by Diana Winters
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the day the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic, and over this past year, the preexisting weaknesses, incapacities, and inequities of the national and global food system have been glaringly evident. From food and supply shortages, to disease outbreaks in meat production facilities, to the breakdown in school lunch distribution networks, to an enormous rise in food insecurity, the pandemic emergency brought the dangers of consolidation in the food system and shortsighted agricultural and nutrition policy to the forefront of public awareness.
Two recent reports, one by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, and one by the Center for Good Food Purchasing, have outlined roadmaps toward a stronger food system.
Food Forward NYC is organized around five goals supporting a framework to lead to a ore healthy, equitable, and sustainable food system in a decade’s time. These goals are: (1) All New Yorkers have multiple ways to access healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food; (2) New York City’s food economy drives economic opportunity and provides good jobs; (3) The supply chains that feed New York City are modern, efficient, and resilient; (4) New York City’s food is produced, distributed, and disposed of sustainably; and to (5) Support the systems and knowledge to implement the 10-year food policy plan. Each of these goals will require collaboration among multiple stakeholders, and the Office of Food Policy will issue a biennial report as to the City’s progress.
The Good Food Purchasing Program roadmap for the post-pandemic food system we need also posits a ten-year timeframe for the building of a stronger and better food system. The roadmap is built around five core values that support the Center for Good Food Purchasing’s program: Valued Workforce; Local Economies; Animal Welfare; Nutrition; and Environmental Sustainability, all of which are guided by equity, transparency, and accessibility. The roadmap is organized around three key pillars of success: (1) the power of partnerships; (2) shared goals and infrastructure, and; (3) transformational policies.
Both of these reports seek to utilize the observations and lessons drawn from the pandemic emergency’s impact on the food system so that as we rebuild, we recreate as well.
On Food Law 