Geraldine Gilbert

Food Systems Transition Lead (UK/Europe)

Background

I lead Forum's work on food system transition in the UK/Europe region. I work on the future of food and sustainable nutrition, through partnerships, projects and collaborative programmes with food-related businesses and other organisations across the value chain and across multiple food sectors. I joined Forum for the Future in April 2007, following various formative work-travel adventures around the world.

After studying anthropology and human rights, my journey has included a bit of campaigning and fundraising at the UK’s Fairtrade Foundation in its early days; supporting north-Indian health and education centre Nishtha; interviewing candidates for the “1000 women for Nobel Peace Prize” campaign; a stint on the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’s police reform projects in Delhi; lots of coffee, tea and chocolate at fair trade, organic food brand Alter Eco in Paris; growing veg and planting trees at Sunseed sustainable living project in southern Spain; exploring the wonderful world of olive oil, argan trees and women’s co-operatives in Morocco; and a visit to the beautiful Amazon jungle with Peruvian cocoa farmers working on forest protection with Pur Projet.

Joining Forum for the Future in 2008 was a way to bind all these experiences into the bigger picture of sustainable development and I’ve never looked back.

My dream project?

Anything about the future of food and taking us closer to a happy, healthy, resilient food system, with the things that really matter at its heart, from repairing the natural world we depend on, to ensuring everyone is well nourished and enjoys a positive relationship with food. Food is at the heart of so many of the world’s challenges, from climate change to public health, but it also holds the key to solving them and to improving human happiness and wellbeing. I’m a firm believer in the power of looking at the bigger picture, and in the importance of people and food culture when trying to change food systems (whether it’s agriculture or nutrition, food is never just a technical matter). I love working with others to understand how issues connect and what will really help people to eat differently so we can achieve tasty, enjoyable, healthy sustainable diets for all.

What floats my boat outside work?

More sustainable food system stuff. I'm on the management committee of Growing Communities, a pioneering community-led, food-focused social enterprise in Hackney, London, and I’m a trustee of Nishtha UK Trust. I’m also a co-founder and trustee of Flavour School, a charity set up to get sensory food education into all UK schools, as a way of equipping the next generation of eaters with the confidence and curiosity to try new foods – a foundation for healthy, diverse, sustainable diets.

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