Whose Food System? Power, Climate and the Path to Something Better
About the session
Our food system is under pressure to change. Climate disruption is reshaping how and where food can be produced, food insecurity persists, and questions about health, sustainability and resilience are becoming harder to separate from the question of who holds power.
So who gets to shape what comes next?
Today’s food system is marked by significant corporate control, but alternative models are growing. Entrepreneurs and investors are building healthier and more sustainable food businesses. Young people are moving beyond representation to collaborate directly with decision-makers on food policy. Indigenous communities bring generations of knowledge about stewardship, land and food systems that rarely receive equal weight in decisions about the future.
This session will bring these perspectives into conversation, exploring what a climate transition for food could look like, where power needs to shift, and how investment, policy and community leadership can contribute to a food system that is more secure, sustainable and just.
Discussion Group Leaders
Hrishabh Sandilya is Co-Director at European Philanthropic Initiative for Migration, advancing systems change across migration, philanthropy, democracy, and climate.
Karin van Boxtel is Executive Director at Both ENDS, advancing environmental justice by connecting locally led solutions and frontline voices with global policy and finance.
Nela Cadinanos Gonzalez is Relationships & Partnerships Steward at Earthly Education, fostering youth-led climate action and regenerative systems that support human and ecological well-being.
Sita Lamartin is Founder at STAND-Students Taking Action for Nature + Dignity, fostering youth engagement in environmental policy, sustainable development, and civic action.
What to expect
A cross-sector conversation about the forces shaping the future of food, bringing together perspectives from entrepreneurship, investment, policy, youth leadership, food justice and Indigenous stewardship.
Rather than treating food security, climate, health and ownership as separate issues, the discussion will explore where they collide and what different actors can actually do to change the system.
Who this is for
This session is for food entrepreneurs, investors, funders, policymakers, climate practitioners, youth leaders, Indigenous leaders and food-system advocates interested in who has the power to shape the food transition and what a more resilient and equitable system could look like.
What you will get out of it
New perspectives on power and corporate control within the food system
Insights into businesses and investment models building healthier, more sustainable food
Lessons from youth-led policy engagement and collaboration with decision-makers
Perspectives on food justice and Indigenous stewardship
Connections across communities that often approach food, climate and security from different starting points