On Friday, Oct. 16, World Food Day, the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph will host one hour of the United Nations “Voices of Food Systems Live” 24-hour global relay conversation.

This all-day virtual event will bring together food experts from around the world, including celebrity chefs, small farmers, CEOs, youth activists and heads of state to discuss how to transform the world’s food systems in the next 10 years.

Prof. Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security, will host the 4-5 p.m. ET hour on the theme of the circular food economy.

He will be joined by chef Suzanne Barr, a leading advocate for BIPOC and LGBTQ communities, who will discuss her own cooking perspective and prepare a recipe demonstrating how to limit food waste.

Prof. Evan Fraser

Also joining will be Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture; Indigenous leader Larry McDermott, executive director of Plenty Canada; and Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, who will discuss how Indigenous Peoples and farmers are working on closing the food loop.

Fraser and graduate students will also offer a behind-the-scenes look at research that’s helping to reduce food waste as well as social enterprises working on food security challenges in local communities.

The Voices of Food Systems Live: 24-hour global relay conversation, produced by the Future Food Institute, is a one-of-a-kind event designed to encourage interactive discussion for World Food Day. Created by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Day promotes worldwide action to ensure healthy diets for all.

The relay conversation event also kicks off off a one-year countdown to the UN Food Systems Summit, which aims to find solutions and strategies to help meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

All sessions of Voices of Food Systems Live relay conversation will be broadcast via Zoom across Twitter, Facebook Live and YouTube.

Visit Eventbrite for more information, including registration details.

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