International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems

Last updated September 22, 2024

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) is an international non-profit association,^[1] with the goal to promote transition to sustainable food systems around the world and it was registered in Belgium in the year 2015. It was founded by Daniel et Nina Carasso,^[2] Olivier De Schutter, former UN special rapporteur on the right to food, and Emile Frison, former Director General of Bioversity International ^[3] to inform debates on food system reforms around the world. It conducts research focused in the domains of political economy, nutrition, climate change, ecology, agronomy, agroecology, and economics, as well as direct involvement in political processes.

History

IPES-Food is an international non-profit organization (“AISBL” in French) under Belgian law. It is composed of 24 panel members^[4] from different disciplines, including environmental scientists, development economists, nutritionists, agronomists, and sociologists, as well as experienced practitioners from civil society and social movements, originating from 18 countries across 5 continents.^[5]

The panel is co-chaired by Olivier De Schutter, who is also UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, and Lim Li Ching, a senior researcher at Third World Network. 22 further panel members form its General Assembly: Bina Agarwal, Molly Anderson, Jane Battersby, Million Belay, Nicolas Bricas, Joji Carino, Susan Chomba, Jennifer Clapp, Mamadou Goïta, Emile Frison, Shalmali Guttal, Hans Herren, Phil Howard, Melissa Leach, Desmond McNeill, Sofía Monsalve Suárez, Pat Mooney, Raj Patel, Elisabetta Recine, Ricardo Salvador, Jomo Sundaram, Nettie Wiebe. Prominent past members of the panel include: Johan Rockström, Claude Fischler, Martin Kohr, Corinna Hawkes. The experts are appointed by invitation, for a three year renewable mandate.

An administrative council is the executive body of the association, and is composed of the two co-chairs plus one to three members elected by the panel. It is supported by a small secretariat of 5 staff located in Brussels, under the responsibility of the co-chairs of IPES-Food.

IPES-Food’s work is guided by four principles: a holistic approach that addresses food systems in their entirety; a sustainability approach that includes environmental, health, social, cultural, and economic dimensions; a political economy approach that recognizes the power relations and influences exercised by actors within the food system; and a democratic approach to knowledge that identifies the value of state-of-the-art research in natural and social sciences, while recognizing the importance of experiential, indigenous and traditional knowledge.^[5]

The main way in which IPES-Food seeks to achieve change is by preparing and disseminating reports on different aspects of the global food system, which are rigorous in both empirical and analytical terms.^[6] These reports are heavily critical of the productivist approach to agriculture, demonstrating its negative impacts on the environment and human wellbeing. IPES-Food has advocated for agroecology.^[7]

Notable publications

“The New Science of Sustainable Food Systems” (2015) calls for a joined-up picture of food systems and their political economy as a unit of analysis.^[8]
“From Uniformity to Diversity” (2016) argues for a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems, and identifies ‘lock-ins’ blocking this transition.^[8]
“Too Big To Feed” (2017) explores the impacts of mega-mergers, consolidation and concentration of power in the agri-food sector.^[9]
“Unraveling the Food-Health Nexus” (2017) co-developed with the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, provides insight into the health impacts of industrial food systems and highlights the need for significant human health reforms.^[10]
“What Makes Urban Food Policy Happen?” (2017) draws lessons from five cities on how to overcome barriers to implementing sustainable food policies at the municipal level.^[11]
“Breaking away from industrial food and farming systems” (2018) compiles case studies of seven experiences of agroecological transitions around the world.^[12]
“Towards a Common Food Policy for the EU” (2019) proposes a Common Food Policy for the European Union to replace the Common Agriculture Policy, with policy reforms required in order to deliver sustainable food systems. It draws on the collective intelligence of more than 400 farmers, food entrepreneurs, civil society activists, scientists and policymakers consulted through a three-year process of research and deliberation.^[13]This report was endorsed by the European Parliament in a motion adopted in 2021 in favor of a EU farm to fork strategy.^[14]
“COVID-19 and the Crisis in Food Systems” (2020) draws insights from the weaknesses and inequalities in food systems exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and proposes structural reforms to build resilience to future shocks.^[15]
“Money Flows: What is holding back investment in agroecological research for Africa?” (2020) co-developed with Biovision and the Institute of Development Studies, analyzes financial flows in food and agricultural research in sub-Saharan Africa.^[16]
“The Added Value(s) of Agroecology: Unlocking the potential for transition in West Africa” (2020) identifies eight key obstacles to agroecology in West Africa, but also four leverage points. It draws on a three-year participatory research process with family farmers, researchers and policymakers in West Africa.^[17]
“A Long Food Movement: transforming food systems by 2045” (2021) published with ETC Group lays out a series of strategies for the food movement to build sustainable food systems over 25 years.^[18]
“The Politics of Protein” (2022) scrutinizes key claims about the future of protein (including livestock and alternative proteins), identifies five ways in which these claims result in oversimplified discussions, and sets out recommendations to reduce polarization.^[19]
“Another Perfect Storm?” (2022) takes stock of the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on global food security, highlighting the vicious cycles of climate change, conflict, poverty, and food insecurity that are leaving millions of people highly vulnerable to shocks.^[20]
“Smoke and Mirrors” (2022) examines competing framings of food system sustainability: agroecology, regenerative agriculture, and nature-based solutions.^[21]
“Breaking the Cycle of Unsustainable Food Systems, Hunger, and Debt” (2023) identifies unsustainable food systems as a critical factor behind rising debt and hunger today^[22]
“Who’s Tipping the Scales?” (2023) examines the implications of the growing influence of large agribusiness corporations on the international governance of food systems for people and the planet, criticizing multi-stakeholder governance.

