‘Voedsel Anders’ (literally: Food Otherwise) is about the transition to a different farming and food system. Photo Scott Warman / Unsplash This Friday and Saturday, Orion is the place to exchange ideas and experiences about new agriculture and food systems. The occasion is the Voedsel Anders Conference. WUR hosts this year’s edition. Voedsel Anders is made up of farmers and civic organisations who call for a transition from the industrialised, globalised agricultural system to a more sustainable, equitable and democratic approach.
Some well-known names appear on the n the long list of over fifty workshops. Johan Vollenbroek of MOBilisation for the Environment, for example, who successfully opened discourse on the legitimacy of the Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen (Dutch acronym PAS) before the Council of State. He discusses the nitrogen issue with Geesje Rotgers of AgriFacts, a research platform rooted in the agricultural lobby.
EU influence
WUR-professor Jeroen Candel, who recently voiced sharp criticism in De Volkskrant on the ‘brigades of doubters’ funded by the agro-industry, is also present. Candel is one of the panel members in a workshop on the influence of the EU trade and agriculture policies on the global food crisis and the climate, nitrogen and biodiversity crises.
In addition to Candel, other WUR scientists contribute to the conference, such as Arnold van der Valk (retired professor of land-use planning), agro-ecologist Esther Hofkamp and agro-systems researchers Jan Hassink and Margriet Goris.
The organisation expects some 300 guests, a ‘mixture of farmers, activists, students, consumers, scientists and policymakers who wish to take steps towards a new food and agricultural system. The conference will be opened on Friday evening by rector magnificus Arthur Mol.