Blogs

Jeong Kwan is a Zen Buddhist nun. She’s also a chef famous for both her sustainable vegan recipes and her pure and sincere approach towards cooking. Our conversation touched upon everything from traditional Korean temple food to what we need to do to rebalance our food systems.

For our people and planet to flourish, we need agrobiodiversity: agricultural systems that enhance our wealth of ecosystems and living beings instead of diminishing it. Our work has long recognized the importance of agrobiodiversity for sustainable food systems, and now we’re taking this commitment even further.

To make sure we’re investing in what works and achieving maximum impact, we evaluated 17 of our project Impact Assessments to look for broader trends. The results have implications for everyone who works in rural development – from those on the ground to the donors who make this work possible.

It might seem counter-intuitive to suggest that agriculture should become more nutrition-sensitive – but many small-scale producers worldwide are at risk of food and nutrition insecurity. We’re committing to more ambitious goals for integrating nutrition into our investments and project activities.

Young people are the future of the world’s food systems, and they should therefore have a say in how the food systems of tomorrow should be configured. In China, youth have long been leading efforts to promote organic farming and sustainable consumption – and now, they’re beginning to act for change.