sea are still over-fished, pressure has reduced over the past years, raising hopes – for the first time - for the recovery of fish stocks, according to new FAO-GFCM report launched today.
/by

When the City Does the Feeding: The Role of Local Governance in Urban Food Security

Tuesday, December 11, 2018, 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST hosted by the Center For Strategic & International Studies

 For 25 years, the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte has been an unsung hero in the fight against food insecurity. As Dr. M. Jahi Chappell put it, “The course to universal food security will never run smooth[ly], but steps forward have and can be made. Belo Horizonte has walked a bit farther down the path than most.” Annually, the municipal government’s Under-Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security spends upwards of $27 million running affordable “Popular Restaurants” that serve 14,000 meals per day; supporting retail “Food at Low Cost” outlets that annually move 50 million kilograms of produce; and making lunch from scratch for 150,000 schoolchildren. In addition, the government procures nearly all the produce required for these programs from small- and medium- sized family farms in the peri-urban area.

Please join us for a keynote address from Belo Horizonte’s Food and Nutrition Secretary, Ms. Maíra Colares, as we examine the promise, challenges, and determinants of durable municipal governance in food security policy. The keynote will be preceded by a special video message from Olivier de Schutter, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and followed by a panel discussion with Secretary Colares and Chris Shepherd-Pratt from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Drawing on the experiences of Belo Horizonte, the panel will explore a number of issues:

  • What special role can municipal governments play in food security, compared to regional, national, and international governments?
  • What enables government institutions to maintain their commitments to food security over the long-term?
  • How can U.S. development policymakers best support local governance?

To register for the event or to join the live-webcast, visit the webpage for the event. You can also participate in the conversation using #CSISLive and #FoodSecurity

/by