Enhancing the Circularity of Food Systems
ENVFORUM ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2021: Circular Food Systems – Solutions to Reserve Climate Change?
Circular economy has gained increasing attention in sustainable development discussions at national, regional and international levels. This concept is of great importance in the food sector as conventional food systems are particularly vulnerable to climate change on the one hand while acting as one of the major factors contributing to climate change on the other hand, and a transition toward circular economy would ensure food security and food safety for a growing global population in a sustainable way.
Mr Markus Ferber – Chairman of HSF gave welcome remark as one of the organisers of the conference
HSF
This topic was thoroughly discussed during two days of the online international conference co-organised by the ENVforum – a partnership of Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center (ASEIC), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).
In his welcome remarks, Mr Markus Ferber, Chairman of the HSF considered circular economy as “a building-back-better and greener approach in the Post-Covid-19 era” which “will also play a significant role in reaching carbon neutrality in the future”. Meanwhile, Mr O’Connor – Director of SEI suggested three approaches to answer the question: “How are we going to feed a growing global population?”, emphasising the central role of great collaboration among all stakeholders, public awareness of sustainable consumption and production, and agricultural innovations in ensuring food security for the current and future generations.
Dr Gerd Müller gave keynote remark during the opening session
HSF
In his keynote remarks, Dr Gerd Müller – Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany highlighted that “the fight against hunger and the fight against climate change are two sides of the same coin” and referred to circular economy as a solution for both issues as it “can promote healthy nutrition for all and at the same time protect the ecosystem”.
During two days of the conference, representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector from Asia and Europe engaged in enlightening presentations and discussions on various aspects of food systems related to climate change, exchanged their experiences of applying sustainable practices in food systems and, and provided many recommendations and solutions for promoting a just and inclusive transition towards circular economy in the food system.
Stream 2: SMEs Role in Circular Food Production
HSF
The main part of the conference consisted of four parallel thematic discussions on agriculture, SMEs role in circular food production, food policy and security, and international food trade. The discussions were live-streamed on the main platform of the ENVforum Annual Conference 2021, Youtube, and Facebook, allowing public audience to submit their solutions for a sustainable food system via Padlet.
Watch the thematic streams and add your solutions for each streams using the links below:
Stream 1: Agriculture
- Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIjrLLzTx8Y
- Padlet: padlet.com/env3/stream1
Stream 2: SMEs & Food circularity
Stream 3: Food Policy & Security
- Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrsMlh63o5k
- Padlet: padlet.com/env3/stream3
Stream 4: International Food Trade