Harmony in food and farming
- The future health of people and planet can only be ensured if there is a transition away from extractive farming to producing healthy food in harmony with nature.
- Two-day Summit at Dumfries House brought together UK and international industry leaders and farmers.
- His Majesty The King joined participants at the conclusion of the Summit.
The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, in partnership with The King’s Foundation and the Sustainable Food Trust, brought together UK and international industry leaders and farmers for the Harmony in Food and Farming Summit at Dumfries House, on 15 and 16 September.
The future health of people and planet can only be ensured if there is a transition away from extractive farming to producing healthy food in harmony with nature.
The event discussed how food systems can be transformed and made more resilient through regenerative agriculture, capacity building and agronomic expertise, together with collective mechanisms for finance to share risk at landscape level. Sessions focused on the solutions available, what is still needed, and the collective actions required to scale.
Bringing together a diverse group of practitioners, senior leaders and influential voices who play a key role in shaping, delivering and regenerating the agri-food system, the Summit was inspired by His Majesty’s Harmony philosophy, which promotes the idea that lasting prosperity depends on a balanced relationship between people, place and planet.
His Majesty The King joined participants at the conclusion of the two-day Summit, to hear reflections and key insights from the event.
Background
Current food and farming systems are unsustainable: they are extractive of natural and social capital, contribute to climate change, deplete biodiversity, and cause damage to public health.
Geopolitical instability and surging input costs are exposing the fragility of conventional, input-dependent agriculture. Increasing climatic extremes and soil degradation are making it more difficult to produce food, with three of the five worst harvests on record in the last five years.
The question is no longer whether to transition to regenerative food systems, but how to move collectively at the speed and scale the moment demands to reverse food insecurity and improve resilience.
Photos: The King’s Foundation / Jamie Simpson
