This piece is part of the weekly series “Growing Forward: Insights for Building Better Food and Agriculture Systems,” presented by the Global Food Institute at the George Washington University and the nonprofit organization Food Tank. Each installment highlights forward-thinking strategies to address today’s food and agriculture related challenges with innovative solutions.
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin has spent more than four decades advancing solutions to hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity across the public and private sectors, and multilateral institutions. As the former Executive Director of the U.N. World Food Programme, she oversaw operations in more than 80 countries and led a global team delivering assistance to 80 million people annually. She has served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and helped lead national efforts to combat hunger as Chief Operating Officer of America’s Second Harvest. Cousin is continuing her work as the Managing Director and CEO of Food Systems for the Future and FSF Ventures, where she supports innovations that bridge the gap between investment and impact in food and agriculture, helping scale market-driven solutions that prioritize equity, resilience, and sustainability.
Ertharin Cousin shared her thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in mobilizing capital to support more resilient, equitable food systems in a Q&A.