Scientific Group

The Scientific Group is a diverse collaboration of global scientists and researchers appointed to ensure the content and outcomes of the UN’s Food Systems Summit are underpinned by science, and that the commitments from the Summit are achievable.  

The Global Panel has provided the Scientific Group with two technical briefs ahead of the Summit.  

The first brief ‘COVID-19 and Food Systems: Rebuilding for Resilience’ argues the vital need to strengthen the resilience of food systems, not just to cope with a future pandemic, but for a range of demand- and supply-side shocks which could occur. The brief sets out principles and priorities for achieving this. You can read more about the brief on our summary page here.  

Our second brief, ‘The Transition Steps Needed to Transform Our Food Systems’, discusses the priorities and principles to guide better diet choices, how trade-offs and compromises can be addressed, and the challenge of resourcing the transition of food systems to improve access to sustainable, healthy diets for all. It considers how actions could be incentivised and supported, and impediments to change addressed. The brief also sets out key priorities for different classes of stakeholders across food systems. The brief can be accessed here.  

UNFSS ‘Science Day’ events were held virtually on the 8-9th July in order to connect food systems science with other science communities and make a big push for food systems science. A number of plenary and parallel sessions were held. Global Panel Members Qu Donguy and Shenggen Fan participated in plenary session 1: “Science for the food systems summit: unlocking the potential of science, technology and for transformation of food systems” and plenary session 3A: “Strengthening the science-policy interface”, respectively.