Here we list partners who provide virtual sources of Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) information. We do not list one-off virtual sessions. We try to indicate if there is a cost, and we try to keep the links updated. Please let the coordinator know if a link isn’t working, or if you have something to add.
- Podcasts & Webinars are generally less than 1 hour with video and/or audio recordings
- Workshops vary in length but are general a few hours to a few days (visit the Courses page for longer events).
Questions? Ideas? Feedback? Contact: ICDAsfs.coordinator@acadiau.ca
The ICDA SFS Toolkit is made to be used & shared freely.
Please cite the authors of the resources you use, and the ICDA SFS Toolkit if you are able:
InternationalDietetics.org/Sustainability
Podcasts | Webinars | Workshops
Podcasts
Food Sleuth
with Melinda Carr Hemmelgarn, M,S., R.D.
Food Sleuth Dietitian Melinda Hemmelgarn helps listeners “think beyond their plates,” to connect the dots between food, health and agriculture, and find food truth. She encourages critical thinking for food system literacy. Food Sleuth Radio interviews leading experts on food, health, and agriculture and airs on KOPN every Thursday. You can also follow her blog that includes speaking engagements and articles: http://food-sleuth.blogspot.com
free
Real Food Reads
with Real Food Media
Real Food Reads is a long-standing book club and podcast, interviews the authors of today’s most important books at the intersection of food, politics, and culture.
Real Food Media believes each one of us has a story to tell, and that sharing our stories strengthens our communities and our movements. The podcasts are free and available on many different podcast services. Real Food Media offers you the inspiration you need to build your own food activist toolkit.
free recorded to listen to anytime
Foodtopia
with Real Food Media
Foodtopia showcases the stories of workers, farmers, healers, ecologists, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), womxn, and community organizers who are growing food & cultivating utopia.
Real Food Media believes each one of us has a story to tell, and that sharing our stories strengthens our communities and our movements. The podcasts are free and available on many different podcast services. Real Food Media offers you the inspiration you need to build your own food activist toolkit.
free and available on many different podcast services
Webinars
Food & Climate Coffee Chats (monthly)
with Planetary Health Collective (PHC) and Nutrient Density Alliance (NDA)
Roots to Wellness: Food & Climate Coffee Chat is a community event co-hosted by the Planetary Health Collective and Nutrient Density Alliance that explores the connection between food and climate while building a growing network of intersectional leaders.
Participants can connect with like-minded individuals and key power brokers working at this intersection, learn about membership initiatives at the Nutrient Density Alliance, and discover ways to apply their unique skills, professions, and passions to support a more climate-friendly future.
Whether seasoned sustainable chefs, environmentalists, dietitian nutritionists, food service executives, or newcomers, attendees have the opportunity to engage, share knowledge, and contribute to creating a healthier, more regenerative, just, and resilient food system for all.
Held on the first Friday of every month
at 12:00 Pacific Standard Time
Click here for more details and to register every month.
2025 August updated
free, donations welcome
The role of Nordic research in transition to sustainable agro-marine food systems (2023 Jan 24)
with Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research
The Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research organised a webinar entitled “How do Nordic research institutions approach sustainability in the food systems? Experiences from research and education” and the slides are available here. The sessions aim to have an interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder dialogue among partner universities and other relevant institutions on the role of Nordic research in the transition to sustainable agro-marine food systems. The seven Nordic universities share their experiences and practices. The link to the session is also still good – it takes you to their website where you can access past presentations.
Free
Facilitating healthier and more sustainable food choices (2022 Nov)
with European Food Information Council (EUFIC)
How can we make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable food? This symposium was organised & recorded by European Food Information Council (EUFIC) to present research on how food labels, dietary recommendations, nudges, and digital tools can help direct consumers towards healthier and more sustainable food choices. They explain consumer preferences, profiles, and barriers, and how they can influence which strategies are most appropriate in which contexts. Speakers: * Dr Betty Chang is the Research Area Lead at the European Food Information Council. * Prof. Armando Perez-Cueto is a professor in Food, Nutrition and Culinary Sciences at Umeå University. * Dr Michiel De Bauw is working at the Sustainable Food Department of the Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt Group. * Dr Emma Garnett is a researcher in the Health Behaviours Team at the University of Oxford.
free - recorded
Healthy people, healthy planet: a flexitarian approach to sustainable healthy diets (Slides)(2021)
These slides were developed and presented as a webinar by SFS Toolkit Member, Christine McCullum-Gomez, PhD, RDN, LD who runs the website Sustainable RDN. She kindly shares the slides with you, thank you Christine! The slides provide an overview of the EAT-Lancet Commission’s planetary health diet, a largely plant-based flexitarian diet; discusses the principles of a flexitarian diet; describes the nutritional advantages of a flexitarian diet; examines the health and environmental benefits of a flexitarian diet; and provides strategies RDNs can use when counselling their clients on implementing a flexitarian diet.
