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‘We need political leadership if we are to achieve a sustainable food system’
‘Inequality, hunger, climate change, biodiversity loss: the great challenges of our time all relate to how the food system functions.’ According to associate professor Jeroen Candel, we urgently need to change the way in which we produce and consume food. At the Opening of the Academic Year (OAY), on 4 September 2023, Candel will speak about how politicians can drive the transition to a better food system – and how all of us can play a part in it.
Asked about the global-level problems he associates with the food system, Jeroen Candel recites a long list: ‘Greenhouse gas emissions, water problems, biodiversity loss, animal welfare concerns. And in terms of health: obesity, type 2 diabetes, and millions of people who lack access to healthy and sufficient food. And working conditions in the food chain are often poor too.’
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Subsidies and school lunches
So we urgently need a transition to a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system. Candel and other scientists at Wageningen have all sorts of ideas about a basket of effective measures to enable that transition. In his OAY speech, he will present the audience with some of the items included in that basket. ‘They include putting a price tag on pollution, using subsidies in different ways, providing school lunches, food education, and much more. But those types of interventions require a certain degree of political leadership.’
Politicians often point to the market, or to consumers, but that’s not very effective
Political leadership and policy change are precisely the topics that lie at the heart of Candel's research. As a public administration expert, he researches how the government might achieve a transition to a better food system. ‘There’s no natural law mandating that the food system must function as it does right now. It’s an outcome of political choices. Politicians often point to the market, or to consumers, but that’s not very effective.’
Fragmented food policy
It certainly won’t be easy to get politicians to instigate change. The complexity of the food system means it’s linked not just to food policy, but also to trade and agricultural policy. And on top of that, several layers of government are involved: agriculture, for example, sits at the level of European governance, while education is a national issue. ‘There’s a lot of fragmentation, and that makes it difficult to change the course of the food system.’
Candel has also observed how certain stakeholder organisations can also be resistant to change: ‘For example, a strong lobby emerged against stricter European rules on pesticide use. By sowing doubt and steering research in a certain direction, such groups try to put the brakes on any changes. Unfortunately, politicians still appear susceptible to these kinds of lobbying groups, rather than putting the long-term public interest first.’
The power of civil society
Despite the complexity of the issue, Candel is seeing a variety of positive developments: ‘It’s been a long time since food and agriculture sat this high on the political agenda. More and more cities, including Wageningen, Ede and Almere, have invested in a local food strategy. And at the European level, we have the Farm to Fork Strategy.’ According to Candel, this kind of top-down policy needs to be complemented with initiatives designed to engage civil society in the transition, such as climate roundtables and local food policy councils.
We do all have influence as individual citizens, more than we might sometimes think
In his OAY speech, Candel will therefore stress the importance of getting the general pubic involved. ‘Political science has taught us that community mobilisation is incredibly important in putting issues on the political agenda. Fridays for Future and other climate protests have really helped increase public pressure, and are the main reason the European Commission developed its Green Deal agenda. We do all have influence as individual citizens, more than we might sometimes think.’