A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will be appointed to organize a one-day public symposium to explore and reflect on the major developments in the field of food, nutrition, and agriculture over the past 30 years, and how the Food Forum has contributed to those developments. The symposium will review the history of the Food Forum, its evolution, and how it has informed research, policy, and industry practice. The symposium will address areas relevant to the origin and ongoing purpose of the Food Forum, including: the role of the Food Forum as a convening activity at National Academies; how approaches to and methodologies for nutrition research have changed within the field; and the impact of Food Forum publications and activities on policy and practice. The symposium will also feature discussions on the future of food in light of challenges such as climate change and population growth, new technologies to address these challenges, how these challenges affect and are influenced by health equity issues, and how the Food Forum will continue to approach these issues proactively and through a multi-sectoral lens.
The planning committee will define the specific topics to be addressed, develop the agenda, and select and invite speakers and discussants. A proceedings of the presentations and discussions at the symposium will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance to institutional guidelines.