You can also take the short course that she developed on the same topic see: Short Tutorials & Courses
From Science to Action to accelerate the food system transformation: What are the human and environmental health benefits of food cultivated with agroecological practices (2022 Nov)
with Coalition of Health Professionals for Regenerative Agriculture
The Webinar “From Science to Action to accelerate the food system transformation: What are the human and environmental health benefits of food cultivated with agroecological practices?” will be presented by experts from the Coalition of Health professionals for Regenerative Agriculture. During this webinar, the speakers will present the global nutrient density movement, bridge the gap between nutrition and agriculture and present how agroecology can contribute to a one health approach integrating human, animals and ecosystems. The webinar will be live-streamed on the Facebook page of Agroecology Europe and recorded. Nov 8, 2022 04:00 PM in Brussels
Free
Boosting the Role of Academia in Transition to Sustainable Food Systems (2022)
with UNA EUROPA
Boosting the Role of Academia in Transition to Sustainable Food Systems is the third and the last online event organized in 2022 by Una Europa (an alliance of 11 European universities) Seed Funding project, INSTIL (The role of academia in transition to sustainable food systems). The project has connected five leading European research universities: the University of Helsinki, the University of Edinburgh, the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of Bologna and the Free University of Berlin, and started an interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder dialogue on the role of academia in sustainable food systems. Each university has contributed to the webinars by bringing its own its knowledge, best practices and expertise. Both senior academic, early stage researchers and public/private stakeholders have been be involved. The webinars have been embedded in an open environment to ensure appropriate opportunities for cross-fertilisation, transparency and the rising of new ideas between disciplines through a multidisciplinary approach. Involved researchers will analyze the outcomes of the online events and will write a joint scientific publication.
Free
Health through Agrifood Systems (One Health Dialogue) (2022 Dec 13)
with FAO in Geneva
FAO in Geneva’s One Health Dialogue is on Health through Agrifood Systems. This One Health series dialogue will showcase concrete examples from countries of implementing One Health tools at the community, national, regional and global levels, and discuss the challenges faced during the implementation as well as their sustainability. FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH intend to develop tools to inform their approach to One Health and strengthen the capacity of Members, Member States and State Parties to implement it at regional, national and local level, also exploiting resources already available. Some questions to be addressed include: What are the One Health tools currently available? How do they work? What are the next steps for implementing the One Health tools in the field? Visit the Events page here for recordings.
FREE - recording
The path to climate-smart, net-zero health care: A grand rounds series (2022)
with Health Care Without Harm
Session 5: Plant-forward diets in health care: A prescription for patients and the planet. Dec 1, 2022. Moderated by Health Care Without Harm’s Chief Program Officer and former director of the Healthy Food in Health Care program, this session features two physicians and the head of the Cool Food Pledge at the World Resources Institute. Experts will discuss how shifting to a plant-forward diet benefits patients and the planet, and can help decrease health care emissions, as well as how you can take action in your health care facility. The Cool Food Pledge helps dining facilities, including hospitals, cut their food-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by shifting towards a more plant-rich diet with a goal of reducing food-related emissions by 25% by 2030.
Reducing meat and increasing plants in the diet can be beneficial for preventing and treating diet-related diseases, and help reduce associated health care utilization and costs. Plant-forward eating also benefits the environment, as plant-based foods require less water and land to produce and have a significantly lower climate footprint than animal-based foods. Shifting towards more plant-forward foods is not only a way to reduce the risk of disease, but also a proven way for health care organizations to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, The Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization recommends serving healthy, sustainable food and establishing disease prevention and climate prevention as strategies to help reduce health care emissions. Recognizing the health and environmental benefits of plant-forward eating, hospitals around the world are responding by reducing meat and increasing plant-forward menu options.
FREE
ICLEI African Food Systems Labs (2022)
with ICLEI
Several African Food Systems labs have been held that are useful for D-Ns, for any questions, email Ryan Fisher at ryan.fisher@iclei.org or Ivan Pauw at ivan.pauw@iclei.org. The labs are based on project held in three African Nations: Senegal in Dakar, Bambilor, Kaffrine and Koungheul; Kenya in Kisumu, Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa; and South Africa in Western Cape (Cape Town), Gauteng (Johannesburg) and KwaZulu-Natal (Durban). The project activities spanning 2022 include: Convening dialogues in African cities and Latin American cities; Promoting the Urban Food Systems Lab in selected countries as a follow up of the food systems dialogues that took place in 202; and Hosting city-to-city exchanges between African cities and Latin American cities. The labs highlighted the need for greater coordination between different levels and departments of government for strengthening the participation and agency of local governments in policy design and implementations. They aimed to develop concrete strategic actions for streamlining multi-level food systems governance and elevating the role of local and provincial governments in developing more inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems. The sessions explored the potential role of existing policy frameworks, such as the District Development Model, in elevating sustainable local food systems as well as questions around where mandates, roles and responsibilities lie in this regard. Representatives from local and provincial governments across were given the opportunity to communicate the type of engagement they need from the national government and the types of governance structures that will be conducive to developing more sustainable food systems in their constituencies.
