2 mega sustainability campaigns set to launch at 'Food For Future Summit' this week

This week’s Food For Future Summit and co-located Global Agtech Innovation Expo, at the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at Expo 2020 Dubai, will serve as the launchpad for two major sustainability campaigns, designed to foster a global movement.

Hosted by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as strategic partners, the summit and expo, which run from 23-24 February, will unite world leaders, industry innovators, influential minds, start-up, and food revolutionaries, galvanizing all sectors of the agriculture and food supply chains for profound discussions and innovative outcomes for a sustainable food ecosystem.

Two UAE-based changemakers are seeking to capitalize on the fact the global industry’s eyes will be firmly fixed on Dubai to set sustainability wheels in motion.

Food for Life campaign

Food for Life’, a first-of-its-kind public awareness and engagement campaign will be launched by partners Emirates Nature-WWF, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and the FAO.

The campaign seeks to promote a healthy and mindful relationship with food and build awareness of how interconnected a healthy diet is with the sustainability of our food systems through an exciting calendar of events and outreach programmes.

The Food for Life campaign will have activations on the side-lines of the summit and foster conversation on what, why, and how we eat. There will be an exciting line up of learning and engagement events and activities that the UAE community can sign up to from the launch of the campaign, till April.

"We are looking to mobilize UAE society to take control of our collective health and food security. This summit provides us with a real opportunity to work through the challenges of food security and nutrition, analyse them from all different perspectives, and come up with solutions together. We want to change the way we think about food and raise awareness of how important a healthy, balanced diet is to the sustainability of our food systems," said Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General at Emirates Nature-WWF.

"We envision the UAE as a global leader in the shift to a healthy diet based on sustainable food systems," added Abdullatif. "In keeping with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we want to be ‘Nature Positive’ by 2030. To accomplish this, we must first comprehend the present hurdles and forces that influence people’s attitudes and behaviours when it comes to eating a nutritious diet. Abdullatif added the campaign will raise awareness about what makes a good diet and a sustainable food system, how diet affects nutrition and wellbeing, and how critical it is for human and planetary health.

The FoodWise Challenge

Meanwhile, Goumbook, the UAE’s leading social enterprise promoting sustainable living and green practices, will launch The FoodWise Challenge.

The campaign is aimed at schools and universities to instill behavioral mindset changes among the country’s youth surrounding sustainable, healthier food choices and the undeniable connection with food security.

As part of the campaign, school students were invited to propose campaigns, and university students will work on solutions to food security challenges, share their ideas, and work on addressing current and future problems facing the planet.

"The FoodWise Challenge gives our younger generation, who are increasingly conscious of global food waste challenges, a chance to make a difference. They are important to reforming our current food systems and addressing a wide range of issues posed by modern life," says Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder & Managing Director at Goumbook.

"In 2019, Goumbook launched the Eat or Save It campaign. However, food waste is only one aspect of the food chain that must be addressed. Climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and water depletion are all exacerbated by food production, distribution, transportation and consumption," added Abella.

"The goal of The FoodWise Challenge is to achieve a behavioural shift that leads to more sustainable and healthier food choices, as well as to understand issues linked to food security and the relationship between food and sustainability, aligned with the UAE's National Food Security Strategy 2051," added Abella.

Abella stresses that young people are critical to transforming our current food systems because of their creative, imaginative minds and ability to think outside the box.

"The Food For Future Summit and Global Agtech Expo, which bring a first-ever strategic partnership between a government ministry from this region and the UN FAO, reinforce Dubai’s status as a driver of global food security change, so it is fitting that we have two homegrown changemaker leading the charge with the launch of these interactive campaigns," said Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President, Exhibitions and Events, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of the Food For Future Summit.

"The thought-provoking, action-oriented campaigns are a timely reminder to the world that we all have a role to play in creating sustainable food ecosystems, with latest FAO data stating that one third of the food produced for human consumption," he added.

News Source: Emirates News Agency