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During the year between 2007 and 2008, the world food prices reached their peaks and they are expected to remain at high levels for many years to come. Such high food prices were said to be one of the important causes of the political and social changes occurring in several countries in North Africa as well as Arab countries. The world population reached 7 billion at the end of October, 2011, and the issue of food security re-emerges as one of the most crucial global challenges. In many countries, especially in Asia and Africa, the majority of farmers are women and they are shouldering important responsibilities of providing foods for their families and the people.  According to the FAO White Paper, if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase the yields by 20-30%, which would reduce the number of hungry people by 12-17%. The estimated numbers of malnutrition people in the world in 2010 is more than 920 million. Therefore, by increasing the women’s access to the productive resources, more than 100 million people would be able to free themselves from malnutrition. The roles women could play are very significant in reducing starvation. In addition, the availability of markets is crucial for sustainability of agriculture as well as securing income. Here, the role of urban women emerges as vital consumers and significant players. In this session, we will share issues that women have played a vital role in the rural and urban communities, such as 1) Promotion of initiatives to locally consume locally grown products, 2) Teaching children and consumers the importance of agriculture, foods and healthy diet, 3) Focusing on environmentally friendly rural life and preserving local foods and traditions. Related to these topics, different panelists, such as farm women, urban women, researchers from USA, Costa Rica and Japan will present various innovative and challenging programs.