News of the Global Young Academy

IAP publish global perspective on food and nutrition security and agriculture

The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) have published a global report on the “Opportunities for future research and innovation on food and nutrition security and agriculture – The InterAcademy Partnership’s global perspective” based on four previously published reports by their regional networks in Asia (AASSA), Europe (EASAC), the Americas (IANAS) and Africa (NASAC).

In this truly global report, the 130 national academies of science and medicine who make up IAP, urge policy-makers to take immediate action on climate change to improve the sustainability of global food systems. The authors call for an end to business-as-usual and urge leaders to look to science to drive innovation and inform policy. The report recommends that a number of changes are necessary, e.g. in relation to climate-smart food systems, science advisory mechanisms or the future collaboration between the natural and social sciences.

This report unites the voices of 130 national academies of science and medicine across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. It addresses pressing issues currently facing humanity around the world, including:

Why the national academies of science and medicine urge policy-makers to take immediate action on climate change to improve the sustainability of global food systems
Why the current approach to food, nutrition, agriculture, and the environment is unsustainable and must change
How the climate impacts of farming, agriculture, and food consumption could be mitigated
How food consumption must change to improve both consumers’ health and environmental sustainability
Why current approaches to food systems are currently missing out by not consistently incorporating research and innovation into food and agriculture’s environmental and health impacts
How policymakers and society can benefit from listening to scientists – including natural scientists and social scientists on these issues

With this global project, the IAP member academies have produced four regional reports along with a global synthesis that highlights the similarities and differences between the regions, providing advice and recommendations for implementation at global, regional and national levels. A core part of this IAP activity, therefore, was to combine the twin goals of delivering strong, consensus messages at the global level, with clarification of the scientific basis of current disparities in policy expectations and objectives and future options in different regions of the world.