Events

At the 2021 U.N. Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, IPES-Food launched the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration alongside 100 regional and subnational governments pledging to tackle the climate crisis through integrated food policies.^[23] During the 2022 U.N. Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, IPES-Food partnered with the Food4Climate Pavilion with Food Tank, Compassion in World Farming, FOUR PAWS, and ProVeg International.

In 2023, IPES-Food partnered with Compassion in World Farming and the Institute of Development Studies for the second Extinction Or Regeneration conference on Transforming food systems for human, animal and planetary health.

Funding

IPES-Food receives funding from the Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso, the Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le progrès de l'Homme, the 11th Hour Foundation, and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. It does not accept funding from governments or corporations, allowing the panel to deliver independent analysis.^[24]

Related Research Articles

Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is important to develop flexible business processes and farming practices. Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint, playing a significant role in causing climate change, water scarcity, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and other processes; it is simultaneously causing environmental changes and being impacted by these changes. Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without causing damage to human or natural systems. It involves preventing adverse effects on soil, water, biodiversity, and surrounding or downstream resources, as well as to those working or living on the farm or in neighboring areas. Elements of sustainable agriculture can include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation.

Agroecology is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The term can refer to a science, a movement, or an agricultural practice. Agroecologists study a variety of agroecosystems. The field of agroecology is not associated with any one particular method of farming, whether it be organic, regenerative, integrated, or industrial, intensive or extensive, although some use the name specifically for alternative agriculture.

A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology, involvement of family in labor and economic impact. There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farms in developing countries of the world alone, supporting almost two billion people. Smallholdings are usually farms supporting a single family with a mixture of cash crops and subsistence farming. As a country becomes more affluent, smallholdings may not be self-sufficient, but may be valued for providing supplemental sustenance, recreation, and general rural lifestyle appreciation. As the sustainable food and local food movements grow in affluent countries, some of these smallholdings are gaining increased economic viability in the developed world as well.

Food biodiversity is defined as "the diversity of plants, animals and other organisms used for food, covering the genetic resources within species, between species and provided by ecosystems."

Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization that delivers scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain global food- and nutrition security, working with partners in low-income countries in different regions where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation. In 2019, Bioversity International joined with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture to "deliver research-based solutions that harness agricultural biodiversity and sustainably transform food systems to improve people's lives". Both institutions are members of the CGIAR, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.

The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development, and agriculture. A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, distribution, and disposal of food and food-related items. It also includes the inputs needed and outputs generated at each of these steps.

Agroecology is an applied science that involves the adaptation of ecological concepts to the structure, performance, and management of sustainable agroecosystems. In Latin America, agroecological practices have a long history and vary between regions but share three main approaches or levels: plot scale, farm scale, and food system scale. Agroecology in Latin American countries can be used as a tool for providing both ecological, economic, and social benefits to the communities that practice it, as well as maintaining high biodiversity and providing refuges for flora and fauna in these countries. Due to its broad scope and versatility, it is often referred to as "a science, a movement, a practice."

