Event Information

COVID-19 has exasperated efforts to improve food and nutrition security around the world, demonstrating our food systems are not prepared to withstand shocks. As research agendas pivot to COVID-19 response, recovery and resilience; our challenge is not to restore the old food systems but to transform them to do better for people and planet. 
 
Aquatic foods must be part of this solution. They are highly regenerative and naturally rich in the micronutrients that humans need. Despite their importance, aquatic food systems are frequently overlooked in important policy and investment decisions due to the critical gaps in knowledge needed to address the complex challenges set out in the 2030 global sustainable development agenda, made now even more urgent by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
This discussion forum, hosted by WorldFish and partners, seeks to build a concerted, science-based approach to ensure aquatic foods are an integral part of the response and recovery to COVID-19 and the transformation of global food systems towards healthier and sustainable diets. 

Opening Remarks

• Gareth Johnstone, Director General, WorldFish

Moderator

• Tana Lala-Pritchard, Director of Communications and Marketing, WorldFish

Panelists

• Manuel Barange, Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy and Resources Division, FAO 
• Gina Kennedy, Director of Food Systems, USAID Advancing Nutrition
• Robert Bertram, Chief Scientist, Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, USAID 
• Belinda Richardson, Program Officer, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• Jim Leape, William and Eva Price Senior Fellow, Co-Director, Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

• Shakuntala Thilsted, Value Chains & Nutrition Research Leader, WorldFish