Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)

Ireland Day led by University College Dublin as part of the Science Summit at UNGA78 brings international experts together at the Irish Permanent Mission to the United Nations to discuss the important role of research and collaboration in attaining the UN SDGs and examine how Ireland is contributing to these global objectives in Achieving Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems, Deliberative Democracies and Health Cooperation Post Conflict.

Our current food systems fall short in meeting the necessary economic, social, and environmental requirements for ensuring food security and nutrition for everyone. They face urgent and complex challenges, both locally and globally. Our food supplies are constantly disrupted by extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, floods, droughts, and conflicts. 

World leaders participating in the UN Food System Summit in October 2021, reached a consensus: a radical transformation of our food system is necessary to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and effectively tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change, malnutrition, and obesity.

Two years later and two years closer to the 2030 deadline, where are we on the sustainable food systems transformation journey? What’s working, what’s not and what can we learn from each other? Ireland is known for being the “green island”, a traditional farming and food production system that lies at the heart of an indigenous agri-food economy with food being one of our greatest exports. How can answering the question about how we transform our own system and the difficulties we face help us and help others globally facing similar challenges? Our panel of leading experts will address how we find a sustainable, equitable food system that can feed people and the planet.