**ACCESS THE SCIENCE READER HERE**

We are currently facing unprecedented challenges, from global warming to increasing levels of hunger and malnutrition. The SDG2 aim of Zero Hunger by 2030 is looking as unreachable a goal as ever. Under such circumstances, it is essential that the extent of human scientific knowledge is put into solving these pressing issues.

A timely opportunity has been provided by the UN Food Systems Summit for experts to highlight the pivotal role that science, technology and innovation can and must play in transforming food systems; and the accelerated sectoral investments that will be required to fund the resulting complex series of innovations needed to achieve these ambitious goals.

The Scientific Group of the UN Food System Summit 2021 (ScGroup) – an independent group of leading researchers and scientists from around the world – believes the transformation of food systems to be one of the priority actions of the Summit. They maintain that "the undernourished, youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, and all those marginalized have the right of agency on all matters of their food systems."

ScGroup have been mandated by the UN leadership to undertake a multi-stakeholder process, mobilising the global scientific community to advise the Summit using science-based evidence. Though an inclusive process of international events and consultations, bringing together more than 2,000 participants from research, policy, civil society and industry, ScGroup have distilled key outputs into a comprehensive Science Reader. The Reader brings research-based, state-of-the-art, solution-oriented knowledge and evidence to inform the transformation of contemporary food systems to achieve more sustainable, equitable and resilient food systems. It is available for download at: bit.ly/ScGrReader.

You can also find a related blog post by the Chair and Co-Chairs of the Scientific Group here: bit.ly/ScKnowScGr.