Thanks to Future Earth, we are excited to announce that the Fair Food Futures podcast and animation are ready for launch!

– written by Daniel Cruz

Building on our research findings – 4 scenarios, 4 pathways to transformative food system change – the Fair Food Futures video animation and podcast aims to facilitate a further space for dialogue and coalition building between members of civic food networks in
Australia and internationally, as well as a platform through which conversations about the
opportunities and challenges for policy change can take place.

In the podcast, leaders of community food networks, academics and activists from Australia and around the world will talk about the challenges, experiments, and pathways that policy makers and food movement actors can learn from as we seek to build fairer food systems. We are delighted to confirm the participation of world-famous expert such as author, activist, and filmmaker Dr. Raj Patel, academic and food security governance FAO’s expert Dr. Nora McKeon, UNRISD’s senior research analyst Maggie Carter, and landscape architect, TV presenter, and gardening superstar Costa Georgiadis. Importantly, the podcast will also highlight the food justice contributions of some amazing local community food networks in South East Queensland, including:

• UQ Reconciliation Garden, Green P Community Farm, Blue Dog Farm, Neighbourhood Farm, Loop Growers ,Regen Farmers Mutual, Growing Forward, and Northey St. City Farm

The video animation is a collaboration with celebrated Australian permaculture illustrator and educator Brenna Quinlan – whose drawings have been used during workshops and for the final presentation of our 4 future scenarios. We are excited to be able to extend this original creative work through animated illustrations, adding depth, movement, narration, and original music. Showcasing tiny but powerful characters, the animated video helps to raise awareness of civil society at large, about how Australian community food networks envisage more sustainable and just food futures, and to emphasise the key role that civil society can play in decision making spaces and the importance of working in partnership with policy makers.

The animation describes the four ‘Fair Food Futures’ scenarios and showcases diverse characters that cruise around the scenarios of “The Long Table”, “Fair Food in the City”, “Youth, Food & Climate Action”, and “Technology for the People”, with crucial final messages about the strategic need for establishing partnerships for the bringing fair food futures to life. Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and permaculture educator who strives to make the
world a better place through her art and her actions. As an illustrator, Brenna has worked with the Australian Red Cross, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, Plan International, Milkwood Permaculture, the Bob Brown Foundation, CSIRO and Costa
Georgiadis, among others.

About the launch & panel

The online launch will be followed by a panel discussion focused on some key policy mechanisms that can support the visions of civic food networks. Joining Dr Kiah Smith, Dr Daniel Cruz and Joanna Horton, our panel of guests will discuss some ideas for greater collaboration between civil society and other stakeholders in shaping fairer food systems – Sustainable Food Procurement, Food Policy Councils, and multi-level Governance.

Leah Galvin is a Churchill Fellow with a background in public health nutrition, community and regional development, and sustainable food systems. She lives in southern Tasmania and following on from her Fellowship trip in May and June of 2022 is now looking to work with allies to wake the sleeping giant of sustainable institutional food procurement to drive food systems change across Australia.

Kylie Newberry is a writer, speaker, advocate and founder of Our Food System and Urban Edible. As a semi-finalist in the global Food Systems Vision Prize. Kylie works to access under-utilised land and establish urban farms on them.

Amy MacMahon is the Greens MP for South Brisbane. She was elected off the back of a huge grassroots campaign, and holds the Greens state portfolios for health, education, housing and disability services. She has a background in sociology, research, teaching and community engagement. Amy currently rents in Woolloongabba with her greyhound and housemate.

The Pathways Communication grant

Earlier this year, we learned that our submission to Future Earth’s  Pathways Communication Grant 2022 was successful! This provided funding for an improved participatory communication strategy to share our research findings with audiences across Australia and internationally. Going beyond academic outputs, our main goal is to contribute  evidence that can enable policy makers and civil society to work together for the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals through food justice in Australia. In extending the aims of Fair Food Futures more broadly, we have therefore designed an animation and 7-part podcast series.

After a rigorous evaluation process, our project was one of only three projects awarded globally. The selection committee said that they chose our proposal given “its strength and well-documented research outcomes”. The committee particularly appreciated the development of scenarios with a wide range of stakeholders to explore different pathways, and also highlighted its innovative and participatory approach with great potential for high impact and broader reach, which fully aligns with the guiding principles of the Pathways Initiative. The other successful projects were awarded for their work on sustainable fisheries in Uruguay and on improved policy responses for sustainable and equitable use of land globally.

About Future Earth

Future Earth is a global network aiming to strengthen the interface between policy and science, and as such supports research and communication projects promoting sustainability outcomes at global levels. Future Earth was established in 2012 at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and is currently supported by the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Science Council (ISC), the United Nations University (UNU), and the Belmont Forum.

The Pathways Communication Grant Program is part of Future Earth’s initiative of Science-based Pathways for Sustainability, which aims to respond to the need to produce knowledge from a systemic approach, understanding and addressing the complexities involved in attaining development goals and sustainability transformations. In this context, the Pathways Communication Grant Program was launched in 2021 with the objective of supporting selected interdisciplinary projects to share their research findings about sustainability pathways, employing innovative communication strategies for increased civil society impact.