Research on sustainable food systems and climate resilience is growing, yet action lags because evidence seldom reaches policymakers, practitioners, and the public in accessible, actionable forms
Image Source: Getty Images
This essay is part of the series: World Health Day 2026: Standing with Science in an Age of Shared Risk
Just a few months ago, the United Nations (UN) marked its 80th anniversary with an unusually frank admission: its reports are not being widely read. UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted, “The top 5 percent of reports are downloaded over 5,500 times, while one in five reports receives fewer than 1,000 downloads. And downloading doesn’t necessarily mean reading.” The fact that the leading intergovernmental organisation arrived at this understanding while facing a liquidity crisis is no coincidence.
When global wars are pushing up defence spending and multilateral cooperation is increasingly being put to the test, resource mobilisation for sustainable development—be it sustainable production systems, nutrition security for the poor, or climate resilience—requires more than evidence to move the needle towards meaningful action. The urgency is clear: more people today are food insecure than in 2020, land degradation is expanding rapidly, and extreme weather events are affecting agricultural production, putting millions of livelihoods at risk.
The challenge is no longer a lack of evidence; rather, it lies in the failure to translate evidence effectively to the right audiences, in the right form, and at the right time to trigger action.
We are losing US$ 12 trillion every year in hidden social, economic, and environmental costs due to an unsustainable food system. These include the low nutritional value of food, small-scale farmers and workers unable to earn a living income, and environmental degradation. Yet funding for sustainable food systems remains hard to come by, while awareness of healthy and sustainable eating remains low. Evidence is not translating into action: insights are not informing policy, and research pilots and their outcomes are neither accessible nor relevant to practitioners on the ground. The challenge is no longer a lack of evidence; rather, it lies in the failure to translate evidence effectively to the right audiences, in the right form, and at the right time to trigger action. Effective communication and translation are therefore critical to bridging the gap between evidence (science), policy (lawmakers), and practice (farmers, workers, civil society, and consumers).
The first step is to know who the evidence is aimed at and in what context it is meant to be used, as illustrated by India’s experience with millets. India is the largest producer and a leading exporter of millets globally. Rich in micro- and macronutrients and dietary fibre, millets are nutritionally superior to rice and wheat. Once a staple in Indian diets before the Green Revolution, millets are hardy crops that require 70 percent less water than rice and 50 percent less time than wheat to grow, and are often described as climate-resilient crops. India’s Millet Mission has used this evidence to mount a phased policy and awareness campaign, taking millets from farm to plate. This has included developing improved varieties that enhance yields and make millets a viable crop for small-scale farmers given their low input requirements; introducing millet recipes in Anganwadi centres to address iron deficiency among pre-school children; integrating millets into the National Food Security and Nutrition Mission; declaring a National Year of Millets; and supporting the entry of millet products into supermarket shelves alongside celebrity endorsements. The United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets, bringing global recognition to this humble crop. As a result, recognition and acceptance of millets among younger urban consumers has increased.
India’s Millet Mission has used this evidence to mount a phased policy and awareness campaign, taking millets from farm to plate.
Indian-American soil scientist and World Food Prize winner Rattan Lal has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on soil and its critical role in enhancing biodiversity. A few years ago, however, he sought to introduce the importance of soil to a younger, school-going audience. The Lal Carbon Centre at The Ohio State University published a colourful, illustrated book, The ABCs of Soil, which translates scientific evidence into accessible information for anyone interested in soil science, broadly spanning readers aged 10 to 99 (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Assessing Audience and Purpose
Source: Fundamentals of Engineering Technical Communications, The Ohio State University
By 2050, the global population is projected to reach around 10 billion, placing greater pressure on land and resources to increase production. Young people—the largest demographic group—must be engaged in shaping policy. The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) launched the youth-led ACT4FOOD movement to involve young people in setting the agenda for a more sustainable food system at the United Nations Food Systems Summit. The ACT4FOOD pledge has since received more than 160,900 signatures, and 27 young leaders from 22 countries now serve as campaign leaders representing the forum.
The Sundarbans, home to the world’s largest single mangrove forest, is losing forest density at around 1.3 percent each year. Saline water intrusion into fields is rendering the land uncultivable, and about 60 percent of the male workforce in the Indian Sundarbans has migrated.
It is this kind of evidence that writers such as Jnanpith awardee Amitav Ghosh translate into narrative form, lending urgency and immediacy to a broad audience while also highlighting the climate impacts on the Sundarbans’ fragile ecosystem.
For a policy brief aimed at government representatives, convenings, multi-stakeholder consultations, and direct engagement with relevant departments are effective ways to obtain feedback. For a book intended for children, the approach differs. In such cases, outreach to educational institutions, libraries, and children’s book festivals can open new channels of communication.
In the case of ‘पुनर्योजी कृषि के क, ख, ग’ (The ABC of Regenerative Agriculture), which draws inspiration from Professor Rattan Lal’s work and introduces concepts of regenerative agriculture to rural children, the choice of language (Hindi) and outreach to government schools and grassroots civil society organisations working with farming families was deliberate.
For a global campaign like ACT4FOOD, the audience is mobile- and social-media driven; accordingly, the medium is multi-format, ranging from hashtag campaigns on Instagram to food festivals and school visits.
Figure 2: A Framework for Effective Communication
Source: Author’s own
Findings generated in a lab or in the field often risk remaining confined to scientific journals or dense technical reports due to a siloed approach to dissemination. This not only limits the reach of the findings but also reduces the likelihood that the evidence will inform policies for a sustainable food system that works for everyone, especially the vulnerable. This, in turn, could affect timely action or preparedness to avert a food system crisis.
At a time when climate disinformation is on the rise, the importance of verified information and evidence cannot be overstated. However, evidence alone is no longer sufficient to drive sustainable and credible climate action. Evidence-driven communication can play a key role in building sustainable food systems and climate resilience. With effective, clear communication, fence-sitters can receive the impetus they need to move towards committed action on sustainability.
Kritika Banerjee is Senior Manager, Communications at Solidaridad Asia.
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Kritika Banerjee is Senior Manager - Communications at Solidaridad Asia. Kritika leads communications and outreach activities for the region. A writer-editor for nearly 15 years with leading ...
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