International food trade is now essential to global food security — but the networks that move food also transmit shocks, whether climatic, economic, or geopolitical. This panel introduces the Jameel Index for Food Trade and Vulnerability, developed by MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS), which maps food-trade vulnerability across more than 180 countries and assesses it against the foods people need for a healthy diet. The panel asks how targeted investment in local productivity, infrastructure, and R&D can build resilience where trade alone cannot. ​Moderator Greg Sixt, Director, Food and Climate Systems Transformation (FACT) Alliance and Research Director for Food and Climate Systems, Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) ​Opening presentation: Introduction to the Jameel Index and J-WAFS work on food security, global change, and trade Kenneth Strzepek, Technical Lead, Jameel Index for Food Trade and Vulnerability, MIT J-WAFS ​Panelists Prof. Sheryl Hendriks, Extraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria ​Mark Rosegrant, Research Fellow Emeritus, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Former Director of IFPRI's Environment and Production Technology Division ​Paola de Almeida, CEO, Natural Systems Capital and Jameel Index Advisory Committee Member