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“ A sustainable food system delivers on three fronts : environmental , social and economic . It ’ s a system that fosters economic equity , is socially inclusive and environmentally benign . As is evident in everyday life , we are far from achieving the vision of a sustainable food system . There are millions of people living in food poverty in the UK alone . As such , it ’ s become crucially urgent to transform the food system and the convoluted way in which it works to instead create a system that delivers its primary function of feeding all people good and healthy food . Currently , this is a privilege for the few and not the right of everybody . So , this is what a lot of my research is about , the policies , governance , and context required to ensure that the food system becomes sustainable and feeds everybody healthy food .
“ One of the most astounding things I have witnessed in my 20 years in this field is the activity that emerges at a local level and not just civil society led initiatives , but also the sterling work by municipal authorities in the UK and elsewhere . I ’ ve also seen a lot of activities and initiatives at a global level , where organizations such as the European Commission and the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) of the UN have tried to engage with this grand challenge of food system transformation . Unfortunately , though , we then see nothing in between , and national governments remain completely silent on this important issue . It ’ s a genuine concern that we don ’ t have a coherent governance context . Why don ’ t we have a Minister of Food , a national food policy ? How can food not be a policy priority ?
“ In my work ,” she elaborates , “ I talk about policy integration and the importance of turning food into a policy agenda for governments at different levels . We need a concerted effort , as no single body is going to transform the food system alone . We need the private sector , the public sector , civil society , and policy makers working together
and operating at local , regional , national , and global levels . It ’ s a challenge that can still be met , but not through isolated efforts . There are numerous enlightened individuals , fantastic civil society led initiatives , and great work being carried out by NGOs , but there is no funding . There are no strategies in place to try and scale up what they ’ re doing nor establish connections between what ’ s already there . Citizens have been trying to feed themselves healthily and to connect their communities around food for some time . So , at the very least , practitioners need to see what currently exists and if something
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