Introducing the FoodDiplomacy Network

Guest blog by Stefanos Fotiou, he is an international development and sustainability strategist with three decades of experience at the intersection of economic policy, environmental sustainability, and global governance. Over twenty of those years were spent inside the UN system, where he served in senior and director-level roles across three agencies — UNEP, UNESCAP and FAO — working at the table where global sustainability policy is shaped, negotiated and brought to life. First published here.

Food is no longer just about agriculture or trade. It is about power, sovereignty and global stability.

Multiple crises have exposed how fragile and politically contested food systems have become — and how quickly disruptions in food, energy and supply chains can destabilise economies, governments and societies.

Yet global governance still approaches food mainly as a technical issue. The deeper political questions — who controls food systems, who bears the risks, and who is left vulnerable — remain largely unanswered.

Today, we are taking the first step in building the 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 — a global intellectual and convening platform for governments, civil society, business and academia to think beyond silos, confront political realities and help shape a new era of global food governance.

We believe food must be treated as a matter of statecraft, alongside energy, defence and foreign policy. Food security, food sovereignty and sustainability are inseparable.

Our first step it to publish the 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼 — a statement of what we stand for and why.

📄 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/d3JABqc3


"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦."

I am building the 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 around an Initiators' Circle of leaders who helped shape its foundations:
 • Ibrahim Mayaki, Special Envoy on Food Systems, African Union
• Jose Graziano da Silva, Director General, Instituto Fome Zero
• Inaya Ezzeddine, MD, MP. , Member, Parliament of Lebanon
• David Lane, Former USA Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies in Rome
 • Spyros Kintzios, Rector, Agricultural University of Athens (AUA)
 • Janet Salem, Founder, FootprintLab
• Ruben G. Echeverria, Sr. Advisor, Agricultural Research for Development
 • Nantaporn T., Associate Director, Global FoodBanking Network
 • Spyros Flogaitis, Director, EPLO European Public Law Organization

The Network is affiliated with the EPLO and AUA, who have expressed their commitment to jointly support it — combining the institutional gravitas of an international, treaty-based organisation with the academic excellence of one of Europe's leading institutions in agricultural and food sciences.

We are at the beginning. Much remains to be shaped.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

📲 Follow our LinkedIn page: https://lnkd.in/d-aniWQC