For years, food systems transformation has been guided by shared global visions, grounded in the idea that sustainable food production and consumption are essential to a resilient, healthy and equitable future. But progress has stalled – and in some places it’s even gone into reverse.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), around 673 million people faced hunger in 2024. More than 2.3 billion experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, and 2.6 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet.

As global cooperation fragments and geopolitical tensions reshape national priorities, food systems are increasingly governed less by shared global visions such as the Sustainable Development Goals, and more by power, security, trade and finance.

In this episode of Think Change, senior leaders examine what this shift means for the future of food systems governance, exploring who shapes the rules, how competing political priorities are redefining cooperation, and what choices will determine resilience, equity and sustainability in the decade ahead.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli,  President & CEO, the ONE Campaign
• Maryam Rezaei, Food systems lead, Research Fellow, ODI Global
• Anna Taylor, CEO, The Food Foundation

Related resources

• Five forces reshaping food systems in 2026 (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Politics, power, and the slow march to just agrifood systems (Expert comment, ODI Global)
• Healthy islands and islanders: towards a new paradigm for integrating climate change, food security and nutrition in Small Island Developing States (Policy brief, ODI Global)