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| IPES-Food | |
|---|---|
| Name | IPES-Food |
| Formation | 2015 |
| Type | International multi-stakeholder think tank |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Leaders | Advisory Council and Secretariat |
| Fields | Food systems, agriculture, nutrition, sustainability, public policy |
IPES-Food IPES-Food is an independent international advisory group formed in 2015 that focuses on food systems transformation, sustainable agriculture, and public policy. It convenes researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and civil society actors to produce evidence-based analyses, scenario studies, and policy recommendations. IPES-Food's outputs have been cited by international institutions, national ministries, and non-governmental organizations across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
IPES-Food emerged in the context of debates following the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development discussions and the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, building on networks that included experts from Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization, and civil society groups such as Oxfam and Greenpeace. Early collaborators included scholars linked to University of Oxford, University of Wageningen, and London School of Economics, while funders and partners involved foundations like the Rockefeller Foundation and the European Commission. The initiative has interacted with major policy moments such as the Paris Agreement discussions on climate, the Copenhagen Summit precedents, and the negotiation processes around the Common Agricultural Policy reform in the European Union.
IPES-Food's stated mission is to redesign food systems to be resilient, equitable, and sustainable, drawing on evidence used by institutions like World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, and International Panel on Climate Change. Objectives include generating policy-relevant research for actors including the European Parliament, national ministries such as Ministry of Agriculture (France), and multilateral fora such as the Committee on World Food Security. It seeks to bridge actors from academia—examples include researchers affiliated with Columbia University and University of California, Davis—with practitioners from organizations like Slow Food and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The organization is structured around an advisory council, a small secretariat based in Brussels, and thematic working groups that include experts from universities and NGOs such as Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Friends of the Earth, and CARE International. Leadership has drawn on figures active in networks connected to European Commission Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and scholars who have published with journals like Nature and The Lancet. Funding streams have included philanthropic bodies such as the Ford Foundation and project grants from agencies like the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. IPES-Food operates through commissioned reports and collaborative workshops with stakeholders including representatives from FAO, the African Union, and national research institutes like INRAE.
IPES-Food released influential reports on topics such as industrial livestock systems, agroecology pathways, and corporate concentration in food supply chains, which have been cited by entities including the European Commission, World Economic Forum, and the United Nations Committee on World Food Security. Notable publications have engaged with debates advanced by researchers from Harvard University, think tanks like Chatham House, and advocacy groups including Heifer International. Reports have analyzed market concentration involving corporations linked to indices such as the FTSE 100 and regulatory frameworks tied to the World Trade Organization. IPES-Food has also produced scenario work anticipating implications of policies by actors like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
IPES-Food employs mixed-methods approaches combining case studies, systems mapping, quantitative modelling, and participatory stakeholder workshops, drawing on methods used by teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. The approach emphasizes transdisciplinarity, integrating perspectives from agricultural science groups at Wageningen University, nutrition researchers associated with Johns Hopkins University, and environmental modelling groups at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Its analyses often examine corporate structures comparable to firms on the NASDAQ and regulatory impacts analogous to reforms debated within the European Council.
The initiative has partnered with a broad range of actors including the European Commission, Food and Agriculture Organization, research centers such as International Livestock Research Institute, and civil society coalitions like Via Campesina. Its work has influenced policy dialogues in forums such as the UNFCCC climate negotiations and the World Health Assembly, and contributed to policy changes in national contexts including reforms in countries like France and Ethiopia. IPES-Food has engaged with philanthropic networks including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and collaborative platforms like the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.
Critics have challenged IPES-Food on grounds similar to debates around think tanks such as Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation, questioning funding transparency and perceived policy prescriptions favoring particular agricultural models. Some academics affiliated with University of California, Berkeley and groups like International Food Policy Research Institute have debated methodological choices and the balance between agroecological approaches versus technological intensification. Controversies have arisen in policy discussions within the European Parliament and among advocacy networks such as Friends of the Earth over recommendations related to corporate consolidation and trade policy.
Category:International organizations