From here ot where?

It’s almost over. We’ve eaten well, of course. This is Italy, after all, and food is a focus of the workshop. We’ve made it too. I’ve made pasta for the first time in my life, taught by an 84 year old grandmother. I’ve met people from countries I’ve never met people from before and heard their stories – personal and political, inspiring and distressing. Stories that tell of a very disparate and still divided Europe, struggling to come to terms with the legacy of its history. And that legacy, struggle and its consequences fall unequally on men and women, not because of their biological differences but because of the distribution of power and control between them, because of the way risks and benefits from change fall, because of the gaps between rich and poor, because of the way gender roles are constructed and maintained. All of which are challenging and discomforting for me as a man.

            We have looked beyond Europe, to its place in a deeply unequal world and to the dynamics and geopolitics that surround food. It is a world which, through its history, Europe has helped create. We’ve heard, on video, inspiring stories from illiterate, marginalised women in India. Had revealed to us the long peaceful period in what archeologists call Old Europe, led by women. And much more, including an outline of the reality of what lies behind US food aid and the ‘iron triangle’ that supports it and why thinking about meals rather than food provides a sounder basis for understanding ‘food security’.

            But, so what? We are better connected, better informed. How will this connect into actions that help tackle the challenges we face? Climate change not only poses the biggest threat to the environment that has sustained us but also the settlement patterns and food webs we have come to accept.

For me, the gender dimension will be a bigger part in how I understand and talk about the food system and the choices we face. More broadly, one challenge is to link the personal and the stories beyond the usual concerns that emerge, such as children’s eating and obesity, to financial, political and economic structures. To understand better how power is exercised and engendered around food and how such understanding helps focus action that connects local to global in seeking to create a fair and sustainable system for everyone, everywhere.

         Within Europe it means having a better understanding of the diversity of experiences and translation of those into policy from local to EU level. Both are needed to transform the EU’s approach to food and farming. Here the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy reform is central. Beyond that, though we must look at the responsibilities and actions taken by the EU and members states to the rest of the world. And celebrate and enjoy the diversity and depth of the myriad of food cultures and draw on them in this.

Geoff