A University of Guelph professor has a seat on the United Nations Food Security Panel.
Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute and a geography professor, has been appointed to the steering committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition.
The panel is governed by a steering committee that consists of 15 of renowned scientists. Each scientist is drawn from research institutions and the public and private sectors, among other constituencies.
Fraser said he was nominated by the Government of Canada and is delighted to be working at the highest level internationally to help create more resilient, equitable and sustainable food systems.
“I’ve been around a career around food security and food sustainability for 25 years and have admired this group for that entire time,” Fraser said.
“The opportunities don’t come up very often to get on the high-level panel of experts. So I was absolutely delighted when this all came together.”
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Fraser cited how food insecurity is affected by the war in Ukraine as an example of the work that the scientific steering committee has done.
“It’s a body of people that spring into action when crises emerge, or try to take a long-term view and identify what problems are perhaps emerging over the horizon.”
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Charlotte Yates, University of Guelph president and vice-chancellor, said it is a tremendous honour for Fraser.
“I am very happy to see his commitment to research and innovation recognized through this appointment,” Yates said.
Fraser also helps lead the university-based research program Food from Thought, which explores how to use big data to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint.
He said he is very interested in seeing how policies and decisions are formulated and implemented at the United Nations level.
“I’m so curious to see how the UN operates on food security and food sustainability on this level,” Fraser said. “I’m really excited to be bringing my experience, based largely with the federal government and the Canadian corporate sector, around how to make agriculture more efficient and more sustainable, and how to make food systems more equitable.”
Each member of the panel will serve a two-year term and can re-apply to serve another term. Fraser will be replacing Jennifer Clapp, who is a professor at the University of Waterloo and is completing consecutive two-year terms.
The committee’s first meeting is in November in Rome, Italy.
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