Mexico
José Luis Chicoma is a global advisor on food systems for international development organizations and a member of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN). He is the Program Chair of "The Future of Food" at THE NEW INSTITUTE (2024-2025). He served as the Minister of Production in Peru. Previously, he was the executive director of Ethos, a Mexico City-based think tank focusing on governance, sustainable development, and food systems. He frequently writes and speaks internationally on the intersection of food and politics. He is co-editor and co-author of the policy report: ·THE ELEPHANT AT THE TABLE: Policy Pathways to Confront Power in Food Systems." In 2023, he served as a Guest Editor for Foreign Affairs Latin America, contributing to a special issue on food systems and power. He is also a member of the team of experts that developed the report on strengthening urban food systems for the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. In 2022, he was Professor of Global Food Systems at Universidad Católica del Perú and Universidad del Pacífico. He held several high-level positions in Peru’s public sector, including serving as Vice Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Industries, Director of Export Promotion for PROMPERU, and Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism. In 2010, the country’s prestigious Semana Económica weekly named him one of the 25 people under age 45 likely to change the Peruvian economy. He holds a Master’s in public policy from Harvard University and a BA in economics from Universidad del Pacífico, in Peru. He is a 2017 Yale World Fellow, 2018 Stanford Draper Hills Fellow, and 2024 Bellagio Resident. He adores all things fermented: coffee, natural wine, chocolate. He ferments anything he can at home, from pineapple (tepache) and chiles to ginger, berries and honey.
Leading a multidisciplinary research team: Overseeing a group of nine fellows to develop policy recommendations on agroecology, blue food, supply chains, nutrition, and others. Editing and co-authoring a major publication on food systems transformation: Integrating Global South perspectives, power, and biodiversity into global food policy discourse. Facilitating high-level dialogues and collaborations: Engaging with UN agencies, international NGOs, policymakers, and academics to influence global debates on food systems, power, and sustainability.
Designing UNDP's food systems transformation strategy. Promoting mechanisms to implement food systems strategies at the national level in developing countries.
Spearheaded public policies aimed at forging an inclusive and sustainable economy. Led the work of multiple public agencies that focus on the fishing and aquaculture sectors; food markets; and programs aimed at adding value to the output of small- and medium-sized companies and cooperatives. Lead an unprecedented national effort to overhaul Peru’s crucial food markets, thanks to increased public investment and funds, a first-ever nation-wide plan, as well as new guidelines and regulations. Secured the approval of regulatory frameworks for the sustainable fishing of species including the mahi-mahi and benthic organisms. Championed government food procurement from small-scale fisheries and fish farmers, promoting nutrition and economic inclusion. Secured new green innovation funds for sustainable projects for the five following years.
Under his leadership - which included oversight of the organization’s research, fundraising, management, and communication activities - Ethos became one of Latin America’s leading think tanks. He supervised breakthrough research on sustainability and food systems, including such topics as agroecology; a systemic vision of food, healthy and sustainable diets; small-scale fisheries; innovative financing; and water and governance, among others. He also fostered the creation and strengthening of networks and took a leading role in building coalitions around sustainability and food systems.