________________________________________________________________________________________________ Main
Interview food chains that were driven by quality rather than quantity and profit . Today , we no longer talk about alternative food networks . We have realized that this is part of a much larger and more complex system , and the urgency of food system transformation is finally on the agenda . It ’ s beginning to enter the domain of policy and we need to make the most of this momentum .
“ Policies ensure that the private sector is unable to operate exclusively based on profit . Legislation and regulation ensure that profit is combined with other considerations that are in the public interest . Food is a public concern , and it should remain as such . Although local produce can reduce food miles , we can ’ t feed the world exclusively by means of local initiatives , and distance is only one indicator of the environmental implications of food production . If food is highly processed for example , it doesn ’ t matter where it comes from , it ’ s still going to produce significant greenhouse gas emissions ,” she explains .
In her career , Roberta has secured £ 28 million of research and innovation funds to support her international research on sustainable food systems , which has a particular focus on governance and urban food systems . She has an established track record of creating impact and engagement at the interface of food systems research and policy . In 2019 , she was invited by UN FAO to assemble and lead a research team tasked with drafting their first Framework for the Urban Food Agenda with a focus on a multisectorial , multi-stakeholder and multi-level approach to food insecurity and malnutrition across the rural-urban continuum .
“ It ’ s fantastic for me to see cities and local authorities around the world wanting to use the framework to transform food systems , but there ’ s still a lot of work to be done . The research that ’ s been done so far has only captured the most formalized expressions of the food movement , but my research is beginning to show that it ’ s a far more diverse global movement in terms of levels of formality , composition , representation , and engagement . There are partnerships , coalitions , and councils , but also food advisory groups . We need to capture that diversity and make the most of it , because they all have a vital role to play in terms of transforming the food system . For me , it ’ s important to continue doing research that directly or indirectly presses national
We all need to do our part individually and collectively governments to do their job . While more than 100 governments committed themselves to food system transformation after the Food Systems Summit , I ’ m not seeing much action . I want to know what type of evidence they want from us that will convince them to design and deliver sustainable food policies .
“ During the pandemic , the monstrous consequences of this inertia were visible to everybody . We all saw the juxtaposing images of produce left to rot in fields because migrant labourers couldn ’ t travel , alongside empty supermarket shelves and longer and longer queues of citizens at food banks . What is particularly frustrating is the tendency of certain national governments to dump the problem on the third sector . We survived because of all the work that NGOs , like Sustain , did at the time to find solutions for the most vulnerable and marginalized citizens . As I ’ ve said , this needs to be a concerted effort . No one should think , either as a private citizen or a stakeholder group , that the problem is going to be solved by someone else . We all need to do our part individually and collectively ,” she asserts . ■
surrey . ac . uk / people / roberta-sonnino
foodchainmagazine . com 15