Building on our predecessor the Food Climate Research Network, TABLE brings over 15 years of work on food systems issues and a large community of academics, civil society, industry and policy makers. We offer free accessible peer-reviewed resources that are used in courses around the world.
TABLE Explainers
Explainers are short, peer-reviewed introductions to concepts that are important for understanding food systems and food sustainability. Some examples include:
- What is agroecology? (+ video summary)
- Soy: food, feed, and land use change
- What is food security?
- What is food sovereignty? (+ video summary)
- What is the land sparing-sharing continuum?
To ensure a fair and accurate depiction of contentious topics or debates, explainers are reviewed by at least 4 experts who hold a range of differing viewpoints.
Online discussion platform
We welcome students, researchers and educators to engage in discussions with a wide range of food systems stakeholders. This is a space to ask questions and start discussions. Some topics include:
- What are the differences between regenerative agriculture, organic and agroecology?
- Food waste in the supply chain is the marketing of solutions?
- What's you approach to palm oil when shopping?
- Which contested food topics should TABLE work on?
FEED Podcast
Debates about the future of food have become more polarised than ever - and little attention is paid to why people hold genuinely different beliefs. This podcast aims to fill this gap by exploring the evidence, worldviews, and values that people bring to global food system debates.
Season 1 - Globalization and scale in the food system
- Ep1: Ken Giller on the Food Security Conundrum
- Ep5: Jennifer Clapp on Commodifying Food
- Ep9: Jessica Duncan on "We eat, drink and breathe food policy"
- Ep10: Vincent Ricciardi on Challenging Assumptions
Season 2 - Power in the food system
- Ep1: Phil Howard on Corporate Consolidation
- Ep2: Julie Guthman on Capital, Tech and Alternative Food
- Ep9: Blain Snipstal on "Battling plantation agriculture today"
- Ep13: Jason Clay on "Building and flying the plane as we go"
Visuals
TABLE is beginning to produce interactive visuals that map out the dynamic positions or assumptions built into contentious food systems debates. See the visual below reflecting some of the differences between the Regenerative, Agroecology, and Organic movements.
To find out more about TABLE's work, and for answers to questions such as 'What is the food system? What is the difference between food sovereignty and food security? How is the food system contributing to greenhouse gases and so to climate change?' please check out our FAQs.
Please get in touch with matthewkessler@tabledebates.org or sophiehockley@tabledebates.org if you’d like to discuss ideas to integrate TABLE into your educational curriculum or collaborate with us on workshops or events.
You might also be interested in checking out our food systems glossary.
