Jessica Fanzo, former colleague and Senior Nutritionist at Bioversity International, was awarded this year's first prize for Sustainable food and diets for long-term human health of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. 

While at Bioversity International, Jessica contributed to the publication of Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity – Directions and Solutions for Policy, Research and Action as a result of consultations on what constitutes a sustainable diet and the formulation of recommendations for promoting and applying such a concept in different agro-ecological zones, particularly to benefit the rural poor. 

Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony on 27 November 2012, Jessica Fanzo said: “I feel honoured to have been selected for the Carasso Premio. Not only does the Premio validate the work that I have been doing in nutrition but it highlights the work that many have contributed to sustainable diets - a timely and important area of work in global food security."

The ceremony was followed by a roundtable on the policy and metrics of sustainable diets and food systems, a "challenging area that resonates with both policy and consumer demands" states Dr. Bruce Cogill, Director of Bioversity International’s Nutrition and Marketing Diversity Programme, who perceives this focus as a point of convergence and synergy among ecologists, environmentalists, nutritionists and economists.

Watch Jessica talk about her work here