FREE - Recorded
Transforming Food Systems: Diets and climate, how FBDG can help deliver healthy diets from sustainable food systems? (2022 Sep)
with HDSFS & WHO
This is a recording of a 2022 September webinar by The Coalition of Action on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for Children and All (HDSFS). Food-based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) translate the best available evidence as well as an analysis of the national context to detail what a healthy diet represents in a specific country or region. They provide healthy eating advice for the general public and can guide a range of policies and programmes. While FBDGs have traditionally considered some socio-cultural aspects, in recent years, countries have begun incorporating other sustainability considerations–particularly environmental sustainability, including to reflect the critical nexus between diets and climate. The webinar seeks to facilitate peer-to-peer learning and catalyze discussion on FBDGs’ contribution toward the vision of healthy diets from SFS, in particular, on the integration of climate considerations. Visit this link for the outcomes of the workshop including a recording of the event, a summary of discussions, and a repository of relevant resources and references.
Free - recording & materials
FBDG integrating SFS transformation (2022 Sep 28)
with FAO
Coordinator: The session isn’t yet in the recording archives. I have written to FAO and will update this page when I know more. past recordings are put in the archive: https://www.fao.org/webcast/archive
How can dietary guidelines fulfil their potential for agrifood systems transformation? Policies and practices to support healthy diets and development outcomes across the SDGs. Nearly 100 countries have developed dietary guidelines as a tool to inform their consumers about healthy dietary patterns and help them achieve better nutrition outcomes. Some countries are now undertaking further activities to enhance the potential of dietary guidelines to guide agrifood systems transformation, such as by actively using dietary guidelines to guide policy and practice in agrifood systems, and incorporating environmental sustainability. The role of dietary guidelines to influence agrifood systems transformation is recognized but can this potential be achieved? This Dialogue will help shed light on this question by focusing on recent country experiences, potential barriers and how they can be overcome to make the next generation of dietary guidelines a reality. They present a new methodology developed by FAO that takes a food systems approach to the development/ implementation process of dietary guidelines and considers the various dimensions of sustainability.
free
Food is Medicine Research Action Plan Webinar (2021 Jan)
with Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation
A recorded webinar on the launch of the Food is Medicine Research Action Plan held January 27, 2022. Led by the Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and the Harvard Law School Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation (CHLPI). The plan was supported by the Walmart Foundation and developed with 18 months of stakeholder engagement and guided by expert advisors. It puts forward 26 recommendations to guide the next decade of equity-centered, purposeful, translatable research in the Food is Medicine field and contains a comprehensive overview of the peer-reviewed research on food and nutrition interventions like medically tailored meals, medically tailored groceries, and produce prescriptions which require a coordinated effort and investment.
free recorded webinar
Workshops
Sustainable Urban Food Systems for SDGs Acceleration (website)
with FAO, Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS)
This website continues to have loads of valuable resources for D-Ns working in urban areas. In December 2022, FAO co-hosted a High-Level Dialogue on “Sustainable Urban Food Systems for SDGs Acceleration” at the 17th Annual Session of the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS). The Event had 3 Key Points: 1) Highlight the most urgent challenges urban food systems face to ensure access to healthy diets and reduce environmental ‘foodprint’. 2) Showcase concrete examples of successful practices to reduce urban food systems’ contribution to climate impact, including consumption patterns. 3) Identify gaps and share recommendations on the transition to sustainable urban food systems. GFHS Secretary General Mr. Lu Haifeng pointed out in his closing remarks that cities should concentrate on six priorities: 1) sustainable urban planning, 2) sustainable waste management, 3) efficient and stable transition to renewable energy, 4) green, low-carbon and smart buildings and communities, 5) people-oriented public space and resilient infrastructure, and 6) sustainable urban food system. By doing so, we can better achieve the goal of resilient, carbon neutral and nature-positive city, and more effectively coordinate to deal with climate crisis, energy crisis, economic crisis, food crisis and the biodiversity crisis for a safer and greener urban future.”
updated 2025 Jan
Free
International Union of Nutritional Sciences’ International Congress of Nutrition (IUNS-ICN)
with International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS)
Every four years since 1946, the International Union of Nutritional Sciences’ International Congress of Nutrition (IUNS-ICN) is held in a venue selected by the General Assembly following presentations by 3-4 bidding countries.
