Johan Rockström (co-chair)
Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
@JRockstromFood Planet Prize Jury Co-Chair Johan Rockström is the Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam. Furthermore he chairs the Earth Commission, the advisory board of the EAT Foundation, and is a member of the Earth League. Professor Rockström is recognized globally for leading the development of the Planetary Boundaries Concept.
Q: What do you see as the most pressing issue(s) in reshaping the global food system?
There are, as I see it, two overarching and interlinked challenges:
- To transform the global food system from being the single largest cause behind transgressing planetary boundaries to becoming a system that delivers food to all people within the safe operating space on Earth. This means food systems that go from source to sink, close nutrient loops, halt expansion into intact ecosystems, minimize chemical pollution, and stop overusing freshwater.
- To transform food consumption and improve access to healthy diets that can halt the slow pandemic of 10-11 million people dying prematurely each year due to unhealthy food.
Q: What would you like to achieve by being a member of the Food Planet Prize Jury?
Contribute to the Prize successfully developing into a lever of change that boosts the development and implementation of innovative food solutions, in pace and scale.
Q: What unique experiences or knowledge do you bring to the jury?
I am an Earth system scientist, with my feet in both food systems and sustainable transformation research. I am also quite closely connected to the science-business-policy sphere on food and sustainable development.