This spring, COVID-19 suddenly changed life as we know it. Even prior to COVID-19, human beings have been facing great challenges in the fields of public health and environmental sustainability. These challenges come from climate change, biodiversity loss, zoonoses, chronic disease, utilization of land and water resources, and food security. Our industrial food system is at the intersection of these important issues as it rapidly depletes the earth's resources and impacts human health. For example, the system of large-scale, chemical-dependent monoculture used around the world has led to significant degradation of soil. If we continue at this speed, we will deplete the production capacity of all arable land within 60 years. Meanwhile, the production and use of chemical inputs have resulted in the displacement of wild animals, extensive surface runoff, and health issues among farmworkers.

A common argument against moving from industrial agriculture to regenerative agriculture is that the latter cannot feed the world. However, we must remember that one-third of the world’s food is wasted each year, and a considerable number of crops are grown for animal feed and alcohol production. Our system of meat, egg, and dairy production keeps animals in dark, crowded, and dirty indoor spaces. Antibiotics are used to treat bacteria and viruses that breed in the cramped and filthy environment. Swine flu or bird flu breaks out every few years, but these outbreaks have received little attention between they have yet to significantly impact humans. Until recently, with COVID-19, zoonotic diseases received minimal public attention.

It’s easy to forget the dangers of our unwieldy industrial food system until nature gives us reminders. Extreme weather events caused by climate change have occurred more and more frequently all over the world, seriously threatening global food security. Reducing carbon emissions and reabsorbing and utilizing excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are key to addressing this issue. At the UN General Assembly on September 22nd, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China would strive to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

In order to achieve this goal, we must transform the way we produce food. A sustainable food system is no longer an option, but the only way to a livable future in the years to come.

For this reason, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) Good Food Fund invites organizations and individuals from all fields spanning human health and environmental sustainability to gather again at the 4th (Online) Good Food Summit this autumn, to offer recommendations for the transformation of the human food system, and to collaborate with each other to create a better future.

The 4th Good Food Summit: Focusing on the Transformation of a Sustainable Food System, Sincere Cooperation, and Creating a Good Food Future is the annual conference of the CBCGDF Good Food Fund and has been held successfully for the last three years in Yangzhou (2017), Chengdu (2018) and Suzhou (2019). The Good Food Summit is the first annual event in China to focus on the transformation of the food system. The Summit is also a place for the most active food innovators to share thoughts, best practices, and leadership in China. At the upcoming 4th (Online) Good Food Summit, we will launch a series of in-depth discussions on "Transformation of a Sustainable Food System".

Systematic transformation requires the participation of all stakeholders from production to consumption. Therefore, at this Good Food Summit, you will meet experts, scholars, and senior professionals from all over the world to exchange views. We welcome Mr. Wang Zhenyao, President of the China Institute of Public Welfare of Beijing Normal University and Founding President of the International Institute of Public Welfare, Victor Koo, Director of the Good Food Fund, Professor Fan Shenggen, Chief Academic Advisor of the Good Food Summit, Gunhild A. Stordalen, Founder of EAT Forum, an environmental action organization, Greg Drescher, Vice Chairman of the American Academy of Cooking, and Philip Limbury, Chief Executive Officer of the World Farm Animal Welfare Association.

We will release the first "Good Food Report" at this year’s Summit, written jointly by pioneer agencies in the field of food systems and the Good Food Fund. This document introduces the best practices and leading agencies and actors in the field of China's food system transformation.

Additionally, we will launch the Good Food Fund's "WET Vegetable Market Transformation Project”, the "Edible Food in China - China Biodiversity Food Project" of CBCGDF, and the "2030 Initiative".

At the Summit, we strive to share different perspectives from different fields so that all participants have a global view of the current landscape of food system transformation and can find their place in it. We look forward to your participation in the 4th Good Food Summit this October.

Register here:

https://f.lingxi360.com/formfill?fid=pIURAGpY85j_8&utm_bccid=&disable_autofill=0

Original link:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/XsoHTkPdCuw_oD8JC_AXbQ

Edited by / Maggie