Civil society needs to collaborate together in a Long Food Movement to build sustainable food systems over the next 25 years argues a new report from The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) in collaboration with the ETC Group: ‘A Long Food Movement? Transforming Food Systems by 2045’. In this interview Pat Mooney, lead author of the report explains more:
The report maps out two very different futures for food systems, people and the planet. It argues that if the current “agribusiness-as-usual” continues then the keys of the food system will be handed over to data platforms, private equity firms, and e-commerce giants, accelerating environmental breakdown and jeopardizing the food security and livelihoods of billions.
This can be different if the initiative is reclaimed by civil society and social movements – from grassroots organizations to international NGOs, from farmers’ and fishers’ groups to cooperatives and unions if these movements succeed in collaborating more closely – to transform financial flows, governance structures and food systems from the ground up. United, civil society could force a shift of up to USD 4 trillion from the industrial food chain to food sovereignty and agroecology through such a ‘Long Food Movement’ by 2045 argues the report. This includes USD 720 billion in subsidies going to big commodity production, and as much as USD 1.6 trillion in healthcare savings from a crackdown on junk food. The sum total of these actions could cut 75% of food system emissions.
Geoff Tansey blog 