Kitchen Table Talks - making our food system work for people and planet

Making our food system work for people and planet

midandeastantrim.gov.uk/MEAction

We are working with groups across the borough to build a vision for: • how we can improve our food system • how we can work collectively to create a better food system for us all.

Your input is a crucial part of developing this vision.

What is the problem with the food system?

We have plenty of land in our borough, as well as plenty of sea, skilled people, scientists and innovators. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have plenty of good food for everyone!

Yet the reality is our food system is not working.

Food banks are on the rise, as well as diet-related diseases, while workers in the food sector - including many farmers - are poorly paid with insecure jobs.

Intensive farming systems compromise wildlife and animal welfare, and contribute to climate change.

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midandeastantrim.gov.uk/MEAction

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What is a Sustainable Food Place?

Is there a solution?

Solutions are often framed in terms of individual behaviour: people should choose organic food, eat less meat, more vegetables, less sugar etc. While it’s true that we do need to change our eating habits, these habits have formed as a result of the food system around us.

We have made it easy to throw away food, eat an unhealthy, environmentally damaging diet, and hard for people to eat well.

Until recently the food system has mostly been dealt with in small parts, with no overarching vision at the local or countrywide levels, and there have been few opportunities for people to participate in making big decisions about how the food system works.

We’re working to help change that and build a vision for turning MEA into a sustainable food place.

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midandeastantrim.gov.uk/MEAction

Sustainable Food Places work across all aspects of the food system to solve some of today’s most pressing social, environmental and economic issues.

Cities, towns, boroughs and counties in the UK are establishing crosssector food partnerships to transform their local food system.

Healthy Food for All Tackling food poverty, diet related ill-health and access to affordable healthy food.

Good Food Movement Building public awareness, active food citizenship and a local good food movement.

Food and Planet Tackling the climate and nature emergency through sustainable food and farming.

Did you know that governments have a responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to food?

Food Governance and Strategy Taking a strategic and collaborative approach to good food governance and action.

This covers the accessibility, adequacy, and availability of food to everyone.

Catering and Procurement Transforming catering and procurement and revitalizing local, sustainable food supply chains.

Sustainable Food Economy Creating a vibrant, prosperous and diverse sustainable food economy.

How can you get involved?

What is happening at government level?

The Northern Irish Government is developing a cross-departmental food framework that will create legislation that looks at the whole food system.

The framework is about taking a more proactive approach to determining how we want our food system to work, rather than just dealing with the consequences.

There has never been a better time to have a conversation about food and let us know what you think.

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The food system affects all of us, and we hope this legislation might be an opportunity for everyone to shape our food system.

As we gear up for an exciting year, we would love to hear: • your ideas for what a Sustainable Food Place looks like for you • what issues affect you the most • what bothers you about how our food system works • where you’d like to see change, and • what you think individuals, farmers, communities and the government should do about it.

midandeastantrim.gov.uk/MEAction

To fill out our survey online, please visit: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/ s/TTMAEA/ Or, you can fill out the questions on the back cover.

For more information, contact: alison.diver@ midandeastantrim.gov.uk

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KITCHEN TABLE TALKS: SURVEY

Please fill out and send to: alison.diver@mid andeastantrim.gov.uk

Host name and contact: Location: Group: Please Identify 3 aspects of what a fair, good food system would look like for you: • • • How can we make the food system work better for us all?

• • • What’s stopping us from getting there?

• • • What can we, society, council, local government do?

• • • midandeastantrim.gov.uk/MEAction