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The I-TrACE principles for legitimate food systems science–policy–society interfaces

Nature Food volume 4, pages 128–129 (2023)Cite this article

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The final statement of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General at the close of the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) made clear that no new institutions would be created to address food security matters at the international level1. Instead, a Coordination Hub that facilitates interaction among existing UN bodies was launched at the start of 2022 and was tasked with assisting states in their quest to implement their national pathways for food systems transformation developed as part of the UNFSS process2. These bodies include the Rome-based food agencies — the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development — along with the World Health Organization, the UN Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Coordination Office, in collaboration with the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and its High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN).

The Coordination Hub will be supported by a ‘science ecosystem of support’ to ensure that any advice it provides is based on sound science. As part of this effort, a collaborative ‘Scientific Advisory Committee’ (SAC) has been assembled, which comprises some members of HLPE-FSN (including several of us), some former members of the Scientific Group of the UNFSS and other scientists.

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Acknowledgements

We are all current members of the Steering Committee of the HLPE-FSN of the UN CFS. J.C., B.L. and H.E. have been appointed to the SAC of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. We acknowledge feedback on the paper draft from É. Nicolétis and discussions with members of the Steering Committee of the HLPE-FSN over the 2020–2022 period on related themes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Jennifer Clapp

  2. Swiss Academy of Sciences, Berne, Switzerland

    Bernard Lehmann

  3. ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Bernard Lehmann

  4. Geography Department, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, USA

    William Moseley

  5. Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Hilal Elver

  6. Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Hilal Elver

  7. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA

    Patrick Webb

Authors
  1. Jennifer Clapp
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  2. Bernard Lehmann
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  3. William Moseley
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  4. Hilal Elver
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  5. Patrick Webb
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Contributions

Conceptualization: J.C., B.L., W.M., H.E. and P.W. Visualization: J.C. Writing — original draft: J.C. and B.L. Writing — review and editing: W.M., H.E. and P.W.

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Correspondence to Jennifer Clapp.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Clapp, J., Lehmann, B., Moseley, W. et al. The I-TrACE principles for legitimate food systems science–policy–society interfaces. Nat Food 4, 128–129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00686-6

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