The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) has entered into a strategic partnership with the EAT Stockholm Food Forum. GFAR provides a forum for experts and organizations around the world to share agricultural research and create positive change. EAT is an international network made up of experts on sustainable food, nutrition, and health. By teaming together, GFAR and EAT hope to lead an integrated approach to increasing the sustainability and nutritional value of food.
Dr. Gunhild Anker Stordalen, director of EAT, recently spoke about her organization and the reasons behind this new alliance.
The partnership between GFAR and EAT was natural and necessary, Dr. Stordalen said. The two forums often deal with overlapping material, collaborate with similar people, and have matching visions for the future. However, both forums could benefit from broadening their scopes by sharing specialized information on agriculture and nutrition to create what Stordalen calls a “space for common strategies and solutions.” Ultimately, she says, it made sense to “align forces towards a common goal and a healthy and more sustainable global food system.”
According to Stordalen, “one of the objectives of EAT is to increase the multi-disciplinary knowledge platform, stimulating more interdisciplinary research, but also to ensure this knowledge is transformed into concrete action.” EAT aims to work with the private and public sector, with businesses and politicians, to create real change through the food industry and government. The first annual EAT Stockholm Food Forum took place this May, and as promised, hosted a variety of prominent speakers from all sectors of society.
Stordalen says that there is a real need for a network like EAT. Partnering with GFAR to share, coordinate, and integrate ideas from all across the food and agriculture spectrum is a “bi-lateral win-win,” says Stordalen.