The International Confederation of Dietetic Associations (ICDA) is an Affiliated body of the IUNS. The IUNS-ICN are attended by 3-4000 participants from all over the world. Recent locations include Buenos Aires, Argentina; Granada, Spain; Bangkok, Thailand; and Tokyo, Japan – to name just a few.
Each IUNS-ICN aims to promote the exchange of knowledge in Nutritional Sciences. Alongside the main theme, you can look forward to all the fundamental, clinical, epidemiological and social aspects of nutrition delivered in the form of lectures, symposia, oral communications and posters.
The 23rd IUNS-ICN International Congress of Nutrition will be in Paris from 24- 29 August 2025, with the theme ‘Sustainable Food for Global Health’. The call for abstracts is from 19 July 2024 to 13 December 2024. The Société Française de Nutrition (SFN) is the co-organizer of the ICN and also a member of ICDA.
see the registration fees on the website
COP27 ICLEI Feeding the city for healthy people, landscapes, and climate (2022 Nov 12)
with ICLEI
ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability)’s food team held a session at COP27 on Feeding the city for healthy people, landscapes, and climate. Currently, food systems account for up to 37% of global GHG emissions. (Note from the #ICDAsfsToolkit Coordinator – SFS do not emit this much!) As more than 70% of the world’s food is consumed in urban areas, cities are at the core of the problem. At the same time, city leaders have a key role to play in finding locally relevant solutions to growing social, economic and environmental challenges and in enhancing urban-rural linkages for greater resilience. Building on the global momentum for food system change, this event explores the role of cities in driving food systems transformation in a multi-level governance context. Dietitians-Nutritionists’ voices are needed! Access the session overview and recording here.
free online
Sessions on Nutrition and Climate Change at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27)(2022 Nov)
with UN-Nutrition
Food systems were a large part of the agenda of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) which took place from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. UN-Nutrition, the United Nations coordinating mechanism for nutrition, will actively engage to increase awareness about the interlinkages between diets, food systems and climate change, and to highlight the importance of addressing nutritional and environmental challenges through joint policy options to generate co-benefits for people and the planet. Visit this link at UN-Nutrition to see many of the events that address nutrition – some are recorded / have links to access more information.
free virtual attendance
COP27 Food Systems Pavilion (2022 Nov 6-18)
with COP27
For the first time ever, there was a Food Systems Pavilion at the UN Climate Change Conference, putting food centre stage during these crucial negotiations. The Food Systems Pavilion focuses on actions, strategies, and solutions across the entire food value chain that have the potential to drive the transformation towards healthier, more resilient, and more equitable food systems. The opportunity is huge. Transforming the world’s food systems could generate $4.5 trillion annually in new economic opportunities by 2030 and help us to create a net-zero, nature positive world, while also ensuring social justice and food security. Visit the Food Systems Pavilion website and join the journey to deliver #ActionOnFood for people and planet.
free online
Sustainable Food Systems self-paced workshop: Empowering Dietitians to Transform the Food Systems: 4 Dimensions Learning Experience (2021)
with Food + Planet
During this two-hour workshop, Food + Planet Co-founders (Sherene, Kate, Sharon, and Chris) feature ways registered dietitian nutritionists can align human nutrition with planetary health while honoring economic and sociocultural dimensions of sustainable food systems. Upon completion of the workshop, you can download a continuing professional education units (CPEUs) certificate for 2 CPEUs. There are four sessions: 1 – Nutrition – Sharon Palmer MSFS, RDN; 2 – Sociocultural – Sherene Chou MS, RDN; 3 – Planetary – Chris Vogliano PhD, RDN; 4 – Economic – Kate Geagan MS, RDN.
FREE
Healthy Lives from Sustainable Food Systems (2022 Oct)
with Uppsala Health Summit
Did you attend the Uppsala Health Summit from 22-26 October 2022 and/or read the Healthy Lives from Sustainable Food Systems pre-conference report? It provides a broad and up-to-date overview of the current challenges and the changes needed to make our food systems healthier and more sustainable. The report outlines the background of each workshop at the Uppsala Health Summit 2022 and the recordings of the plenary sessions are here. The conclusions from the discussions in workshops will be published in a post-conference briefing-kit. Uppsala Health Summit is a recurring international policy arena for dialogue on challenges for health and healthcare, and how we can overcome them. Personally invited decision-makers, opinion-makers and experts participate in active dialogue in thoroughly prepared workshops and plenum sessions. Initiators are Uppsala University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala County Council, Uppsala City Council, and World Class Uppsala.
free