Category Archives: Policy

Global nutrient fight: micronutrients and geopolitics – lecture and debate December 10

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Will monopolies, cartels and export restrictions define the future of your food?

RUW foundation will explore the world of the micronutrients in a lecture and debate featuring Wouter van der Weijden (director of CLM), Ellis Hoffland (WUR) en Petra Berkhout (LEI).

Venue: December 10, 2013 in the  Grand Café of the Forum building, starting at 19.30.

Free entrance and drinks afterwards.

GeopoliticsMicronutrients are irreplaceable and are essential for plant, animal and human health. Only about 4% of the world’s micronutrient stocks can be found in the EU (Platform LIS,2012). In the near future Europe will become dependent on other countries, including China, Chili, US, Turkey and Peru for the supply of micronutrients such as selenium and zinc for its agriculture. Find out how borders and international relations influence the struggle for micronutrient supply, how it will affect our food production and what options the EU has to ensure the availability of micronutrients.

FOODLINKS final conference – Sustainable food communities of practice

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On 16 October 2013 the FOODLINKS team organised the  conference Sustainable food communities of practice – meet and eat to present the results of its  three-year project. The conference focused on “Good cooperation between science, society and policy promotes sustainable food consumption and production” looking more particularly into:

  • How short food supply chains can effectively work as policy tools;
  • How to maximise the benefits of sustainable public procurement of food;
  • How to implement sustainable food strategies in European cities.

The conference made a special effort to actively engage the participants’ experience and knowledge in the field, and to verify the findings from the project. The conference experiences are summarised in the video below:

More about Foodlinks and the three action plans published:

Foodlinks is a collaborative project funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission with the purpose of evaluating knowledge brokerage activities to promote sustainable food consumption and production: linking scientists, policymakers and civil society organizations. See the www.foodlinkscommunity.net for more information.

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SOLINSA and FarmPath – joint Final conference in Brussels, December 3 2013

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SOLINSA Final conferenceDecember 3 the EU-funded reserach projects FarmPath and SOLINSA will jointly present their findings at a final conference in Brussels. A detailed programme is available at the www.solinsa.net website. Location: Thon Hotel, Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 75, B-1040. From 9.00 am till 4.30 pm.

Towards Implementation: Reflecting on 10 years of the Right to Food

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Today an interim report by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, made to the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly has been released. You can download a PDF copy here: Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food

The report – Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food– provides insight into practical aspects of realizing the right to food. It notes that the right to food has “become an operational tool” that is “widely recognised as a key to the success of food security strategies” (para 3).

Focusing on progress made since the 1996 World Food summit, the report identified:

  • Best practices
  • Roles of key actors: governments, parliaments, courts, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations and social movements.

The report also notes that systems of national protection are being redefined in terms of rights, a welcome move away from the understanding social benefits as charitable hand-outs. It argues that the right to food has entered a new phase: implementation. This is key as it moves from theory and law to practice. Grievance redress mechanisms (e.g. courts, social audits) are playing a role in promoting this change.

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SUPURBFOOD 1st International Seminar

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Vigo videoIn June, the SUPURBFOOD First International Seminar took place in Vigo (Spain). In order to contribute to improving the agro-food system’s ecological performance researchers, policymakers and SMEs from Europe and developing countries discussed the links between short food supply chains and other flows (e.g. nutrients, water, and urban waste) at the seminar. With attendance of over 60 people from 14 countries, a North-South dialogue has started on improving the agro-food system’s ecological performance.

The report on the dialogue, sharing of experiences, exchange of best practice and joint learning at the SUBURBFOOD First International Seminar aims to inspire participants and other interested readers to developing an integrated approach to urban and peri-urban food provision. By clicking on the images above, you can still watch the videos of the live streaming of the seminar. For more information on the SUPURBFOOD project and how you can participate, visit www.supurbfood.eu.