Beyond COVID-19: New challenges for sustainable and innovative food systems
Series of webinars dedicated to the "great reset" due to covid 19
Introduction
The global food systems have been put under stress by the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting weaknesses and failures at various levels. The unforeseen emergency has brought out the vulnerability of the food system starting from the fresh foods supply and the continuity of production chains, an increased effort was required to maintaining and enhancing the quality and safety of processed products. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic has undermined the main societal, economic and biological interactions with a decreased food security and increased malnutrition also in developed countries, with eating habits towards not nutritionally balanced diets.
Food systems as a whole need, thus, both to revise the scenarios in which research and industry were investing in the pre-covid era to define new boundaries and new targets in order to continue boosting innovation and favour the Great Food Transformation. Within this framework a new paradigm needs to be developed within all actors and decision makers by strengthening interactions and building a new ecosystem among all the stakeholders and involving policymakers and all food-related communities (e.g. nutrition, agriculture, food, health, environment, water, climate, education, employment, trade) that prioritize actions towards a more sustainable and resilient food system while promoting a responsible innovation.
The Alliance for Skills and Knowledge to Widen Food Sector-related Open Innovation, Optimization and Development (ASKFOOD) aims at setting, designing and developing tools and training actions and to leverage and boost innovation by strengthening the collaboration and cooperation among all the actors and stakeholders of the food related sectors.
ASKFOOD organizes a series of webinars dedicated to the main challenges of the food systems emerged due to COVID-19.
Experts from academia and various organizations will introduce the key issues and the main impact of the pandemic on the food production chains, the health and nutritional value of diet, share best practices and offer strategies to build a more sustainable ecosystem in the food sector.
