A Food Policy Council or Food Board is an organisation which enables citizens to influence food policy, generally on a local level. The concept originated in the United States, where the first council was founded in
Knoxville
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...
in 1982 to battle the effects of an economic recession on the local food supply system.
Food Policy Councils bring together different stakeholders that want to work on making healthy, local and sustainable food available for people in a certain region. In this way the councils connect representatives of consumers, producers,
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
and governments to find solutions suitable to their region.
The idea of local councils of this type has spread across North America and to other continents.
In Brazil a national Food Policy Council called CONSEA (Conselho de Segurança Alimentar e Nutricional) was established in the 90s. It was very successful in reducing the number of people affected by hunger and undernourishment. In 2019 President
Jair Bolsonaro
Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...
disbanded CONSEA on his first day in office to give the agrobusiness sector more power over the Amazon.
Examples of Food Policy Councils
Kamloops Food Policy Councilfounded in 1995
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Knoxville-Knox County Food Policy Council
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Toronto Food Policy Council founded in 1991
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New York State Food Policy Council founded in 2007
See also
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Community-based economics
Community-based economics or community economics is an economic system that encourages local substitution. It is similar to the lifeways of those practicing voluntary simplicity, including traditional Mennonite, Amish, and modern eco-village commu ...
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Food security
Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...
References
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Food politics