Citizen’s Assembly for Food Policy
Food consumption and production have profound impacts on the environment, climate, and society. To engage the Swiss population in redesigning the food policy with the support of key government agencies, collaboratio helvetica was commissioned with the process design and implementation of The Citizens' Assembly for Food Policy.
Our Vision
We envision a Switzerland where a diverse cross-section of citizens collaboratively defines sustainable food policies, fostering social cohesion and addressing complex food-related challenges.
Our Approach
Facilitating the creation of diverse and widely accepted solutions by leveraging the power of randomness – bringing people together from diverse backgrounds and generations.
Bridging social divides and enhancing the participation of the less politically engaged population by complementing existing political processes with the Citizen’s Assembly.
Addressing Key Needs
1. Foster Diversity: By selecting participants randomly, we ensured a diverse representation in terms of gender, age, education, and geographic distribution.
2. Develop Recommendations: Participants collaboratively explored sustainable food policies for Switzerland in 2030 and voted on co-developed recommendations.
3. Inform Decision-Makers: Our recommendations served as valuable decision-making inputs for politicians and administrators, contributing to informed policymaking.
4. Engage the Population: The Assembly actively involved the Swiss population in shaping the food policy and therefore promoted a broader civic engagement.
The Citizens' Assembly for Food Policy is part of the "Ernährungszukunft Schweiz" project of the foundation Biovision, the association Landwirtschaft mit Zukunft, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Switzerland).
