Active on food systems transformation? Help us shape the future of food policy
On 5 December 2024 ECOLISE launched a policy positioning process on Just and Sustainable Food Systems from a grassroots perspective. This process includes conversations and deliberations with members and partners to identify barriers and opportunities faced by community-led initiatives (CLIs) in transforming food systems. The outcome of this process will be a policy positioning document featuring co-created policy recommendations and a collection of inspiring food initiatives.
Why do grassroots food initiatives need to speak up now?
Food is top of the agenda of the newly elected European Commission. An EU vision on the future of agriculture and food is planned for publication in February 2025. It is expected to present a 5-year plan for policy proposals to adapt our food systems to environmental and climate challenges.
Food systems encompass how we produce, transform, distribute, consume food or deal with food waste. Citizens and communities reinvent our food systems on the ground. These innovations need to be known by policymakers to inspire further change and properly support their uptake.
What makes this policy positioning process unique is that it is rooted in the stories you bring. We don’t expect you to arrive with fully formed policy proposals. Instead, the objective is to co-create these proposals based on your stories, needs and dreams, which will serve as the foundation for meaningful dialogue with policymakers.
Why join?
Whether you are a member of a civil society organization, a community-led initiative, a farmer, a researcher, or a policymaker—operating at local, regional, national, or EU level—if you are committed to addressing climate, biodiversity, and sustainability challenges through transformative food practices, we invite you to join us in this process. Together, we aim to reshape food systems to prioritize justice, biodiversity, and resilience.
What does the process look like?
This policy positioning on food follows a structured timeline inspired by sociocratic decision-making processes. Currently, we are in the briefing and information phase, where we focus on creating a shared understanding of the issues at hand. This step is essential for building a strong foundation for the work ahead.
Following this, we will conduct deep dives into the selected key topics (eg. access to land, water, seeds, biodiversity, etc). These deep dives involve gathering real-world stories and examples related to each topic, which will serve as the building blocks for the policy recommendations.
By summer, we aim to move into the consent phase, where we will co-create a visually compelling policy document. This will combine policy recommendations with the good practices and stories collected during the deep dives. Using sociocratic consent practices, participants will collaboratively refine and finalize the document, ensuring broad support.
In parallel to these three phases, we also plan to organise an ongoing dialogue dialogue with policy-makers throughout the process, highlighting the importance of participatory policy-making and showcasing the innovations to food systems community-led initiatives bring. Once we have agreed on final policy recommendations, we plan to step up the promotion of the final policy recommendations with policymakers.
How can you participate?
Types of Engagement
Whether you are willing to join a couple of calls or commit throughout, we want you in! There are different ways to stay engaged to embrace the diversity of voices and schedules:
- Follow the Process: Join the calls—no strings attached!
- Process Partner: contribute during the online events, or in-between events sharing information/views, endorse the process by showcasing your logo and disseminate it within your network (Commitment: Approximately 1 call/2 hours per month for 6 months)
- Editorial Board Members: Steer the consent process for policy positioning to ensure alignment with the overall vision and values of the ECOLISE network (Commitment Level: High, Eligibility: ECOLISE members only!)
Why join?
This is an opportunity to ensure that grassroots voices and community-led initiatives are recognized for their transformative potential in creating sustainable and just food systems. There is a critical need to reimagine how sustainable food can be produced and consumed. Sharing stories helps bridge this gap and spark new ideas.
The process brings together like-minded individuals and organizations from across Europe and beyond, fostering collaboration and alliance-building. By participating in it, you will develop skills in advocacy, learning how to translate real-world stories into actionable policy recommendations.
Contributions to this initiative gain exposure through ECOLISE’s communication channels, showcasing your work to a broader audience.
This process is about much more than contributing to policy; it’s about inspiring change, building connections, and amplifying the collective power of grassroots initiatives.
Join us!
Sign up here to join the process
