Transition Days was hosted at the Carré in Hollerich on Friday and Saturday Jess Bauldry/Maison Moderne

Transition Days was hosted at the Carré in Hollerich on Friday and Saturday Jess Bauldry/Maison Moderne

Speaking on the first day of the Transition Days food sovereignty forum on Friday, Camille Gira said: “If we don’t manage to get European agricultural policy in a different direction then there will be big implications for biodiversity […] We’re at a crucial point, a breaking point, when it comes to climate change but also the issue of biodiversity.”

Hosted at the Carré in Hollerich, the two-day event included workshops and conferences with Friday focusing on change-makers in business, politics and the not-for-profit sector and Saturday targeted at the wider public. Organised by community action group Cell, the overarching theme was how to respond to global food needs in 30 years when the world’s population reaches 10 billion while tackling the problems of global warming.

Attendees on Friday had a sneak preview of a documentary in progress about Luxembourg’s alternative food production industry, including projects like biodynamic food producers Terra and the community gardens network. They also learned more about cutting edge community projects such as the Incredible Edibles (Incroyables Comestibles), a movement that founded in the UK and active around the work in reclaiming public spaces to grow food that anyone can pick.

Photo: Jess Bauldry/Maison Moderne. Stands showcased different food production initiatives in Luxembourg

Linda Bedouet, meanwhile, talked about the “Fermes d’Avenir” (farms of the future) network, supporting people to create their own micro farms around France. “By 2025 around 50% of our farmers will have retired,” Bedouet said, adding that the trend is for farms to get larger and produce more intensively, increasing the negative impact on the environment and nutritional value of foods produced.

“We have to reinvent the job to make it possible to live from,” she said, adding that the beneficiaries of such projects are all of society. Outcomes from Friday’s discussions are expected to be reported back to the government and will, Gira said, be taken into account for the next agricultural policy.