Independiente Diálogo
Enfoque geográfico:
Portugal
Main findings
In general, one sensed the following from the group discussions: - Widespread criticism of the absence of a stronger policy that structures cross-cutting issues such as changing consumer behavior, legislation, and the training and mobilization of various actors (producer, processors, distributors, retailers, etc.). - That there is room and willingness for civil society organizations, as well as the public sector, to constitute themselves as a more cross-cutting force, as a network, and to build constructive joint paths. - The opportunities for transforming food systems only arise with collabor
... Leer másation, integration, and convergence of the various actors in the food chain. The main conclusions on the three topics, in a cross-cutting way, were: - Knowledge: the need to study and better understand the food consumption habits and consumption behaviours of citizens in Portugal, by involving all stakeholders to, in particular, better understand the drivers and reasons for steering away from the Mediterranic diet, particularly among youth. - Long term vision and short-term actions: without compromising the need to have ambitious long term goals, it is key to focus on achievable short-term goals (3 years), that match societal expectations (e.g., having seafood and meat consumption reduction targets, which impact greatly on biodiversity and deforestation, but not unrealistic targets of excluding meat from diets). - Awareness: educate consumers to choose certified products (that meet principles, criteria, and indicators); informed and science-based education, instead of biased information and/or cherry-picked messages, especially for youth; integrate in school syllabus issues on diets and sustainability, adapted to local contexts. - Public Procurement: incentivize public procurement of sustainable food, including zero-deforestation criteria (e.g., for school cafeterias). - Public participation: Implement country-wide participatory guarantee systems to enable the recognition of sustainable production and consumption for those who cannot afford certification. - Labelling and Certification: adoption of legislation that makes traceability of goods mandatory. Make sustainability certification processes more flexible to adjust to local production contexts. Simplify information on certification systems to make it more accessible to the general public. Support businesses in rethinking and simplifying messages in food labels. Couple quality certification with sustainability certification (nutritional profile, benefits, and hazards). - Policy action by governments: this needs to be translated into guaranteeing more sustainable consumption for consumers and better conditions for market competition for businesses. - European policy mechanisms: to ensure meeting the targets of the European Green Deal and ensure that the Common Agriculture Policy is aligned with several environmental directives and strategies of the EU. Some of the challenges set for the future were: - Transform the forum started with the Independent Dialogue into something structured and consistent for the future, as a platform for civil society convergence to actively monitor food systems. - Explore how the different actors collectively manage to support each other, share information and knowledge, and transfer capacity building to others. - An opportunity to explore at the national level would be to create a convergence platform of different actors to act within the scope of the National Council for Food and Nutritional Security (with little expression and no consultative body), and to articulate its mission with that of Intermunicipal or Local Councils for Food and Nutritional Security . Leer menos
Línea(s) de Acción: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Palabras clave: Data & Evidence, Environment and Climate, Governance, Human rights, Innovation, Policy, Women & Youth Empowerment