I am fully convinced of the power of food systems to transform lives of smallholder households and communities, and to bring about changes to entire economies

Ms Agnes Kalibata, UN Special Envoy for the Food System’s Summit

With our extensive expertise and networks in the food system space, we have developed a portfolio of related projects working with and for partners such as the UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat, the Global Alliance on Improved Nutrition, WWF, the Institute on Science for Global Policy, the European Commission and Parliament, FAO, WFP, Euroseeds and the Royal Veterinary College.

Current and recent projects

LSE Consulting’s FSSH has been successful in winning a two-year contract with the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Food Safety between 2020 and 2023. The planned multiple Framework service contract is intended to support the work of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) in the European Parliament by enabling it to request written expertise (research papers) as well as workshops in the areas of competence of the ENVI Committee. Outputs shall be used inter alia for the compilation of data and knowledge, cost-benefit analysis and impact assessments and for outlining and evaluating policies and legislation relevant to the given Committee's work. It is designed both to strengthen the Committee's knowledge and ability to respond to Commission proposals and to provide a solid basis for some of the Committee's own initiatives. Importantly, expertise shall focus on policy options, based on factual and documented evidence and sound analysis, relevant to the work of the European Parliament.

This contract covers all issues related to food safety policies, among them, in particular: the safety, hygiene, labelling and traceability of food and feed stuffs, including official controls at all stages of the food chain, as well as food fraud; animal health measures, including veterinary legislation concerning the protection against risks to human health; phytosanitary and quality standards for plants and plant products; and novel foods, genetically modified food and feed stuffs, food improvement agents, food contact materials, food contamination.

LSE Consulting’s FSSH has been successful in winning a two-year contract with the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Food Safety between 2021 and 2023. The objective of this framework contract is to procure, by means of specific contracts, timely and high quality services to support economic and regulatory analysis, impact assessments, evaluation and monitoring of health and food safety policies.

DG SANTE strives to protect human, animal and plant health, promote a high level of food and animal feed safety, contribute to the Union’s efforts to ensure sustainable food systems and enable the health and food sectors to achieve their full economic potential. DG SANTE’s mission supports the Commission’s priorities for sustainability, growth, and competitiveness in two of the EU’s most important economic sectors – health and food. Health and food safety are of paramount importance to achieve two of the general objectives set out in President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines - A European Green Deal and Promoting Our European Way of Life.

The LSE’S FSSH has been contracted by the Global Alliance on Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to support city-level governments across South American, European, African, and Asian countries in identifying priorities in consequence of the UN Food Systems Summit and in preparation for the Nutrition 4 Growth Summit 2021. The webinar will be followed by a short report summarising key issues as well as actionable next steps for how cities can continue to engage in the lead-up to N4G and COP26.

The European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety has commissioned LSE to investigate what types and magnitude of zoonotic disease risks livestock production poses, what lessons have been learned from past zoonotic pandemics, what recommendations science might provide for managing the risk of future pandemics, and what can be optimised in terms of prevention and control by using existing instruments.

In accordance with the scope of Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents, this report will examine how livestock production might be related to pandemics of both endemic, emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. It will provide an overview of the public health risks posed by – and lessons learned – from past epidemics.

LSE has been contracted by the Global Alliance on Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to explore opportunities for city level engagement at global food system policy forums. Given the expected growth in urban residence, engaging cities in food system sustainability will be key to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Recognising that each of the SDGs is, to some degree, linked to food systems, the UN Secretary-General will convene a Food Systems Summit as part of the Decade of Action to achieve them. This event coincides with numerous other global forums taking place in 2021 that provide cities with a credible opportunity to further engage. To support this work, LSE Consulting provides GAIN with a background review of city engagement in global forums with the aim of identifying potential common principles across food system related instruments.

The report is expected in Summer 2021.

The Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP) commissioned LSE to implement the project “The Future of Modern Agriculture (FMA)” funded by the U.S. Department of State in coordination with its U.S. Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome. While stakeholders gathered in Rome, Italy, health and travel concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic led the FMA programme to be held in a hybrid in-person/internet format to optimise global participation. The project sought to engage major public, private, and third sector communities involved in global food and agricultural systems to evaluate the roles of modern agricultural technologies and agroecology in meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

While the world’s food and agricultural systems have benefited from vast scientific and technological progress in the past decades, the current global food system continues to face critical challenges in achieving food security in many regions of the world. Existing disparities risk being exacerbated in the coming decades of population growth and environmental stressors. This is exemplified by the current threats posed to food security by COVID-19. Both scientific and technological innovations as well as traditional approaches (often rooted in cultural knowledge and agroecological methods) provide promise for alleviating growing pressure on agricultural systems worldwide. Realising these opportunities is key to addressing the challenge of achieving global food security while simultaneously improving environmental resilience.

Read more about the programme

LSE was commissioned by the Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP) to support on the project “Sustainable Agriculture: The Role of Plant Breeding Innovation (SA-PBI)”. This was a joint project funded by both the American Seed Trade Association and Euroseeds.

As a transatlantic dialogue, the ISGP/SA-PBI programme engaged key stakeholders and subject-matter experts from across the scientific, technological, private sector, governmental, and public advocacy communities within Europe and the United States. Participants expressed diverse perspectives and priorities in critical discussions on the current realities and future of innovation in plant breeding and sustainable agriculture, considering the urgency of a diversity of factors (e.g. increasingly scarce resources, a growing global population, shifts in pest and disease presence) affecting the sustainability of global food and agricultural systems.

Read more about the programme

LSE was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund UK to investigate how wider economic and societal transformations can impact the food system and affect its sustainability. In the past decades, much attention has been devoted to sustainability issues that arise within the food and agriculture sectors (core food system), e.g. food security, agricultural and food policies, agricultural practices, and productivity. Yet, less is known about the forces that influence sustainability from outside the core food system.

Our study has identified four key economic and societal changes and trends, external to the core food system, that are expected to dominate the policy landscape in the coming years and can affect the sustainability of the food system:

1)     poverty, inequality, and social security
2)     the pressing need for climate change mitigation actions
3)     the increasing use of preferential or regional trade agreements
4)     changes in lifestyles as key transformations

Our analysis relies on a literature review guided by a unifying conceptual framework that illustrates how the food system is impacted by wider societal and economic changes through five main mechanisms:

1)     food prices
2)     consumption choices
3)     land-use changes and agricultural decisions
4)     institutional changes
5)     technological changes