Examining NGO priorities on food security, nutrition at G20 summit in Mexico

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, David Olson, a global development consultant, examines what non-governmental organizations (NGOs) "want to get out of the G20 Mexico on an issue that is a priority to NGOs as well as the Mexican presidency of the G20 -- 'enhancing food security and addressing commodity price volatility,' in the words of the Mexican government." According to Olson, he "reviewed the G20 food security and nutrition recommendations of six major NGOs and NGO coalitions and found that they had many commonalities" -- including their desire to have the G20 address or change policies that facilitate hunger, the provision of safety nets, issues surrounding women and children, the scaling up of nutrition efforts, and the importance of reaching small-scale producers. Olson notes "some differences," as well, such as only three organizations mentioning climate change as it relates to agriculture (6/18).