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About Seacon

ABOUT SEACONE 2026

Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, faces interconnected challenges such as the triple burden of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, urbanization, and persistent social and economic gaps. These conditions weaken food and health systems, strain ecosystems, and disrupt social structures. Addressing them requires approaches that are integrated, multisectoral, and resilient.

Econutrition is defined as the interrelationships among nutrition and human health, agriculture and food production, environmental health, and economic development (Deckelbaum et al., 2006). It highlights how these dimensions are linked and how integrated approaches promote sustainable livelihoods, resilient food systems, and improved well-being. Closely tied to this concept of resilience, defined as the capacity of individuals, families, communities, and nations to anticipate, withstand, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses while safeguarding long-term well-being and sustainable development (United Nations Sustainable Development Group, 2021). Strengthening resilience across these levels ensures that health, food, and ecological systems remain adaptive and sustainable despite recurring disruptions.

The Institute of Human Nutrition and Food (IHNF), College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños, has applied and advanced the concept of econutrition in its academic, research, and extension work. Building on this foundation, the IHNF once again provides leadership in organizing the 5th SEACONE in 2026, the latest in a biennial series that has provided a platform for international knowledge sharing and collaboration since its inception in 2010. SEACONE 2026 places particular emphasis on strengthening resilience at the levels of families, communities, and nations to ensure sustainable futures across the region.

The theme, Building Resilience through Econutrition for Sustainable Food Systems, emphasizes the interconnected roles of nutrition, agriculture, the environment, and the economy in shaping resilient and sustainable food systems. It recognizes that nutrition and health outcomes depend on sustainable food production, equitable access to resources, viable livelihoods, and responsible environmental management. An econutrition approach promotes integrated, systems-based actions that address these dimensions together rather than in isolation.

By strengthening these linkages, the theme supports resilience at the level of families, communities, and institutions, enabling them to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from social, economic, health, and environmental challenges. It advances food systems that ensure food security and sovereignty, promote equity and social inclusion, support good governance and informed policy, and protect human, animal, and environmental health. Through education, capacity building, and culturally grounded practices, the theme also looks toward future communities and institutions that are sustainable, just, and responsive to emerging global challenges.

This conference will bring together academics, policymakers, development partners, civil society, and grassroots actors across Southeast Asia and beyond to share insights, strategies, and innovations in advancing resilience through econutrition.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

  1. To promote the advancement of econutrition by integrating nutrition science, health, agriculture, environment, ecology, and economic development in research, policy, and practice.
  2. To encourage communication and collaboration among academics, policymakers, development partners, civil society, and community.
  3. To provide a continuing platform for disseminating knowledge, innovations, and best practices on econutrition, resilience, and other topics.

HISTORY OF SEACONE

The Institute of Human Nutrition and Food (IHNF), established in 1988, is a well-known leading academic institution in the Philippines and internationally. It is focused on the study and advancement of food, nutrition, and dietetics. The IHNF significantly contributes to improving nutritional well-being through its roles in instruction, research, and public service. 

In 2013, the IHNF took the initiative to promote the knowledge and practice of Econutrition, a field that delves into the interrelationship between food, nutrition, health, ecology, the environment, agriculture, and economics. The organization of the first conference with the theme “International Conference on Econutrition: The Nexus among Human Nutrition, Ecology, Agriculture, and Economics” marked this initiative. 

The international conference is a biennial event. However, in July 2018, IHNF chose to host a roundtable discussion instead of the conference, as part of its efforts to integrate the university’s food and nutrition security initiatives through the Interdisciplinary Center on Food and Nutrition Security (ISCFNS). The roundtable aimed to explore how academia can tackle challenges in food and nutrition security under the Econutrition framework. After a two-year interval, IHNF decided to resume organizing the international conference. As a result, the third conference took place on May 20–21, 2021, focusing on “Econutrition in the Disruptive Innovation Era.” The conference aimed to identify new technological innovations that could significantly impact food systems, food security, and nutrition, contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

In 2024, the fourth SEACONE continued the dialogue with the theme “Navigating Econutrition in a BANI World,” addressing the impacts of external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This was hosted by IHNF in collaboration with SEARCA. The discourse will continue in SEACONE 2026 with the theme “Building Resilience through Econutrition for a Sustainable Future,” further underscoring the role of econutrition in addressing global challenges and advancing sustainability.