FAO Podcasts

Sarah Cahill is the Secretary of Codex Alimentarius, the international body that develops the food standards behind much of what we eat, how it is labelled, and how it moves across borders.
In this episode of The Work We Do, Sarah joins us in the Situation Room to discuss the past, present and future of Codex.
We explore how Codex helped countries come together around scientific evidence to protect consumers, reduce foodborne risks and build trust in global food trade. Its work may be invisible to most people, but it sits behind everyday decisions: what appears on a food label, how contaminants are controlled, how additives are assessed, how hygiene rules are applied, and how countries agree that food is safe to trade.
Katrin and Sarah also discuss the difficult process of reaching agreement between countries, why some standards take years to develop, and how science helps create common ground in a world of different regulations, risks and food systems.
Finally, Sarah looks to the future: a warming planet, changing food safety hazards, water scarcity, seaweed, cell-based foods and the new questions regulators will need to answer.
A conversation about the quiet global work that helps keep food safe, and why it shapes our lives more than we realise.

In this episode of The Work We Do, we speak with Lynnette Neufeld, Director of FAO's Food and Nutrition Division, about the complex realities behind today's nutrition challenges. 

The conversation explores the double burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition and obesity can coexist within the same country, community, household or even individual. We also discuss why healthy diets costs more and the difficulties of advancing nutrition policies in contexts shaped by conflicting interests, commercial pressure and the need for stronger policy coherence. 

Lynnette reflects on her years working on the evaluation of Mexico's landmark conditional cash transfer programme, the mentors and experiences in Latin America that shaped her path from young researcher to senior leader in international nutrition, and her vision for FAO's role in the nutrition agenda: helping shift the focus from simply feeding the world to enabling access to and consumption of healthy diets for all. 

00:00 Evidence over interests 00:45 Intro 00:59 The double burden of malnutrition 04:44 Policy responses 08:20 Why unhealthy food is cheaper 12:54 Nutrition beyond health 14:41 Ultra-processed foods 19:08 Commercial pressure 22:39 The role of advertising 25:30 Governments, business and civil society 30:14 Healthy diets and misinformation 32:51 FAO's role in nutrition 39:02 Mexico's cash transfer programme 42:17 Evaluation and implementation 49:00 Latin America and mentorship 01:10 Healthy diets

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since February 28. As of May 18th, 2026, it remains shut. The chokehold on global energy and fertilizer supplies keeps expanding through agrifood systems worldwide. 

In this special episode of The Work We Do, we discuss the short, medium, and long-term structural policy solutions to the global agrifood impacts of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In this episode of The Work We Do, we sit down with Charles Spillane, Chief Scientist at FAO. 

Charlie traces how his upbringing on a farm in Ireland and an early interest in science fiction shaped his techno-optimistic worldview and his belief in the power of science and innovation to improve society. 

He discusses why scientific advances often fail to reach smallholder farmers, what it takes to close the gap between knowledge and adoption, and how financial, institutional, and systemic barriers can be addressed. 

Charlie explores the growing role of data in agriculture, including questions of ownership and governance, and the limitations of current research funding models. And he shares vision for a more effective, future-ready agrifood science system. 

00:00 Inequality and progress 

01:00 From farm to FAO 

08:28 Innovation in context 

11:11 The technology gap 

12:24 Data and control 

16:00 The digital divide 

21:10 Climate trade-offs 

27:07 Science funding 

32:46 Why FAO

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since 28 February. As of 13 April, vessels are still not moving in meaningful numbers. The last ships to leave before the blockade are now reaching their destinations, meaning the real supply gap is only beginning to materialise.
 
Key messages:
 
• Before the conflict began, the strait carried 30-35% of global crude oil, 20% of natural gas, and up to 30% of internationally traded fertilizers.
 
• Food commodity prices have not risen yet because existing stocks are absorbing the shock. But if the strait traffic does not resume, the shocks to energy and fertilizer markets will translate into higher commodity and retail prices later in 2026 and into 2027.
 
• The crop calendar is the key constraint. As planting seasons begin, farmers must choose between absorbing higher input costs or reducing fertilizer and other input use. They need targeted, timebound support, as do low-income countries relying on food and fertilizer imports.
 
• The disruption is not contained to the Gulf or South Asia. It is moving from east to west and from south to north. Export restrictions by major producers risk compounding the supply shortfall.
 
• With diplomatic solutions and the right policy, there is still time to contain the current situation and prevent it from turning into a global food crisis.
 
This episode was recorded on 11 April 2025.

Host: Katrin Park
Produced by: Eduardo De La Chica
Copyright: FAO