This session was a collaborative partnership between Middlebury College and See Change Sessions, held at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf Campus. A unique, immersive, and generative gathering designed to actually See Change. Get it?

Prepared & Facilitated by:

Sarah Stroup, Tom Grasso & Erica Cunningham

LAB SESSION OVERVIEW

The global food system is ripe for change. Basic access to food and water is a human right and essential for human flourishing. The global food system is intertwined with climate change, biodiversity, migration, and patterns of conflict, so it is imperative that future actions avoid exacerbating negative feedback loops. In addition, the global financial system has traditionally focused on production and GDP growth, without sufficiently valuing natural assets. These natural assets are crucial for the transformation of the food system and for safeguarding water and biodiversity. While tackling systemic change in food and water is ambitious, we built on previous successes and identified areas of change that are both achievable and impactful for the food system and beyond.

Thanks to innovations over the past two decades, and a dedicated groundswell movement of passionate Seafood Farmers, it’s no longer true that there’s no way to farm seafood responsibly.

In this lab session, participants moved through three core tasks: (1) identifying and understanding key drivers in the current system, (2) defining priority areas for action, and (3) developing calls to action and policy proposals. They discussed key issues affecting food and water security, such as recognizing food and nutrition as a human right, using food to strengthen community bonds, enhancing water security and the role of clean water in food systems, and developing and supporting local food economies.

Recommendations & CTAs Around Food & Water Security

Fixing the food system could provide a suite of benefits, ranging from climate mitigation and resilience to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) simultaneously. If not addressed, the lack of social and ecological resilience may force frontline communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, to emigrate in search of food and water security. This migration could create a vicious cycle of conflict that further strains global food and water systems. So, participants brainstormed some recommendations and calls to action around food and water security and came up with the following:

Food and Nutrition as a Human Right:

• Adopt a minimum nutritional package by UN countries, tailored to local tastes, needs, and preferences. This initiative can be compared to the concept of Universal Basic Income, ensuring that basic nutritional needs are universally met.
• Support the creation and financing of food banks at a macro level, serving as strategic food reserves to ensure food security and access during times of need - especially related to climate shocks and other causes of food insecurity.

Food as a Community Builder:

• Recognize and promote the role of food in fostering social connections and a sense of belonging to a place, encompassing land, water, biodiversity, culture, and history.
• Provide grants and support for schools to establish community gardens, which can act as vibrant green spaces in urban settings and centers of community activity. Encourage the use of produce from these gardens in school meals and community gatherings.

Greater Water Security and Clean Water as an Input to Food Systems:

• Implement local-level policies for differentiated water use, including water treatment, greywater recycling, and rainwater catchment, while globally prioritizing clean water access as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal 6.

Creation and Promotion of Local Food Economies:

• Drive a foundational shift in social norms towards supporting local food initiatives through broad and influential media campaigns, learning from past successful campaigns that have significantly altered policy, consumer preferences, and economic landscapes.
• Provide financing and policy incentives to encourage the localization of food production processes via community-based facilities for processing food, promoting sustainability and local economic growth.