Why mindsets matter: conscious food systems
Sustainable Development Goal 2 is ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.’ Not only is this good for the people living on Earth, it’s good for the planet because global food systems are currently responsible for an estimated quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions1. A sustainable, resilient and healthy food system is key to delivering both health and climate change outcomes.
In this video, I discuss how new understanding in psychology, neuroscience and wisdom traditions points towards the need for a change in mindset when thinking about food with Dr Thomas Legrand, Lead Technical Advisor on the UN Development Programme. Thomas talks about the Conscious Food System Alliance (CoFSA), a movement of food, agriculture, and consciousness practitioners, and regenerative food systems, which is an approach that prioritises conservation, sustainability and rehabilitation of the land. They discuss examples of strategies at different parts of the food system, from promoting farmer wellbeing to encouraging the use of local ingredients with consumers.
Thomas talks about various different practical projects that are addressing the way we approach food production and consumption.
- The use of meditative practices to support farmers’ wellbeing and facilitate the transition towards organic farming in India
- The SEKEM Wahat Greening The Desert Project in Egypt
- Enhancing cultural identity to promote sustainable and healthy eating habits in the schools of Rio de Janeiro (reviving the Amazonian cultural identity through the use of Cassava).
There’s more detail on these projects and others in the CoFSA Collection of Case Studies.
Choose one project to investigate further and share what you discover in the Comments area. Briefly summarise the aims of the project and say whether it has changed the way you think about food production and consumption.
References
- Food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by Hannah Ritchie, Nov 2019.
Using Systems Thinking to Tackle the Climate and Biodiversity Crisis
Using Systems Thinking to Tackle the Climate and Biodiversity Crisis
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