| What is AlimenTerra? Alimenterra is a new network of European organisations committed to developing practical and co-operative actions leading to the creation of a truly sustainable european food system. The organisations participating in the creation of AlimenTerra currently come from five European countries: France; Italy; the Netherlands; Spain and the UK and cover all the food chain from farmers’ unions and development organisations to NGO’s, local food initiatives and organic support bodies. Over the past decade its participants and many partner organisations have been engaged in carrying out joint actions which foster and promote a more sustainable food system. These actions have taken place at all geographical levels, involving both policy and practical actions that reflect the need to show how a truly sustainable system can operate, both locally and globally. Background Food and Agriculture play a key role in defining the culture and landscape of Europe at all geographical levels. Each village, town, region and city has its unique food culture that is based on a blend of local tradition, local products and local skills with products and traditions from across Europe and the world. As the emphasis in European agricultural and food policy moves from one based on quantity to one based on quality and sustainability, there is currently the opportunity for all Europeans, from food consumers to retailers and producers to contribute to the creation of a European Food System that is socially, economically and enviromentally sustainable. The production, distribution, preparation and eating of food should be one of the principal mechanisms for creating a more cohesive and healthy society, between rural and urban areas and between the different regions of the European Union. This is however increasingly under threat, as the globalisation of food culture is leading to standardisation of production systems and products. There is a growing distance between food producers and consumers divisions creating divisions between different sections of society both within and outside Europe and the growth of health problems through ignorance of the importance of a good diet. We live in a global economy, but instead of one that is moving towards a food monoculture it can be based on a network of co-operating local economies and cultures that interact to form a complex and flexible system whose strength is in diversity. Any food system should not be based on isolating the consumer from the source of their food or creating mutually antagonistic islands of 'local' food protected by trade barriers and intolerance. What characterises much of the current 'global' food system is the focus on food as a product with no traceability whose trade is designed to benefit the intermediary above the producer and consumer. The interests of food producers and consumers in each part of the European Union and throughout the world are common and it is through co-operation, not confrontation and a policy of mutual boycotts that a common fair and sustainable food system will be created. With the growing crisis in the food system and the increased need for practical solutions, the participants in AlimenTerra organised the Teruel 2001 forum, with the support of the Fondation Charles Leopold Meyer. Over a hundred participants from eleven European countries and three from Asia, Latin America and Africa gathered in Teruel, Spain from 19-22 of September to participate in the forum ‘Another Food System is possible’. They represented a broad cross-section of stakeholders in the food system: producer and consumer organisations, NGO’s working in the social or environmental sectors, academics, local and national governments. The forum agreed that the current the current dominant food system in Europe is the cause of poor nutritional standards and the serious crisis in our food system At the same time democratic and community influence and control over policy and decision making is weakening. It also allows decisions to be taken by a smaller and smaller number of private sector companies that are reducing and even eliminating a significant part of Europe’s food and cultural diversity and heritage. The organisers of the forum decided it was imperative to build on the process began in Teruel and are now establishing a formal network that will provide a platform for the promotion and support of a viable and sustainable European Food System in a Fair Global Economy. Proposals: 1. To foster local and co-operative initiatives in all sectors at all levels of the food chain that strengthen sustainable food and farming systems 2. To create a complementary system of food and farming standards that take into account the sustainability of agricultural holdings, which recognises the importance of social standards and which takes into account the full life time costs of production 3. To develop a European charter for public sector food provision which takes into account the well-being and health of our communities 4. To ensure that access to good food and a healthy diet should be prioritised in the formulation of food policy 5. To develop community actions and mobilise public opinion to demonstrate that another food system is possible 6. To develop a coherent food education programme at all levels that links healthy diets with sustainable production, food culture and biodiversity 7. To develop a proficient and effective European network that involves all organizations and individuals at local, national and European level that ensures that the proposals of AlimenTerra proposals are put into action 8. To create a European food system that is integrated into a sustainable global food system and which can provide an alternative to the industrial food model at all geographical levels Roles: > Acts as a central information and co-ordination point: putting people together, finding funding, building up expertise, sharing knowledge on project methodology and operation (and where appropriate undertake the management and co-ordination of projects or undertake specific measures to support the member co-ordinating the project) > Helps create a policy and philosophical path for the future, through organising and supporting information exchange and debate, both for AlimenTerra and the wider movement for a sustainable and ethical world > Acts both as a catalyst and as a support mechanism > Undertakes concrete actions: gathers data, communicates, develops and co-ordinates projects In summary - co-ordination, information, action, reflection. |