Mary Taylor was a lead editor for a massive 573 page report on the 'Vulnerability of Pacific Island agriculture and forestry to climate change'. Here she highlights some of the main findings from the report and notes the resilience of the traditional local food systems and the need to build upon these in the face of climate change and reliance on imported food in local diets.

Vulnerability and resilience in Pacific Island Food Systems in the face of climate change

Prof Neil Ward argues the changes needed for climate change mitigation in agriculture in the UK are less dramatic than those between the 1940-1980s but more challenging owing to the different neo-liberal ideology prevailing now. We discuss the changes instigated in the Second World War in UK agriculture, their impact,  the challenges posed by climate change today, and two contrasting land sparing and land sharing approaches to reaching a net zero target for food and farming.

Net zero, food and farming - climate change and the UK agri-food system

Building on the complex, biodiverse, agro-ecological farming systems practised in Africa is a key to food security, better livelihoods and tackling climate change argues Edie Mukiibi, a Ugandan agronomist, small farmer and president of Slow Food International. Here, he discusses their approach and also how they are working with young people throughout Africa through the Slow Food Gardens project, now with over 3500 gardens. He also expresses his disappointment with the Climate COP 27 outcome and the real challenges it failed to address.

Practising and promoting Agroecology in Uganda and beyond, Edie Mukiibi of Slow Food International

People don’t eat nutrients but foods. A simplistic, reductionist and outdated focus on nutrients obscures the reality of people’s diets and lifestyles on health and plays into the hands of the food industry suggests Dr Gyorgy Scrinis, Associate Professor of Food Politics and Policy in the School of Agriculture and Food, University of Melbourne. In this conversation he explores the reasons why the dominant way malnutrition is divided into three apparently separate types is unhelpful. He suggests it leads to a misguided focus on nutrients rather than the complex factors shaping people’s diets. He discusses the role of ultra processed foods promoted by major food industry players play in undermining people’s health and warns against the new focus on the gut microbiome succumbing to a nutrient reductionism.

It's time to talk foods and diets not nutrients and rethink malnutrition says Dr Gyorgy Scrinis

Prof Guliz Ger on changing consumption for sustainable societies

In this interview Nick Weir, one of the founders of the Open Food Network in the UK, explains what it is, how it works and why it matters for producers, citizens, a fair more resilient food future and greater food security.

The Open Food Network aims for shorter fairer more resilient supply chains - Nick Weir

In these two talks Harriet first looks at food system transformation from the perspective of food regimes. She defines food regimes and their transitions, then discusses them since since the mid 19th century, and the current contradictions that may lead to a new regime. In her second talk, she draws on the example of Southern Ontario. She discusses how in today’s rapidly urbanising world, food systems need to be reconfigured on afro-ecological grounds and reflect new urban, cosmopolitan realities.

1. Food regimes and their transformation, by Harriet Friedmann

I’m talking with philosopher Dr Julian Baggini about the seven pillars of a food system he believes are needed, drawing on a wide range of examples discussed in his book 'How the World Eats: A Global Food Philosophy'. Despite the huge variations in diets, farming and food systems around the world he argues that holism, circularity, plurality, foodcentric, resourcefulness, compassionate and equitable must underlie a global philosophy of food.

How the World Eats: A Global Food Philospohy - a coversation with JulianBaggini

Tony Kendle, now the Eden Project's creative director, has been involved with its development from the start. In this interview he explains how it began, how helping increase understanding more about food is a core goal, and what it is aiming to achieve today.

The Eden Project - from idea to reality, an interview with Tony Kendle

With more and more shocks likely to affect food systems this century the need for citizens and societies to be resilient when these shocks happen is urgent, argues Prof Tim Lang in 'Just in Case: narrowing the UK civil food resilience gap' a report for the UK's National Preparedness Commission. In a detailed and wide-ranging 383 page study, drawing on some 70 interviews with senior people across the food system, 10 country and various regional and local studies, he examines what resilience means, lessons to draw from what others are doing and how this can happen from local, community to national level and the importance of having food stocks and citizen engagement in creating resilience.

UK needs food and civil food resilence in face of coming shocks - Tim Lang

Around a third of people worldwide are malnourished in some way. That is not because the food system isn't working but because it is working and that's the result argues Stuart Gillespie in his very readable book Food Fight. In this conversation he discusses the enormous cost in human lives and financial damage the current food system is doing. To change this needs a radical transformation and addressing the power imbalances in the system  to achieve food justice for all now and for future generations. He looks at ways big food tries to prevent change and suggests a range of ways to change the system in a manifesto for transformation. 

