Secretary-General Announces Special Summit to Tackle World Hunger, Create Sustainable, Inclusive Supply Chain, in Message for World Food Week

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the launch of World Food Week, today:

The systems that bring food to our tables have a profound impact on our economies, our health and the environment.  Food systems are one of the main reasons we are failing to stay within our planet’s ecological boundaries.  But they can also be the key to tackling the climate crisis, addressing soaring biodiversity loss and building healthier societies.

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of our food systems.  Millions more people are hungry, and millions of jobs have been lost.  Meanwhile, the climate emergency continues apace.

To address these issues, I am convening a Food Systems Summit next year.  This will be a “People’s Summit” and a “Solutions Summit”.  This action‑oriented conversation will come together in two key moments.

The first will be a pre-Summit meeting in Rome in early summer next year.  This meeting will build on inclusive country and regional dialogues and will define bold actions for inclusive and sustainable food systems.

The second will be the Food Systems Summit itself to bring the attention of all world leaders to this issue.  We need global engagement and action for inclusive and sustainable food systems.  I urge you to join the conversation.