Food Forever Initiative
2017-2021
The wealth of food diversity in the world is incredible, but despite its immense value, we are losing more and more of this diversity every day. The Food Forever Initiative is a campaign to support Target 2.5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by raising awareness around crop and livestock diversity and its importance to a sustainable food future.
In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, containing 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved over the next 15 years. The main objectives of the SDGs are to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. The UN Resolution states, “this Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.”
The Crop Trust recognizes that agriculture underpins these objectives. Crop diversity in particular is the key to transform our food systems to become more sustainable and resilient despite the challenges imposed by climate change and a growing population.
Target 2.5 of the SDGs specifically recognizes the importance of agricultural biodiversity for this purpose:
By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
But there is one major problem with this vision: the world is losing agricultural biodiversity every day, and once lost it cannot be recovered. This is why the Crop Trust launched The Food Forever Initiative: Biodiversity for Resilient Food Systems, a public awareness campaign. The Crop Trust, in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands, provides the secretariat function and operational support to the initiative.
Food Forever brings together prominent individuals and organizations contributing to the implementation of SDG Target 2.5 to raise awareness on the fundamental importance of crop and livestock diversity. Food Forever Champions include leaders from governments, businesses, civil society and academia. Her Excellency Mercedes Aráoz, Vice-President of Peru, has graciously agreed to chair this Initiative.
Food Forever seeks to communicate the urgency of conserving and using agricultural biodiversity to new audiences.
Have you seen our Biodiversity for Resilience micro-video series?
Campaigns
The Food Forever Experiences
The Food Forever Experience is an international event series that gives a glimpse of the future of food. By working with innovative chefs to cook up lesser-known ingredients, we plant the seed for a more diverse, sustainable, and delicious future. Since the first Experience in New York in September 2018, world-renowned chefs and eaters have gathered in cities such as Chicago, London, Stockholm and Abu Dhabi to taste the future of food.
Chefs: 2030 for 2030
Chefs: 2030 for 2030 is a global campaign in partnership with the Chefs’ Manifesto that calls on chefs to advocate for the amazing wealth of diversity within our food system and to put it to use in their kitchens and beyond. The campaign’s aim is to inspire over 2,030 chefs to champion biodiversity by 2030 – the target year for achieving UN SDG 2 - Zero Hunger.
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