By the time the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4) closed, one message had crystallized: food systems are no longer viewed as a narrow agricultural issue, but as a unifying thread linking climate action, economic resilience, health, peace and social justice. That clarity defined 2025.
Across regions, governments strengthened school meals, integrated food and climate policy, expanded community-led solutions and elevated youth voices. National Convenors led this shift, helping to move food systems from concept to delivery.
A global Stocktake with delivery at its core
UNFSS+4 marked a turning point. It brought together a coalition of thousands – governments, scientists, youth, farmers’ representatives, private sector, global institutions and civil society – united to accelerate food systems transformation across climate, biodiversity and development agendas.
The UN Secretary-General’s UNFSS+4 Call to Action set out six priorities: scaling finance, supporting fragile settings, deepening policy coherence, grounding decisions in science, strengthening youth leadership and fostering intergenerational collaboration.
From commitments to country-level change
Across regions, 2025 revealed a more mature phase of food systems transformation. As outlined in the UN Secretary-General’s UNFSS+4 report, governments increasingly approached food, climate, health and livelihoods as interconnected – a shift now reshaping institutions. Ministries once divided by mandates aligned strategies, coordinated budgets and embedded food systems into national planning frameworks.
Decision-making widened, bringing in farmers’ organizations, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, civil society and private sector actors. Evidence and innovation gained importance, with increased investments in data systems, research partnerships and digital tools.
The Hub also expanded knowledge-sharing in 2025 through seven Dialogues with National Convenors and a set of public webinars on monitoring, investment and inclusive policy design. New evidence products and collaborations – including the Coalitions of Action Survey, EAT–Lancet 2.0 follow-up, and work with the Committee on World Food Security – strengthened countries’ ability to apply science and coordinated governance to their food systems priorities.
Youth leadership comes into focus
In May, more than 100 young changemakers from over 50 countries gathered in Thailand for the Preparatory Youth Conference ahead of UNFSS+4. Together, they crafted an updated Youth Declaration calling for inclusive governance, science-based decisions and intergenerational equity.
By July, youth voices were embedded throughout the Stocktake – not as observers, but as contributors.
Financing, science and the architecture of change
Behind every strengthened policy or programme lies an enabling architecture of finance, data and governance. In 2025, the Joint SDG Fund Food Systems Window continued to scale that architecture.
The EU-funded Scalable Success Models project supported National Convenors to map actors, diagnose barriers and design context-specific solutions for pathway implementation.
Science continued moving closer to policy. The Hub’s Scientific Advisory Committee released major briefs on governance, planetary boundaries and data and evidence. The UN Food Systems Task Force launched a Food Systems Thinking Guide for UN Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams. At the global level, the UN Deputy Secretary-General established a High-level UN Food Systems Advisory Group to guide strategic direction for the UNFSS+4.
Food systems take center stage in global diplomacy
By UNGA80 in September, the message from Addis had fully entered the global agenda. At the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, leaders emphasized how food systems shape livelihoods, social protection and access to healthy diets. At COP30 in Belém, food systems moved deeper into climate negotiations.
In 2025, food systems also entered mainstream media in new ways. Global outlets and national broadcasters covered food-related issues and UNFSS+4. Visibility grew not only for challenges but for the solutions communities and governments are already building.
By December, a clearer picture had emerged. Countries were not merely drafting plans – they were financing, legislating, implementing and measuring progress. Youth shaped decisions. Climate negotiators recognized food’s centrality. Social-development leaders saw livelihoods, nutrition and dignity as inseparable.
Patterns across 2025 showed that political will, evidence, financing, partnerships and public engagement are now more aligned than at any point since 2021.