Olivier De Schutter is a Belgian legal scholar specialising in economic and social rights. He served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food from 2008 to 2014. He is a Professor of international human rights law, European Union law and legal theory at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, as well as at the College of Europe and at Sciences Po in Paris. He was a regular visiting professor at Columbia University between 2008 and 2012 and has regularly contributed to the American University Washington College of Law's Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. He is the first chair of the Belgian Advisory Council on Policy Coherence for Development and he co-chairs the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), a group of experts from various disciplines and regions who work together towards developing proposals for food systems reform. A Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights between 2015 and 2020, he was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, and took up his functions on May 1, 2020.

Eric Holt Giménez is an agroecologist, political economist, lecturer and author. From 1975 to 2002 he worked in Mexico, Central America and South Africa in sustainable agricultural development. During this time he helped to start the Campesino a Campesino Movement. He returned to the U.S. twice during this period: once for his M.Sc. in international agricultural development and then for his Ph.D. in environmental studies. His dissertation research was the basis for his first book Campesino a Campesino: Voices from the farmer-to-farmer movement for sustainable agriculture in Latin America. After receiving his Ph.D. with an emphasis in agroecology and political economy, he taught as a university lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and Boston University in the International Honors Program in Global Ecology. He gives yearly courses of food systems transformation and social movements in Italy in the Masters program of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo and in the doctoral program at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Herald Tribune, Le Monde Diplomatique, La Jornada and The Des Moines Register. He has a blog on the Huffington Post.

Miguel Altieri is a Chilean born agronomist and entomologist. He is a Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations System.

Soil governance refers to the policies, strategies, and the processes of decision-making employed by nation states and local governments regarding the use of soil. Globally, governance of the soil has been limited to an agricultural perspective due to increased food insecurity from the most populated regions on earth. The Global Soil Partnership, GSP, was initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its members with the hope to improve governance of the limited soil resources of the planet in order to guarantee healthy and productive soils for a food-secure world, as well as support other essential ecosystem services.

Danielle J. Nierenberg is an American activist, author and journalist.

Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) is an international movement for young professionals. YPARD operates as a network in 72 countries through its chapters. This multi-stakeholder platform's main mission is to serve as a collective global network that enables young professionals to realize their full potential and contribute proactively towards innovative and sustainable agricultural development.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a set of farming methods that has three main objectives with regards to climate change. Firstly, they use adaptation methods to respond to the effects of climate change on agriculture. Secondly, they aim to increase agricultural productivity and to ensure food security for a growing world population. Thirdly, they try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture as much as possible. Climate-smart agriculture works as an integrated approach to managing land. This approach helps farmers to adapt their agricultural methods to the effects of climate change.

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is significant: The agriculture, forestry and land use sectors contribute between 13% and 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions come from direct greenhouse gas emissions. And from indirect emissions. With regards to direct emissions, nitrous oxide and methane makeup over half of total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. Indirect emissions on the other hand come from the conversion of non-agricultural land such as forests into agricultural land. Furthermore, there is also fossil fuel consumption for transport and fertilizer production. For example, the manufacture and use of nitrogen fertilizer contributes around 5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock farming is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, livestock farming is affected by climate change.

A number of movements seek to expand the practice of agroecology in West Africa. Agroecology is a scientific discipline, movement and practice that integrates ecology in agriculture with strong emphasis on diversification, food sovereignty, energy efficiency and sustainability. Agroecological practices apply the systems and knowledge that traditional farmers in the region have developed and inherited. The agroecological social movement empowers smallholder farmers that hold the knowledge of indigenous farming systems, however are recently engulfed by larger farms or are migrating to urban areas, looking for better paying jobs.

Jessica Fanzo is an American scientist. She is a Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia Climate School. Prior to joining Columbia in July 2023, she was the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. She was the first laureate of the Carasso Foundation’s Sustainable Diets Prize in 2012 for her research on sustainable food and diets for long-term human health. In 2024, Fanzo was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Academies' Science Advisory Council</span>

The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a regional association of National Academies of science. Its members are 25 National Science Academies of the Member States of the European Union (EU), and the National Science Academies of Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Malta and Luxembourg do not have National Academies of Science. A pan-European Academy (Academia Europaea) and a network of all Academies from across the continent of Europe (ALLEA) also have membership. EASAC was founded in June 2001 and was headquartered at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale) until 31 December 2022.

EcoAgriculture Partners is an international non-profit Washington D.C.-based organization that develops and implements integrated landscape management strategies for sustainable agriculture, food security, livelihood improvement, climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation.

