As part of the EU’s Green Deal, the Farm-to-Fork strategy will attempt to make Europe’s food systems fair, sustainable and healthy. But what role do cities have in this journey?
Born from the work of Eurocities’ WG Food and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, Food Trails will tackle this issue with a series of high-profile breakfast dialogues to discuss what role cities can play in transforming food systems and achieving climate goals through food.
The first dialogue on 27 April will look at the role of cities for fair food systems, the collaboration with farmers in the surrounding areas and ensuring access to food to all citizens. This discussion will feature Vice-Mayor of Milan in charge of food policy, Anna Scavuzzo, and Member of the European Parliament, Herbert Dorfmann, member of the Agricultural Committee and rapporteur in charge of the European Parliament report on the Farm to Fork. This debate will be in Italian with live English interpretation.
Following this, on 5 May, Councillor Paulette Hamilton from the city of Birmingham will discuss with Alexandra Nikolakopoulou, Head of Unit at Directorate General on Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), in charge of Food Sustainability and Farm to Fork strategy, how to ensure that all citizens have access to healthy food, food education is guaranteed in schools and how cities can establish collaboration with retailers.
Lastly, on 6 May, Gijs Schilthuis, Head of Unit, Directorate General in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and Franciska Rosenkilde, mayor of culture and leisure, for the city of Copenhagen, will discuss the role of cities in supporting the EU food and environmental ambitions with tools such as public procurement, promotion of sustainable diets, rural-urban linkages and urban food production.
Speaker profiles
Councillor Paulette Hamilton has been a councillor in Birmingham since June 2004 and Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care since 2016. Her interest in politics developed following involvement in a number of health projects at local, regional and national level. In 2017 Councillor Hamilton visited India to establish the BINDI partnership in Pune and has participated in MUFPP Annual Gatherings to advance the city’s food strategy. Councillor Hamilton is Chair of the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board.
Alexandra Nikolakopoulou is Head of the Farm-to Fork-strategy Unit at the European Commission’s directorate general for health and food safety (DG SANTE). She is charged with the implementation of some aspects of the strategy, such as the general framework for sustainable food systems, package labelling and nutrient profiles, origin labelling, sustainable labelling and food waste. She has worked at DG SANTE since 2003.
