22nd Annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium:
Global Food Systems and Sustainable Nutrition in the 21st Century

Thank you to all who attended this symposium!

Read the Harvard Gazette Report
Watch the event recordings

Tuesday, June 15, 2021
8:00am to 5:30pm EST
This event was held virtually.

The NORCH is pleased to announce the topic for this year’s symposium: Global Food Systems and Sustainable Nutrition in the 21st Century. We have an outstanding lineup of speakers who are experts in the fields of public health, global food systems, nutritional inequities, and sustainable nutrition. The full list of speakers can be found below. Click here to download the official event flyer.

 

Speaker List

Agenda is subject to change. 

Introduction

Steven Grinspoon, MD
Director, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard

Keynote Speaker

From Family Farms to Global Food Systems: Where Will Food Come From in 2021?
Jessica Fanzo, PhD
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics, Johns Hopkins University

Session 1: Global Food Systems and Public Health

Moderators: Marie-France Hivert, MD, MMSc and Kathleen Fitch, MSN, Harvard Medical School

Global Food Systems, Malnutrition, and Obesity
Lindsay Jaacks, PhD
Senior Lecturer, The University of Edinburgh

Global Food Systems and Systemic Inequity: Who Do These Systems Serve?
Nicholas Nisbett, PhD
Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, UK

Global Food Systems and Zoonotic Disease
Delia Grace Randolph, PhD
Professor of Food Safety Systems, University of Greenwich; UK Contributing Scientist, International Livestock Research Institute

Structural Barriers to Accessing Healthy Food: Current Evidence from the U.S. and Abroad
Chelsea R. Singleton, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois

Session 2: Global Food Systems and Climate Change

Moderator: Christopher Golden, PhD, MPH, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Interaction Between Crops and Climate
Peter Huybers, PhD
Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University

Effect of Climate Change on Global Food Security
Molly E. Brown, PhD
Research Professor, University of Maryland College Park Department of Geographical Sciences

Session 3: Moving Forward – Individual and Collective Actions toward Sustainable Nutrition

Moderator: Christopher Duggan, MD, MPH, Boston Children’s Hospital

What Does an Environmentally Sustainable Diet Look Like?
Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 

Is a Healthy and Sustainable Diet Affordable?
William A. Masters, PhD
Professor, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Transition Steps Towards Healthy Sustainable Food Systems: What We Can Do Now
Patrick Webb, PhD
Professor, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Three Visions for an Environmentally Sustainable and Equitable Food System

Vision: An Environmentally Sustainable and Equitable Food System for Africa
Namukolo Covic, PhD
Senior Research Staff, International Food Policy Research Institute

A Future Food System
Tim Benton, PhD
Professor, Chatham House

Systemic Thinking for Holistic Solutions to the Nutrition Challenge
Ruth A. Richardson
Executive Director, Global Alliance for the Future of Food