Evidence shows the importance of food systems for sustainable development: they are at the nexus that links food security, nutrition, and human health, the viability of ecosystems, climate change, and social justice. However, agricultural policies tend to focus on food supply, and sometimes, on mechanisms to address negative externalities. We propose an alternative. Our starting point is that agriculture and food systems’ policies should be aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This calls for deep changes in comparison with the paradigms that prevailed when steering the agricultural change in the XXth century. We identify the comprehensive food systems transformation that is needed. It has four parts: first, food systems should enable all people to benefit from nutritious and healthy food. Second, they should reflect sustainable agricultural production and food value chains. Third, they should mitigate climate change and build resilience. Fourth, they should encourage a renaissance of rural territories. The implementation of the transformation relies on (i) suitable metrics to aid decision-making, (ii) synergy of policies through convergence of local and global priorities, and (iii) enhancement of development approaches that focus on territories. We build on the work of the “Milano Group,” an informal group of experts convened by the UN Secretary General in Milan in 2015. Backed by a literature review, what emerges is a strategic narrative linking climate, agriculture and food, and calling for a deep transformation of food systems at scale. This is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. The narrative highlights the needed consistency between global actions for sustainable development and numerous local-level innovations. It emphasizes the challenge of designing differentiated paths for food systems transformation responding to local and national expectations. Scientific and operational challenges are associated with the alignment and arbitration of local action within the context of global priorities.

This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and perception of rural and urban inner-city students in two Midwestern states regarding agriculture, food, and natural resources. Since this study was a pilot project, these two subgroups of the United States population were assessed to provide baseline data reflecting the knowledge and perceptions of United States residents regarding agriculture and the food industry. Data were collected from 1121 respondents but did not constitute a representative sample of students in the two Midwestern states. However, the results of this study may have implications for other groups on a practical basis. Three objectives were specified for this study as follows: 1) to assess the level of agricultural knowledge among rural and urban inner-city high school students in a midwest; 2) to assess the level of agricultural perceptions among rural and urban inner-city high school students in the midwest; and, 3) to compare the level of agricultural knowledge and perception of both subgroups. Both groups of respondents were most knowledgeable about Natural Resources concepts whereas the Rural Students were least knowledgeable about the Plants in Agriculture concept area compared to the Urban Inner-City High School Student respondents who were least knowledgeable about the Policy concept area. Overall, respondents had the most positive perception about the Natural Resources concept area and were the least positive about the Agricultural Policy concept area.

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This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and perception of rural and urban adults in a midwestern state regarding agriculture, food, and natural resources. Since this study was a pilot project, these two subgroups of the United States population were assessed to provide baseline data reflecting the knowledge and perceptions of United States residents regarding agriculture and the food industry. Data were collected from 886 respondents but did not constitute a representative sample of all United States citizens. However, the results of this study may have implications for other groups on a practical basis. Three objectives were specified for this study as follows: 1) To assess the level of agricultural knowledge among rural and urban adults in a midwestern state; 2) To assess the level of agricultural perceptions among rural and urban adults in a midwestern state; 3) To describe the demographic variables of both subgroups that may influence their knowledge or perceptions of agriculture. Both groups of adult respondents were most knowledgeable about the Animals concept and least knowledgeable about the Plants in Agriculture concept. Respondents were most positive about the Natural Resources concept and were the least positive about the Agricultural Policy concept. However, rural adults were also very positive about the Animals concept. Respondents living on farms were more knowledgeable about agriculture than their rural non-farm neighbors, who were more knowledgeable than their urban counterparts. Respondents with high levels of education were more knowledgeable about agriculture than those with less education.

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