References

↑ "IPES-Food Non-Profit Registration with the Belgian Government". kbopub.economie.fgov.be. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Panel international d'experts sur les systèmes alimentaires durables". Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "IPES-Food". www.globalagriculture.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "IPES food | Experts panel". ipes-food.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
1 2 "IPES-Food - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "IPES-Food - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems". European Commission. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ McNeill, Desmond (2019). "Reflections on IPES-Food: Can Power Analysis Change the World?". IDS Bulletin. 50 (2). doi: 10.19088/1968-2019.116 . hdl: 10852/76444 . S2CID 201347439 . Retrieved 2023-09-22.
1 2 Frison, Emile A.; Systems, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food (2016). From uniformity to diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems (Report). IPES.
↑ "Too big to feed | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Unravelling the Food–Health Nexus: addressing practices, political economy, and power relations to build healthier food systems - World | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ Hawkes, C.; Halliday, J. (2017-06-10). WHAT MAKES URBAN FOOD POLICY HAPPEN? Insights from five case studies (Report). International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.
↑ "Breaking away from industrial food and farming systems: Seven case studies of agroecological transition | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Towards a Common Food Policy for the European Union | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ HAZEKAMP, Herbert DORFMANN, Anja. "REPORT on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system | A9-0271/2021 | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ "COVID-19 and the crisis in food systems: symptoms, causes, and potential solutions | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Money Flows: What is holding back investment in agroecological research for Africa? | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "The Added Value(s) of Agroecology | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "A Long Food Movement: Transforming Food Systems by 2045 | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "The Politics of Protein: Examining claims about livestock, fish, 'alternative proteins' and sustainability | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "News | Porticus partner IPES-Food reports on food price crisis | Porticus". porticus.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Smoke & Mirrors | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ "Breaking the cycle of unsustainable food systems, hunger, and debt | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
↑ Canfield, Matthew; Anderson, Molly D.; McMichael, Philip (2021). "UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Dismantling Democracy and Resetting Corporate Control of Food Systems". Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 5. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.661552 . ISSN 2571-581X.
↑ "IPES Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems)- Forum Synergies". www.forum-synergies.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

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[1] "IPES-Food Non-Profit Registration with the Belgian Government". kbopub.economie.fgov.be. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[2] "Panel international d'experts sur les systèmes alimentaires durables". Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[3] "IPES-Food". www.globalagriculture.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[4] "IPES food | Experts panel". ipes-food.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[auto1-5] 1 2 "IPES-Food - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[6] "IPES-Food - International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems". European Commission. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[7] McNeill, Desmond (2019). "Reflections on IPES-Food: Can Power Analysis Change the World?". IDS Bulletin. 50 (2). doi: 10.19088/1968-2019.116 . hdl: 10852/76444 . S2CID 201347439 . Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[auto-8] 1 2 Frison, Emile A.; Systems, International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food (2016). From uniformity to diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agroecological systems (Report). IPES.

[9] "Too big to feed | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[10] "Unravelling the Food–Health Nexus: addressing practices, political economy, and power relations to build healthier food systems - World | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[11] Hawkes, C.; Halliday, J. (2017-06-10). WHAT MAKES URBAN FOOD POLICY HAPPEN? Insights from five case studies (Report). International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.

[12] "Breaking away from industrial food and farming systems: Seven case studies of agroecological transition | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[13] "Towards a Common Food Policy for the European Union | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[14] HAZEKAMP, Herbert DORFMANN, Anja. "REPORT on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system | A9-0271/2021 | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[15] "COVID-19 and the crisis in food systems: symptoms, causes, and potential solutions | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[16] "Money Flows: What is holding back investment in agroecological research for Africa? | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[17] "The Added Value(s) of Agroecology | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[18] "A Long Food Movement: Transforming Food Systems by 2045 | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[19] "The Politics of Protein: Examining claims about livestock, fish, 'alternative proteins' and sustainability | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[20] "News | Porticus partner IPES-Food reports on food price crisis | Porticus". porticus.com. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[21] "Smoke & Mirrors | FAO". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[22] "Breaking the cycle of unsustainable food systems, hunger, and debt | Knowledge for policy". knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

[23] Canfield, Matthew; Anderson, Molly D.; McMichael, Philip (2021). "UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Dismantling Democracy and Resetting Corporate Control of Food Systems". Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 5. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.661552 . ISSN 2571-581X.

[24] "IPES Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems)- Forum Synergies". www.forum-synergies.eu. Retrieved 2023-09-22.

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