17 February 2011: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) will be hosting a five-week, online discussion on “Sustainability Assessment of the Food Chain,” begining on 21 February 2011. The E-forum is part of the FAO’s preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and its efforts to bridge government, private sector and farmer interests.

Based on the results of the E-forum, the FAO will develop a common set of indicators that can be used as universal guidelines for food manufacturers and retailers and, ultimately, a Sustainability Framework with universally agreed core issues.

The discussions will begin with comments on core sustainability issues and general views and expectations for international Guidelines on Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (21-25 February); followed by discussion of indicators of: Environmental Integrity (28 February-4 March); Economic Resilience (7-11 March); Social Well-Being (14-18 March); and Good Governance (21-25 March).

The E-forum encourages the participation of all stakeholders, and is specifically targeting food producers and retailers, experts, consumers and civil society. The FAO aims to have the guidelines developed by early 2012. [E-Forum Website]