The global food system needs a massive overhaul – this was clear before the Covid pandemic and it is even more true today.

Feeding the world in a sustainable and healthy way is entirely possible but it is also inextricably linked to tackling the climate crisis by reaching net zero emissions, and to halting the dizzying decline in bio-diversity which is currently threatening the survival of one million plant and animal species.

And yet nearly two years after the onset of the pandemic, collectively we are acting as if we are unaware of lessons learned or, in worst cases, turning our backs on them. We can’t pretend that it is possible to go back to normal. That ‘normality’, at least for the better-off, papered over the cracks in reality. 

That reality, exacerbated by Covid-19, is a looming global food emergency, triggered by a combination of climate extremes, economic shocks of rising food prices and joblessness, as well as protracted armed conflicts.