When: 14 November 2024, 9.30- 16.30 CET
Where: European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels, Belgium
REGISTER HERE
This event is organised by EBCD in partnership with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and sponsored by the Xunta de Galicia.
The EU is an important food exporter to the world. We know that aquatic foods are healthy foods, whether for human health or environmental impact. Hunger and malnutrition across the globe are far from being resolved and, there are growing risks that are dramatically aggravating food security worldwide. Pandemics, wars, climate change and biodiversity loss illustrate the vulnerability of our food systems to external factors. The need for resilient and sustainable food systems is essential to ensure food security and is becoming even more relevant with a population expecting to increase by nearly 2 billion people in the next 30 years (UN). At the same time, the climate-food systems nexus has become part of the discussions in the global processes. At the UNFCCC COP 28, more than 150 countries signed a declaration on Sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action thereby strongly linking the issue of climate change and food systems. In this context, aquatic foods play a considerable role, as they contribute to many UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Indeed, aquatic foods are an important source of long chain fatty acids, high quality proteins, and essential micronutrients important to human health; while the world will need 50% more food by 2030 due to a rising population (FAO), aquatic foods constitute essential components of a healthy diet. All in all, as aquatic products have a lower carbon footprint than any other animal production industry, fisheries and aquaculture sectors represent real assets to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis as well as to provide healthy food and livelihoods to a growing worldwide population.
This conference will demonstrate how aquatic foods contribute to achieving our climate objectives and ensure food security while, making food systems more sustainable and resilient. It will help us understand the key challenges and obstacles for aquatic foods such as space-squeeze, energy transition, etc, as well as how to increase the consumption of a variety of sustainable produced aquatic foods as part of a healthy diet. It will enable knowledge-holders to interact, as well as to bring about key transformative recommendations to further build sustainable and resilient food systems. Therefore, scientists, academia, policymakers actors in the entire aquatic food system value chain, civil society and representatives of international organisations will be encouraged to participate.
