A strategy session to discuss policy opportunities to promote ecological and equitable models of sustainable food production and consumption was held during the 2012 Oxford Real Farming Conference, January 2012.
Presentations
| Patrick Mulvany (UKFG) | Opportunities to promote ‘Ecological Food Provision’ in the framework of food sovereignty |
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| Julia Wright (CAFS, Coventry University) | How to ‘Change Mindsets’ towards the benefits of ecological and equitable models of sustainable food production and consumption in the UK |
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| Michel Pimbert (IIED) | How to promote thinking about the ‘Transformation of the Food System’ at all levels so that it puts the realisation of food sovereignty at its heart |
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| Geoff Tansey (writer and consultant) | Why and how food is at the heart choosing our future world, who’ll dominate it, in part through the ‘New Enclosures’ facilitated by the extension to living systems of the global patent regime |
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| Panel comments and actions | How to develop and occupy policy and communications spaces, identifying who will help achieve this | |
| Final panel discussion | Panel comments |
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Related resources:
| UK Food Group (2010) Briefing looking at the systems that currently feed most people globally, which are smaller-scale and locally-sourced, and how they could be enhanced to feed all the world’s growing population. To achieve this, research and trade policies and agricultural support measures urgently need to be reoriented towards promoting the practices of small-scale food providers based on their ecological, resilient and biodiverse food production systems in the framework of food sovereignty. |
Securing Future Food: towards ecological food provision |
| Geoff Tansey and Tasmin Rajotte (2008) This book is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity and food security. Proceeding from an introduction and overview of the issues, comprehensive chapters cover international negotiations and instruments The final part discusses the responses of civil society groups to the changing global rules, how these changes affect the direction of research and development, the nature of global negotiation processes and various alternative futures. |
The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on Intellectual Property, Biodiversity and Food Security |
| Michel Pimbert (2010) This book describes the ecological basis of food and agriculture, the social and environmental costs of modern food systems and the policy reversals needed to democratize food systems. |
Towards food sovereignty: Reclaiming autonomous food systems |
| Andy Jones, Michel Pimbert and Janice Jiggins (2011) This book shows how the principles that minimise external inputs, pollution and waste (as well as risk, dependency and costs) by adopting a circular metabolism can be used to create systems and settlements that provide food, energy and water without consuming large quantities of fossil fuels and other finite resources. In the process, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution are minimised whilst human well being, food and livelihood security, and democratic control are enhanced. |
Virtuous Circles: Values, Systems and Sustainability |
| Julia Wright (2010) What would agriculture that mitigated climate change and still fed nine billion in 2050 look like? What options are there for modifying existing farming systems and developing novel ones? These are the questions this short review of the literature addresses. This paper is based on a review of existing sources and consulting some key informants. |
Feeding Nine Billion in a Low Emissions Economy: Challenging, but Possible |
| Wibbelmann (2011) This paper discusses the principles and practices of agroecology, and how mainstreaming them can potentially meet the challenges facing agriculture and food production. |
Mainstreaming an Agroecological Approach: the Implications for Farming and Food Systems Worldwide |