On 11 – 14 June 2019, Dr. Zhou was invited by the Swedish government to the EAT Stockholm Food Forum took place in the capital of Sweden.

The CBCGDF delegation was led by Dr. Zhou, delegates included Mr. Jian Yi, the Director of CBCGDF Good Food Fund.

The EAT Forum is a high-level event that is carefully crafted and invites only to accommodate up to 1,000 delegates. It has led to the collection and discussion of top thought leaders from science, politics, finance, civil society and other fields.

EAT’s flagship event seeks to drive progress, share knowledge and help coordinate action across sectors and disciplines to embrace solutions that will transform the global food system.

On 11 June, Dr. Zhou attended a side event themed on “Putting biodiversity back into food – Managing risks in food systems using the Agrobiodiversity Index”. This side event organized by Biodiversity International and presented the Agrobiodiversity Index Report 2019: Risk and Resilience. This report includes country results from the first run of this new tool for decision-makers and investors to measure agrobiodiversity in food systems (see details: https://www.bioversityinternational.org/eat-forum/).

Shrinking biodiversity narrows farmers’ options to manage agricultural risks and reduces our access to diverse diets. The event will discuss the role of biodiversity for sustainable, healthy and resilient food systems, and present the first Agrobiodiversity Index Report 2019: Risk and Resilience. This report includes country results from Australia, China, Ethiopia, India, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa and USA, the first run of this new tool for decision-makers and investors to measure agrobiodiversity in food systems.

Dr. Zhou said in his speech that in China, due to African swine fever, a large number of animals were slaughtered on the farm, and the risk of imported pig breeds was further discussed, and another issue that needs urgent attention is mentioned, namely animal husbandry-driven Monoculture’s damage to biodiversity and the abuse of pesticides. At the same time, Dr. Zhou also introduced the CBCGDF Good Food Fund to promote sustainable plant-based diets and better agricultural practices. He also recommended the introduction of international biodiversity treaties. During the discussion, Dr. Zhou also discussed with participants how to control the risks in the food system through agricultural biodiversity indicators.

More details:

https://eatforum.org/eatforum19-side-events/

(Photo credit: CBCGDF Good Food Fund Jian Yi)

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

(Photo credit: CBCGDF Good Food Fund Jian Yi)

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4937/8896.html

By / Niu Jingmei