[Kim]

Hi everyone!
Welcome to the Youth community page for the UN Food Systems Summit!

Let’s introduce ourselves!

I’m a researcher/ PhD Candidate in sustainable, healthy food systems. I’m based in Melbourne, Australia and am passionate about the impact of ultra-processed foods on the environment and human health. My background is in nutrition and dietetics, but I now work in both the disciplines of health and environmental science.

What is your area of interest? Where are you from?

Discussion

[Laura]

Hey! Welcome to the Youth Community. It is very nice to get to know you 🙂

Your educational background is quite interesting! Is there any specific topic related to your field that you would like to discuss? Maybe someone else would like to take part of the conversation if we set up an interesting discussion.

Now let me introduce myself. I am a microbiologist from Colombia and during my degree, I joint a research group, in which we worked with pathogenic bacteria producing diseases in cassava crops. I have a great interest in phytopathology and molecular biology, so I am seeking to study a MSc programm in biotechnology to work in plant breeding.

Hopefully I will learn a lot from you all!

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by  Laura Laverde.

[Kim]

Hi Laura,

Great to meet you via this platform!

So great to hear about your research, sounds very interesting and I would have so much to learn from you! Is there a particular region that you are focusing on? Are the pathogenic bacteria found in global food production or just in a specific area?

What would you like to see changed in the food system?

[Fjolla]

Hi y’all.

I’m Fjolla from Kosovo and am a recent grad (Food Technology). Interested in everything related to food and environment, especially producing healthy food in sustainable ways. Also, I volunteer for a organization, which, among other things, aims to raise public awareness about food waste by promoting composting and other ways to reduce it.

It’s pretty amazing to see members from different backgrounds connecting. Can’t wait to see everyone’s work, and why not, help each other, as well.

[Kim]

Hi Fjolla,

Great to hear from you. Sounds like you have lots of relevant expertise!

The organisation you are volunteering for sounds excellent. What is it called? What is your role there?

What would you like to see changed in the food system?

[Fjolla]

The organization is called Fondacioni Jeshil and beside raising awareness through social media, together with other volunteers we organize events (ENTROPY – Environmental Festival for Joint Prosperity was the last one) and participate in various activities of the organization. “Let’s Talk About Food Waste” is a project that is being implemented these days.

The region where I live is known for cultivating fruits, vegetables and medical plants. Every year, a very large amount of them is lost or wasted, as a result of bad policies among other things. Buying locally more, not only would help farmers economically, but it would be better for the environment and the consumers (fresh and healthier food) as well.

[Kim]

Hi Fjolla,

Thanks for sharing, sounds like an excellent organisation to be involved in. So important to have people working on these issues in every country around the world 🙂

[Renee]

Hi all! Really happy to see that this space is launched! I am a Dutch young professional working at the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement Secretariat in Geneva. At SUN I am supporting a small youth coalition to engage in the Food Systems Summit. Feel free to reach out anytime.

[Kim]

Welcome Renee!

That’s awesome that you are working on this within SUN!
What are the main focuses of this group? Do you have any key goals for what you would like to get out of the summit?
Feel free to reach out if there is anything we can help with. And please invite your fellow SUN members to join us on this platform ?

[Renee]

Hi Kim!

So from the secretariats perspective we are mainly bringing young people together in the SUN movement to support them to engage in the FSS in a meaningful way and vice-versa make sure that youth is considered in effort by the SUN Movement.

Feel free to reach out anytime!

Best,

Renee

[Kim]

Sounds excellent Renee!

[Richard]

Hi everyone!

I am a PhD Candidate in sustainable development, and I am particularly interested in urban food activism and alternative food networks. I’m based in St Andrews, Scotland. My background is in political science, but in my research I will approach my topic from a sustainable development, urban geography perspective.

Excited to see all of you starting to kick off the conversation. What brings you here and what motivates you to participate in the summit?

Best,

Richard

[Kim]

Hi Richard,

Happy Friday! Thanks for joining us here. Your PhD sounds fascinating. I can’t wait to hear more. Do you have specific research planned? What are your goals throughout your degree?

For me, the food systems summit is an opportunity to engage in a positive discussion on shaping our future food systems. As a dietitian with a big passion for the environment, my ideal food system would be based on minimally processed foods, which use less resources and are healthier for all. Also moving away from a homogenous food supply which predominantly serves transnational food giants, rather than the farmers, and workers who are putting in the work along the way. A food supply based on wholefoods, rather than ultra-processed foods, would achieve these objectives.

That’s my dream! What’s yours?

[Richie]

Hello!

While I found this community a little later than most of you, I am very happy to be here. I am from Chicago and I am currently a student in the University of South Carolina’s Honors College.

I am creating my own major in Food Policy, History, and Culture. It is definitely challenging to forge my own academic path, but it is incredibly exciting to follow my passion for food!

I hope to connect with you all as I learn more about food policy. If you have any suggestions on what I should explore in the Food Systems Summit Community or beyond, please let me know!

Best,

Richie Holmberg

[Robert]

Hi everyone I am Robert Budianto from Indonesia, you guys can call me Rob. I am a Chemical Engineer turned agropreneur. Trained in double degree MSc. Food and Agricultural Management from Audencia Business School, Nantes, France and MBA from Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

My company buys exotic fruits in a fair trade price from our farmers and sell it to over 20 countries with France and Russia being our biggest markets at the moment. Mangosteen or also known as the queen of fruit is our star product, have you got the chance to try it? Please let me know?

Cheers,

Rob

[Kim]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for joining us! I had to google mangosteen as I’ve never tried it. What a neat-looking fruit! What does it taste like? I bet it’s delicious!

[Sharlaine]

Hi youth! I’m really glad to connect with all of you 🙂

I am a recent Master of Public Health graduate. My background is in nutrition and dietetics and I am trained as a dietitian. I’m really interested in food literacy, food insecurity, food justice, advocacy and nutrition promotion.

@kimanastasiou so great to hear your interest in UPFs and health. I actually wrote a short paper about UPF consumption reduction strategy in Canada – my “radical solution” was a reduced hour work week policy.

@rmb37 Hi Richard! I would love to hear more about your research. I think urban food activism is so cool! Food can very political. Have you heard of guerilla gardening?

[Kim]

Hi @sharlaine How great that you have a paper on this topic! Could you share the link?

The reduced work week is such a clever proposed solution. More time for food prep would be a great thing. Do you feel that you’ve been working more since covid? With all the lockdowns and limited ability to do other things, I feel the work week is getting longer, not shorter! What do you think?

[Sharlaine]

I don’t have a link to the paper since it wasn’t published – it was just a school assignment.

But yes I agree that it can feel like the work week is getting longer when you work from home. Time tends to blur when your work place is also your home. There is no definitive ” time line” like when you used to work in an office. However I do think having a separate space dedicated only to work helps a lot!

[Kim]

Ah no worries! Sounds like a good proposed solution nonetheless 🙂

Yes, a good point. Having a dedicated workspace is super important, but a luxury that not everyone has.

[isaac]

Salut la communauté ! Je suis vraiment heureux de communiquer avec vous tous

Je suis diplômé d’une License professionnelle en politique agricole. Je cumule 4 ans d’expérience dans le développement des chaînes de valeurs intégrées. Je m’intéresse vraiment à l’insécurité alimentaire et l’autonomisation des populations rurales.

[Kim]

Nice to meet you Isaac! Such a great area that you’re working in. Agricultural policies are super important to change food systems to make them more equitable, healthy and sustainable.