In this introductory episode of the Fair Food Futures podcast, Dr Kiah Smith, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland; and landscape architect, TV presenter, and gardening superstar Costa Georgiadis, engage in a conversation about the diversity of grassroots fair food initiatives in Australia. 

Imagining he had a 'magic wand', Costa describes his ideal 'fair food future', and talks with Kiah about how civic food initiatives can be scaled-up to transform the wider food system.  The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities for materialising these fair food futures through the Australian policy making space. 

This first episode provides details on the participatory design and findings of the Fair Food Futures Project, as well as the themes, guests, scenarios and pathways for transformative change in the food systems that will be discussed in the upcoming episodes. 

 More information about the Fair Food Futures Project and the scenarios:  

 https://fairfoodfutures.com/explore-the-scenarios/  

 Costa's website: https://costasworld.com.au/         

 Organisations mentioned by Costa Georgiadis and Dr Kiah Smith: 

https://foodconnect.com.au/      

https://sustain.org.au/   

https://www.facebook.com/CropSwapAustralia/   

https://communitygarden.org.au/     

https://ceres.org.au/  

https://www.northfreosocialfarm.org/  

https://www.farmitforward.com.au/   

https://loopgrowers.com/    

 Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates about fair food systems in Australia: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX9Jg67LCCUWV9on5gGLtTg  

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The Fair Food Futures project is led by Dr Kiah Smith from The University of Queensland and funded by The Australian Research Council (DE190101126). This podcast is produced by Dr Kiah Smith, Dr Daniel Cruz, Joanna Horton and VMP Studio, and funded by the Future Earth's Pathways Initiative.

Visit our website at: https://fairfoodfutures.com/

In this second episode of the Fair Food Futures podcast, the world-famous author, filmmaker, activist, and academic Dr Raj Patel shares an overview of some of the structural problems with the global food system, in conversation with Dr Kiah Smith, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. 

 By drawing on evidence gathered during more than 30 years researching (and fighting) the global and US food systems, Raj shares his insights about the history and potential of food justice as a vehicle to build more sustainable and fair food systems at various levels. Kiah talks about the concept of food justice from the Australian perspective, delving deeper into the diversity of fair food experiments already taking place at a national level, and describing the key pathways that the Fair Food Futures Project identified to build food justice in Australia. 

 The conversation touches on the interplay between capitalism, food justice, resistance, and transformative social change in the food system, from a political economy perspective and a social justice standpoint, based on the experiences of real-life movements currently transforming food systems, both globally and in Australia. 

More information about the Fair Food Futures Project and the pathways for food justice:   

https://fairfoodfutures.com/explore-the-scenarios/  

Raj Patel website: https://rajpatel.org/ 

Links mentioned by Dr Raj Patel during the podcast episode: 

Landless Workers' Movement: https://mst.org.br/ 

2023 US Farm Bill: https://www.rafiusa.org/2023-farm-bill/

The Durban Shack Dwellers’ Movement: http://abahlali.org/a-short-history-of-abahlali-basemjondolo-the-durban-shack-dwellers-movement/

Fairbairn, M. (2014). ‘Like gold with yield’: Evolving intersections between farmland and finance. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 41(5), 777-795. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2013.873977 

 Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates about fair food systems in Australia: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX9Jg67LCCUWV9on5gGLtTg  

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The Fair Food Futures project is led by Dr Kiah Smith from The University of Queensland and funded by The Australian Research Council (DE190101126). This podcast is produced by Dr Kiah Smith, Dr Daniel Cruz, Joanna Horton and VMP Studio, and funded by the Future Earth's Pathways Initiative.

Visit our website at: https://fairfoodfutures.com/

In this episode of the Fair Food Futures podcast we begin our journey alongside leaders of civic food networks in Australia, learning from them how they uphold intersectional solidarity and care practices in their work. This episode brings together three examples of how the “Long Table” scenario identified by the Fair Food Futures project can look like in practice. 

Francis Nona and Dr Preetha Thomas, from the UQ Reconciliation Garden, explain how the garden aims to promote the voices of First Nations peoples and embed indigenous food knowledges within the public and academic discourse, while providing a safe space for First Nations students and community members. 

Dr Daniel Cruz from the Green Pea Community Farm talks about the community building and partnership-building strategies they employ to facilitate the empowerment of the 61 refugees of the community farm, who come from Bhutanese , Solomon Islands, and Karen backgrounds primarily.  

Susannah Holmes, from Your Farm, narrates the story of how this community-based organisation succeeded in establishing a spray-free farm in the middle of a racecourse, as well as a veggie distribution network at Deagon. 

Our guests speak about the deeper meanings of food (e.g.: spiritual, cultural), based on their experiences working in partnership with First Nations, grassroots, and refugee communities. They discuss the encounters with marginalisation experienced by these communities in their interaction with the food system and describe how their initiatives have promoted ways of caring between the members and supporters of these projects. 

Finally, our guests reflect on the key role that intersectional strategic alliance building plays in the transformation of the food system, and share their lessons and advice to progress a fairer food future that is more inclusive. 

More information about the Fair Food Futures Project and the scenarios for food justice HERE.   

UQ Reconciliation Garden: https://public-health.uq.edu.au/article/2022/06/indigenous-heritage-and-flora-flourishing-uq-reconciliation-garden 

 
Green Pea Community Farm ABC’s documentary and associated pages:  

https://www.sandbag.org.au/visit-green-p-farm/ 

https://www.facebook.com/greenpfarmdeagon 

Your Farm Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/yourfarm.4017

Article: “3 ways community gardens often exclude migrants and refugees — and how to turn this around” 

Like and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates about fair food systems in Australia.

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The Fair Food Futures project is led by Dr Kiah Smith from The University of Queensland and funded by The Australian Research Council (DE190101126). This podcast is produced by Dr Kiah Smith, Dr Daniel Cruz, Joanna Horton and VMP Studio, and funded by the Future Earth's Pathways Initiative.

Visit our website at: https://fairfoodfutures.com/