Food Fight - From Plunder and Profit to People and Planet: Stuart Gillespie

In this worrying conversation Harriet Friedmann reflects on the probability that the world is in a 500 years transition in the food  regimes she talked about in the contribution to the Food Systems Academy. She emphasises that food regimes emerge from state power, that that power is changing, with existing rules and institutions that could enable a peaceful transition to a more ecologically sound regime either under threat or collapsing and the likelihood that regime change may come from wars. She posits the possibility that a peaceful change could come about from bottom up actions, not individual changes but such changes within a wider social ecological context. 

Food regimes, states and change by war or peaceful means - Harriet Friedmann

Carbon trading and carbon markets are no help for food and farming argues Devlin Kuyek in this interview. He works for GRAIN - a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. He argues these  markets are used as a form of greenwashing and fuel a new rush for farmland. 

Carbon markets, greenwashing and a new rush for farmland

In this conversation Professor Guy Poppy, who led the £47.5 million "‘Transforming the UK Food System for Healthy People and a Healthy Environment’ (TUKFS) project, discusses the five major themes and some of the 47 recommendations to emerge from the work. The project involved  almost 40 research institutions, more than 200 organisations in the private and third sectors as well as more than 10 UK government departments and agencies. The five themes under which the recommendation are grouped are (1) disrupting towards a regenerative food production system, (2) innovating in manufacturing and the supply chain, (3) transforming food environments for healthy and sustainable food, (4) empowering communities, and (5) transforming policy and governance. 

Transforming the UK Food System - what we've learned from £47.5 Million project - Guy Poppy

This is one of a set of interviews with some of the speakers at the Global Gastroeconomy Summit in Istanbul on 29th March 2018. These are part of my blog about the summit. Please listen to them in the order they are embedded in the blog.

Marisa Henderson - UNCTAD, gastronomy and the creative economy

In the first of two interviews, Kazim Gurel, president and CEO of Kutas Food Group takes us on a tour of the world's biggest oregano processing facility in Izmir, Turkey. In the tour he describes the process by which herbs are cleaned and processed ready for use by other businesses, whether in consumer packages or by the food and catering industries.

Take a tour of the world's largest oregano processing plant with Kazim Gurel

In this second of two interviews, Kazim Gurel, president and CEO of Kutas Food Group discusses how the business started, what it does today, the challenges of  avoiding adulteration of products and various trends.

How Kutas Tarim became the world largest oregano processor - interview with CEO Kazim Gurel

Greg Garrett from the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) talks to me at the Chatham House conference on a Sustainable Food Future about GAIN's work to help finance nutritious food businesses, especially in Africa.

Financing for nutrition businesses in the developing world - an interview with Greg Garrett

Rokiah Yaman explains how they are experimenting with ways to create a circular food economy at a very local scale at Calthorpe community gardens, Kings Cross, London.

Creating a circular economy at Calthorpe Community Gardens, Kings Cross, London

Joyce D'Silva, emeritus ambassador for Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), discusses how their work has developed over the years, its impact on how animals are kept and treated as sentient beings in this interview. She also discusses the health, climate change and the impacts of new approaches to eating are having and CIWF's work on supporting regenerative agriculture in which livestock are treated humanely.

Compassionate meat eating - less and better respecting sentient animals says Joyce D'Silva

Tim Lang discusses the major themes in his new book 'Feeding Britain: : our food problems and how to fix them' including what food defence means for the UK today, the failure of current policy to get to grips with the challenges, 12 interlocking problems and the framework need to address them. He addresses what he sees as the complacency in government to do so and the failure to address food security in current thinking.

FeedingBritain: our food problems and how to fix them - an interview with Tim Lang

In her wide ranging book 'Sitopia: how food and save the world' Carolyn Steel aims to provide a tool with which to think as she says in this interview. She explains both the meaning of the term sitopia and the philosophical grounding of and why food is such a powerful lens to see society and what makes for a good life - and how using this lens shows a value system that is upside down.

Sitopia: how food can save the world - an interview with Carolyn Steel

Curator, Food Systems Academy. Working for fair, healthy and sustainable food systems

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