Catalyzing Global Systemic Transformation
Our global food system is failing to protect and promote our health and the health of our planet. We can do better. We envision a world where everyone gets the benefit of diets that improve their health and sustain the Earth’s resources. A whole-systems approach that supports co-creation and transformation at every step from farm to plate will be essential to reaching this lofty goal. Building on our legacy of advancing nourishing and sustainable food systems, The Rockefeller Foundation is spurring research, generating data, sourcing innovative solutions, and catalyzing networks to take action on building food systems that are nutritious, regenerative, and equitable.
- 840million
people will be affected by hunger by 2030 if recent trends continue
- 1/5deaths
worldwide are attributed to unhealthy diets
- 25%
of total global greenhouse gas emissions are a result of the food system
Spurring research, generating data, and organizing coalitions to increase consumption of healthy foods and build food systems that are nutritious, regenerative, and equitable.

Food System Vision Prize
Recognizing the need to replace dystopian narratives with positive futures that activate real change in food systems across the world, The Rockefeller Foundation launched the Food System Vision Prize 2050, an invitation for organizations, universities, institutions, companies, cooperatives, and partnerships from around the world to co-create inspiring Visions of their own local food system by 2050. The Top 10 Finalists, whose Visions focus on food systems in Canada, China, India, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, and the U.S., are developing actionable solutions for the food systems of tomorrow.
Periodic Table of Food
Our understanding of how food nourishes us is still surprisingly limited. At most, about 150 of our food’s biochemical components are measured and tracked in conventional databases, which represents only a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of biochemicals in food. The Periodic Table of Food Initiative is a global effort to create a public database containing the comprehensive biochemical composition and function of the most important foods from around the globe. Understanding the interactions between food, health, nutrition, and environment will help us better support both human and planetary health.


Policy and Advocacy
The Rockefeller Foundation is supporting the Food Systems Dashboard, a global data resource to help people visualize and understand key information about their food systems while tracking progress to see if policies or other interventions are working. We also support The Food Systems Economic Commission, an initiative to determine the true cost of food and the many ways its social and environmental costs can be calculated. With the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit affording the global community an unparalleled opportunity to advocate for food systems transformation, the foundation is engaged in efforts to build coalitions poised to advance game-changing solutions.
We cannot solve any of our major food problems without collective action supported by a common vision and a system mindset.
Roy SteinerSenior Vice President, Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation
- FEATURE
The Rockefeller Foundation Recognizes Top 10 Visionaries Transforming the Future of Food Systems Across 8 Countries
New York, January 7, 2021 - Ahead of the first-ever United Nations’ Food Systems Summit, the …
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Related Updates

A Nourishing, Regenerative Tomorrow
The Rockefeller Foundation announced the Food System Vision Prize in October 2019, issuing a call to disparate global food system actors to unite, source and support positive Visions for our future food systems. History shows that systemic change requires shared direction, time, and collective effort. The purpose of the Food System Vision Prize was to […]
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