7th Nature of Prosperity Dialogue

Food Possibilities—finding food justice within planetary boundaries

Manchester, 23 February 2023

As the world faces conflict, a cost of living crisis and a climate emergency, it has never been more urgent to find new visions for the future of food. The 7th event in our Nature of Prosperity dialogue (held under the patronage of the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams) will explore how community level innovations can tackle health, affordability and sustainability in our food systems. How can we move to a food system that puts health and regeneration ahead of profit and ‘growth at any cost’? Can community initiatives provide sustainability, affordability and food justice? What is the role of social entrepreneurs, food sector workers, researchers and creatives in exploring and devising new alternatives? The in-person event, to be held at Bridge 5 Mill in Manchester, will address these vital questions through presentation and in-depth discussion. 

Building on The Peoples Palace of Possibility, the day will also feature The Palace Pantry—an interactive arts installation that allows participants to collate ingredients and recipes for their own food futures. Our partners, The Bare Project, have swapped out custard and Nescafé for reflections on what gives us hope, what we’re afraid of, and visions of a workable future for food. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with pantry ingredients, and using a recipe card, decide what to take with them into the day.

The full video recording of the event is hosted on the CUSP youtube channel. The highlight video is embedded above. Photos from the event can be accessed on our Facebook page.

Programme

09.00 | Arrivals / The Palace Pantry
09.45 | Welcome and Introduction
10.00 | Keynote by Dr Rowan Williams
10.45 | Tea break / The Palace Pantry
11.00 | Food in crisis: food justice for a finite planet
Panel discussion with Sue Pritchard (Director, Food, Farming and Countryside Commission), A/Prof Angelina Sanderson Bellamy (UWE Bristol), Guy Singh-Watson (Founder, Riverford) and Carolyn Steel (Author of Sitopia). Chair: Prof Tim Jackson (CUSP, University of Surrey).
12.30 | Lunch / The Palace Pantry
13.30 | Food in action: social enterprise and grassroots innovation
Panel discussion with Corin Bell (Director, Open Kitchen), Geetie Singh-Watson MBE (Organic Food Entrepreneur and Hotelier), Gareth Roberts (Founder, Regather) and Chris Walsh (Co-Founder, Kindling Trust). Chair: Prof Fergus Lyon (CUSP, Middlesex University).
14.45 | Tea Break / The Palace Pantry
15.00 | Food Possibilities
Interactive feedback session on The Palace Pantry with small group discussions. Chairs: Malaika Cunningham and Bethany Wells.
16.00 | Reflections on the day
16.30 | Close / Reception

Background image: courtesy of Markus Spiske / Unsplash

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