The bold vision for a 21st Century of zero hunger in a healthier and more equitable world has
been severely clouded by the gloomy vistas of conflict, COVID, and climate change – all of
which have instead worsened the global food crisis. Rather than clarity, there is questioning: Is
a world in which all have access to affordable and nutritious food, produced by a food system
that is sustainable both for people and planet, and resilient enough to adapt to and thrive in
the face of relentless challenges, still attainable, or even still perceptible on the horizon? During the 2022 World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogues, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
and The Rockefeller Foundation gathered experts and stakeholders from climate, agriculture,
food security, and humanitarian backgrounds to bring this vision into focus. Exploring the
depth of the global food crisis, while considering the imperative need to respond to both the
chronic long-term nutrition insecurity stalking the world and the acute hunger emergencies
demanding immediate humanitarian action, the assembled pondered these central questions:
• How can humanitarian relief be linked with longer-term development assistance, so crisis interventions become the first step on the road to more resilient communities, regions, and countries?
• What has been missing from both humanitarian and development conversations, that could
help break the cycle of climate and hunger crises plaguing so many vulnerable communities?
• What, if any, core concerns of those impacted by disasters have been unaddressed by the
global community?
This paper reflects a summary of their views and offers a framework to begin once again
reimagining the future of a zero-hunger world.