LocationsHow the Inner Development Goals can help shape Conscious Food Systems: Reflections from the Caux IDG Forum
October 16, 2024
The Inner Development Goals (IDGs) and the notion of Conscious Food Systems are closely aligned in that they both position inner change as indispensable for accelerating the achievement of the SDGs. But how can the synergies between IDGs and conscious food systems work in practice?
The Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation and IDGs Foundation provided the opportunity to address these questions by convening the Caux IDG Forum from July 9-13 th 2024. The UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), a movement of food, agriculture, and consciousness practitioners, joined IDG experts from around the world at the Caux Palace, in Switzerland. Teaming up with Ignacio Packer from IoFC Caux and Nadene Cannding, Coordinator of the IDG Global Practitioner Network, CoFSA facilitated the workstream on “SDG2: Conscious Food Systems”, which ran alongside 3 other workstreams on climate, peace and partnerships.
Framing the challenge: a story of disconnection
The journey started in the opening plenary with a disheartening picture of the weaknesses of our current food systems: the persisting malnutrition in all its forms; the depletion of soils, deforestation, waste production, carbon emissions; the perpetual inequities. All these elements tell the story of broken relationships – with our bodies, with nature, and between all those who produce, transform, cook, and consume food. The relationship to the other workstreams was also made clear: food systems as victims and causes of climate change; lack of food and resources as a cause and consequence of war; and the fact that partnerships are essential for all we do in food systems.
Voices of hope entered the space with the testimonials from Khulan Berger from My Blue Planet and Etienne Candaux, a local farmer, who demonstrated that transformation is possible, whether it be through the alchemy of communities coming together to reduce food waste, or a farmer embracing a personally transformative path of change in his relationship to Nature through more sustainable farming practices. The plenary ended with all participants sharing their concerns and ideas, generating a rich harvest of questions that guided the conversations to follow in community groups and workshops.
Threads of opportunity
Six workshops provided the space to explore more deeply the inter-connections between IDGs and food. Two central threads emerged as essential for weaving conscious food systems from within:
- The importance of healing relationships – with nature, with our self, and between all those who compose the food systems. The IDGs of being, relating and collaborating were very present as participants explored how healing can occur.
- The need to build new narratives about food systems and, through them, cultivate a new identity for our food systems. In this process, we drew upon capacities for thinking —individually and collectively— as a basis for collaborative action. In doing so, we found this called upon new ways of being and relating.
The workshops invited us to connect deeply with our senses and experience food in a completely different manner, tasting the love of the Earth embodied in the plants and the care of those who farm and prepare the food she gives us. Through generative conversations, participants found a key element of conscious action is working in ways that build and heal relationships —with the land, with food, with each other. Holding safe and transformative spaces for these connections to be build is essential. IDG practitioners and facilitators play a key role in such space-holding.
Another important aspect raised in the workshops was how to heal the narrative of development between the global North and South. Using empathetic listening, storytelling and drawing, participants worked to transform their stories of disconnection within themselves, with the land, and with their ancestors and wisdom traditions, into stories of restoration. The intention of this process is to empower us to be part of the change we want to see in food systems and beyond.
Building new narratives for healed food systems
As we journeyed on and deepened our relationships, we found that the healing and reconnecting we were experiencing could be anchored and sustained through building new narratives for our food systems. In the fourth workshop, members from the Hub des Possibles introduced us to the “Three Horizons” methodology: we characterised the present of our food systems and its challenges; we then journeyed into our imagination to describe the future food systems we dream of and, finally, identified the seeds that presently exist which we can water to make this imagined future a reality. A narrative of hope and possibility emerged.
At the heart of conscious food systems: love
As we left the Caux IDG Forum, we had no illusion that we had found the perfect definition of conscious food systems, nor that the solutions to the woes of our food systems were clear and straightforward. But we had experienced key ingredients for making the journey of facing these challenges together an expansive one: connection to self, others and Nature; vision, creativity and hope; deep listening, humility and co-creation; reciprocity, friendship and love. We personally experienced how practicing the IDGs can feed the achievement of SDG2, as well as all the other inter-related SDGs. And we found that SDG 0 —the SDG of Love and Joy is at the heart of the journey— a journey which is not only about nourishing our bodies, but also nourishing our hearts and souls.
If you'd like to know more about UNDP's convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), please visit here.