Summary of forests from Workshop I
As presented in a previous post, Swedish food system actors worked on creating forests of positive ‘seeds’ sprung from the Covid-19 pandemic at the first project workshop on March 9th. In this post we present a summary of each forest that the participants created. These forests became starting points for writing the narratives that we based the second workshop on.
The BLUE forest
In the blue forest, all food has a climate declaration that includes factors such as biodiversity, energy, health, working conditions and agenda 2030. Consumption is based on the indigenous people’s way of eating and values food based on nutrition (e.g. reindeer meat contains ten times more vitamin B12 than pork) and means a more direct contact and relationship between producer and consumer. It challenges the current industrial meat production and animal husbandry, and natural grazed meat largely replaces industrial meat. Residents experience greater social cohesion through food that contributes to improved mental and physical health. In an active civil society, people connect and help each other, for example through the sharing economy.
Example of a Barrier: Data on e.g. climate impact and nutrition is not public
Example of an Enabler: Joint insight into the impact of food on the climate including standardized communication.
The RED forest
The red forest is a vision of a self-sufficient Sweden. In local “district kitchens” (which can be existing kitchens such as school kitchens), everyone can have access to nutritious food. You cook and eat together and thus save time, and have a space for socializing and learning. Production in the red forest is increased by using unused fallows that have been set aside to e.g. cultivate ley. Through research and developed methods for how ley is harvested and processed, ley becomes a crop even for humans and, as for hemp, the popularity of ley in the kitchens is increasing. This contributes to an increased degree of self-sufficiency in Sweden, and helps us keep the landscapes open. The accounting system (Creating Shared Value) in the red forest includes all costs and values created in the value chain. The planetary boundaries form the foundation for evaluation and biological diversity is valued. It should be expensive with ‘bad’ food and easy for consumers to choose ‘good’ food.
Example of a Barrier: The existing pricing mode where unhealthy food is cheaper than healthy food.l
Example of an Enabler: Processing facilities for grass (i.e. ley)
The YELLOW forest
The yellow forest shows how smaller food actors can work to create sustainable food systems. Here, restaurants prepare food based on what is available for the day, thereby reducing the waste. It is also possible to buy batches of raw materials from the wholesaler that are close to their best before date. Should there be food left over, it is sold in the local, digital grocery store (or carpet market) FOOD PURCHASE from which deliveries are completely fossil-free. Here, the consumer and the local producer meet by selling a wide range of food crafts, with less focus on bulk and more on energy or nutrient density. As a support to small-scale actors who want to change or are in need of change, a new platform for coordination and increased understanding is created. Here, the information goes out to all levels like a waterfall and back up again, both through digital and in-person meetings.
Example of a Barrier: Mental barriers to eating wastage (“is it dangerous?”)
Example of an Enabler: Create attraction for small-scale solutions. Change of ownership.
The text was written by Jenny Norrby and is a part of the Rapid Transition Lab, a collaboration between Stockholm Resilience Center, Dark Matter Labs, and Vinnova, which you can read more about here.
