EAT Forum

EAT Forum
Name	EAT Forum
Formation	2016
Type	International non-profit
Headquarters	Oslo, Norway
Region served	Global
Leader title	Executive Director

EAT Forum EAT Forum is an international initiative that connects public health, food systems, agriculture, and environmental science to transform how the world produces and consumes food. It convenes researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations to advance science-based policies and practices for sustainable diets, planetary health, and food system resilience.

Overview

EAT Forum operates at the intersection of actors such as World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, European Commission, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Wellcome Trust. Its networks include academic institutions like Harvard University, Wageningen University and Research, University of Oxford, Stanford University, and Karolinska Institutet as well as corporations such as Unilever, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Mars, Incorporated, and Danone. It engages with policy fora including United Nations General Assembly, UN Climate Change Conference, G20, World Economic Forum, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to influence global agendas on food systems, nutrition, and sustainability.

History and Development

EAT Forum was launched in 2016 following dialogues involving actors like Rockefeller Foundation, Stavanger Municipality, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Investment Bank, and research partners such as New York University, Imperial College London, University of Copenhagen, and Australian National University. Early milestones included convenings with leaders from United Nations Secretary-General offices, representatives from Sustainable Development Goals Summit, and collaborations with initiatives like One Planet Summit and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The initiative’s development incorporated scientific inputs from committees chaired by experts affiliated with Columbia University, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, and McKinsey & Company advisors, and it scaled through partnerships with philanthropic actors such as Children's Investment Fund Foundation.

Mission and Activities

The Forum’s mission centers on aligning nutrition, public health, and planetary boundaries. It runs programs that convene stakeholders from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded consortia, engages businesses like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland Company, and interacts with civil society organizations including Oxfam International and Greenpeace. Activities include annual summits, policy dialogues at venues such as European Parliament and Norwegian Nobel Institute, multi-stakeholder working groups with participants from International Fund for Agricultural Development, United Nations Children's Fund, and World Resources Institute, and pilot projects in partnership with city networks like ICLEI and ICLEI Europe. EAT supports initiatives addressing food loss with actors like FAO offices and promotes dietary guidelines in coordination with national agencies such as Ministry of Health (Norway), Royal Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, and municipal governments including Stockholm Municipality.

Research and Publications

Research outputs include high-profile reports that synthesize evidence from institutions like Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, ETH Zurich, and International Food Policy Research Institute. Publications have informed policy briefs presented to bodies such as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and United Nations Environment Assembly. EAT collaborates with journals and publishers linked to Nature Research, The Lancet, Science, PNAS, and BMJ to disseminate findings on sustainable diets, planetary boundaries, and food system transformation, often co-authoring with scholars from University of São Paulo, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Indian Council of Medical Research, and National Institutes of Health.

Governance and Funding

Governance structures draw on trustees, advisory boards, and scientific committees with members affiliated with organizations such as Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Chatham House, International Institute for Sustainable Development, World Wide Fund for Nature, and academic chairs from Yale University. Funding sources include foundations like Stavanger Foundation, corporate partnerships with firms including IKEA Foundation and Novo Nordisk Foundation, and multi-lateral grants involving European Commission Horizon 2020 consortia. The Forum’s funding model combines philanthropic endowments, project grants, and sponsor contributions from private-sector partners such as Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critics have highlighted potential conflicts of interest arising from partnerships with companies such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, Cargill, and Unilever, and have compared debates to controversies involving Big Tobacco tactics or food industry lobbying seen in cases like Sugar Association disputes. Civil society organizations including Food Sovereignty Movement-aligned groups, La Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth, and investigative journalists at outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times have questioned transparency in corporate funding, governance, and influence over dietary recommendations. Academic critiques from scholars at University of Sussex, University of Pretoria, and Cornell University have argued for stronger safeguards, independent review comparable to standards at World Health Organization panels, and clearer disclosure policies akin to those used by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Impact and Global Influence

The Forum has influenced national and city-level policies in jurisdictions including Norway, China, United Kingdom, Brazil, Kenya, and Netherlands through briefings to ministries and municipal coalitions. Its summit outcomes have fed into processes like UN Food Systems Summit deliberations, G7 health and environment communiqués, and COP climate negotiations. Collaboration with market actors such as Tesco, Walmart, and Alibaba Group has sought to shift supply chains, while partnerships with research networks at CGIAR centers, International Rice Research Institute, and CIMMYT have targeted production-side sustainability. The Forum’s blend of science, policy, and corporate engagement continues to shape discourse on planetary health, dietary guidelines, and sustainable food systems globally.

Category:International non-profit organizations