FANZO Jessica
Columbia University, USA
- Jessica Fanzo is a Professor of Climate and Director of the Food for Humanity Initiative at the Columbia University. Her transdisciplinary research focuses on the links between climate change and food systems in nutrition- and climate-vulnerable communities, living in resources-constrained settings, to identify opportunities within food systems to enhance nutrition, diet, and environmental outcomes.
- She currently leads the development of the Food System Dashboard and the Food System Countdown to 2030 Initiative, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the FAO. She serves on the Integrated Partnership Board of the CGIAR, the Livestock Research Institute and Alliance for Biodiversity and CIAT boards, and the executive committee of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.
- She has been an advisor for various organizations and governments, including the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN), the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN), the World Bank, USAID, and the WHO. She has participated in numerous collective endeavors, including the Food System Economic Commission, the Global Panel of Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition Foresight 2.0 report, the Lancet Commission on Anemia, and the EAT-Lancet Commissions 1 and 2. She also was the co-chair of the Global Nutrition Report and team leader for the UN High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Systems and Nutrition.
- She was the first laureate of the Carasso Foundation’s Sustainable Diet Prize in 2012 for her research on sustainable food and diets for long-term human health, and she was elected in 2024 as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
- She wrote two books: Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? (2021, Johns Hopkins University Press Press) and Global Food Systems, Diets and Nutrition (2021, Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy).
Recent publications:
- Walton S, et al. Asset stranding could open new pathways to food systems transformation. Nat Food. 2025 May;6(5):440-445.
- Carducci B, Fanzo J, Wolfson JA. Household cooking and eating practices across food system typologies in 135 countries from 2018 to 2022. Health Promot Int. 2025 Mar 5;40(2):daaf029.
- Fanzo J, et al. Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, Food Security, and Nutrition: Evolving Relationships and Critical Challenges. Annu Rev Nutr. 2025 Apr 16.
- Schneider KR, et al. Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030. Nat Food. 2025 Jan;6(1):105-116. doi: 10.1038/s43016-024-01109-4. Epub 2025 Jan 14. Erratum in: Nat Food. 2025 Apr;6(4):410-411.
- Beal T, et al. Nutrient-dense foods and diverse diets are important for ensuring adequate nutrition across the life course. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Dec 10;121(50):e2319007121.