How do we get past this crippling polarisation in the debate about food and agriculture? Rikolto and Groene Kring are connecting farmers and citizens from different backgrounds through real conversations about our food in a series of dialogue sessions.
Farming, the most beautiful craft in the world. Every farmer will convince you of this. But it is also a job where you need to work hard, bear many risks… and you don’t always get the appreciation of the people for whom you are producing that food: the consumers.
For some, it shouldn’t cost anything, while others accuse you of not producing sustainably enough. Are food production and consumption about being ‘good’ or ‘bad’? This way of thinking does not help us, but it empowers polarisation and slows down collective progress.
“What stuck with me? The fact that you can have a productive conversation, even though on paper it seems like you have a different opinion on everything.” (participant Bierbeek)
Practice teaches us that understanding between groups occurs when the parties do not talk about each other, but with each other.
Rikolto and Groene Kring, the association of young farmers and horticulturists, decided to work together. With the support of De Warmste Week (‘The Warmest Week’), we created a depolarising conversation method with Il Faro to bring farmers and citizens together so they can engage in dialogue while also listening to each other.
Using that conversation method, we look for what connects us, and we move beyond technical discussions. What shared interests and values represent our current systems? Nature, biodiversity, animal welfare, healthy food and fair prices are all important to us. So how do we put that into practice?“We have a different point of view but share thesame mindset. We stand closer to each other than we think.”
In 2022 and 2023, we organised four dialogues on four farms in different regions in Flanders. Each time, 8 young citizens (18-35 years old) with different backgrounds engaged in conversations with 8 young farmers that are part of Groene Kring. In one-to-one conversations, they got to work on the questions of the methodology.
The participants evaluated the roundtables as something very positive. Many told us that they had expected to defend their own ideas and ideals from a hedgehog position, but that something entirely different happened during the evening.
Although they observed that they had opposing views on many statements, the conversations and methodology forced them to dig deeper than that opposition by truly listening to each other. This way, participants discovered that they share a lot of values and arguments. That formed the basis for an open conversation about the future of farming and nutrition, and not at all the discussion between two opposites, as they had thought beforehand.
Finally, the participants indicated that the methodology had brought them more than just good conversations during the evening itself. It gave them insights for discussions and conversations in their daily lives.
An opinion maker was also present during each of the conversations, describing the mood of the evening in a piece for a newspaper or website. This way, the conversations also contributed to the public food debate.
Multiple opinions, columns and reports were written and published, as well as some podcasts on the topic.
In the future, Rikolto and Groene Kring will continue to work together to organise new conversations between farmers and other people who play a role in our foodsystem.
“We have a different point of view but share the same mindset. We stand closer to each other than we think.” (participant)
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