“[I]n the past decade, an empowered civil society has been a driving factor of the significant progress made in several countries in ensuring food security and combating malnutrition,” Devex reports. Civil society organization (CSO) “participation has helped shape government policies and improve service delivery, particularly for the most vulnerable populations, according to a U.N. General Assembly report filed on Friday by outgoing Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter, whose mandate ends April next year,” the news service adds. Other factors positively influencing food security “include getting the highest levels of government to put food and nutrition security as a priority, establishing institutions to monitor progress and policy implementations, and a continuous flow of investments,” according to the report, Devex notes and includes comments from De Schutter (Ravelo, 10/28).

In related news, NPR’s “The Salt” blog features an interview with Warren Buffett, Howard G. Buffett, and Howard W. Buffett, who co-authored a book on food security, titled “40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World.” They discuss advocacy, biofuels, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), U.S. food aid policies, and other issues (Aubrey/Charles, 10/28).