Attendees are responsible for booking their own rooms at the New York Hilton Midtown. Room reservations made by Thursday, May 23, 2019 will be eligible for the group rate of $399.00 plus applicable taxes and fees for single or double occupancy. The negotiated group rate is based on availability and applies to reservations for Sunday, June 9, 2019 through Wednesday, June 12, 2019.
A global policy conference convened by the Global Counsel team of political, policy and sectoral experts. Featuring prominent policy, regulatory and industry voices, and Global Counsel's original research of global consumer perspectives on the technological, regulatory and geopolitical challenges testing food systems in 2023.Â
Food - and who gets it - is in many ways one of the oldest political questions of all. Despite a radical change in our capacity to produce and distribute food, it is not a question that has a definitive answer. With the war in Ukraine disrupting supplies from two of the world's most important suppliers of cereals to many dependent markets, questions of resilience in global food suppliers are again at the forefront in 2023. The role and responsibilities of the world's small number of calorie superpowers - and the small number of private companies that distribute these calories around the world - is an inevitable theme of our conference series.Â
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But the politics of food goes far beyond these critical questions of production and distribution. Food is an area of technological innovation at every point from the farm to the field to the supermarket shelf. That innovation has delivered transformational benefits in productivity and choice, but it can also be contested. The regulation of this technology and the food it produces, is another important evolving picture in 2023.Â
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Food is also central to the human impact on the environment. Food production and transportation is an important source of green house gas emissions. Agriculture is also by far the single largest driver of global deforestation. An effective global approach to climate change will require robust changes to the impact of food production on the environment.Â
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At the heart of many of these questions are important interdependencies between trade, sufficiency, resilience, cost and environmental sustainability. Consumer preferences, political imperatives and practical realities all interact to shape these.
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Whether you are a policymaker a business or an investor, our analysis of the policy and politics of food, including event recaps and views from each of the markets we operate in, will be timely and important theme in 2023.Â
New primary consumer research conducted by GC - including a representative survey of over 6,000 consumers in China, Egypt, Germany, India, the UK and the US - hint at some of the key priorities, tensions and challenges for both policymakers and business to address.Â
Food policy - especially ensuring food is affordable and healthy - matters to consumers. How food gets to consumers - and its negative externalities - were less of a concern. Finally, there was notable tension between consumer support for international trade in the abstract and the stronger urge to restrict imports in many instances.Â
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Watch the full presentation of the survey findings delivered by Raph Malek, Head of Insights and Stephen Adams, Senior Director and co-chair of the conference. If you wish to receive the findings separately, please follow the link below.Â
To what extent will China’s strategy induce change in the US, Europe and other western-aligned states? What kind of strategic choices will drive this decoupling? What practical and political implications will it bring?
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Speakers included: Lawrence H. Summers, former US Secretary of the Treasury; Qin Gang, China’s Ambassador to the US.
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For our report of the event and to watch sessions on demand, click here
How has covid changed politics and policymaking? What are the implications for work, multilateral cooperation, nationalism, and economic recovery?
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Speakers included: Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State; David Petraeus, Partner, KKR and former head of CIA; Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President, European Commission.
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For our report of the event and to watch sessions on demand, click here
What are the implications of political change on trade policy? How are businesses factoring risk into their business and cross-border trade models, and how will technology shape the future of what and how they trade?
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Speakers included: Phil Hogan, former EU Trade Commissioner; Victoria Nuland, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
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For our report of the event, click here
What does it mean when we talk about regulating the actions of a machine that expresses intelligence? What should a national strategy for AI look like? Is one even possible given the wide terrain and pace of change?
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Speakers included: Greg Clark, UK Business Secretary; Simon Segars, CEO of Arm; Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner.
For our report of the event, click here
The politics and policy of food can impact on a wide range of market entry, supply chain resilience and investment protection contexts.
The GC team can provide strategic and practical support at every stage of navigating engagement with these challenges, from due diligence on cross-border or supply chain exposures to developing commercial diplomacy strategies to protect investment value, facilitate trade and support market entry and operation across all food and drink segments. We can also support both commercial and not-for-profit actors that simply wish to develop thoughtful evidence and engage constructively in this most important of policy areas.
