Food Policy Council Berlin plenary elects new board and structure

On the 1st of July 2021, the plenary assembly of Berlin’s Food Policy Council [Ernährungsrat Berlin] took place online. Almost 70 people discussed and decided on two main issues, the election of a new board of speakers and the development of the Council’s organisational structure.

On its website, the initiative informs about a successful election:
‘For more than a year, we have postponed the speaker elections in the hope of having live elections. In the meantime, the tools for digital elections have evolved and become more secure! With this, the long period of the transitional speakers’ group finally came to an end and we say goodbye to: Henrike Rieken, Frank Nadler, Gundula Oertel, Annette Jensen, Sabine Werth, Oke Anyanwu and Lea Kliem. As their last official act, they presented the concept proposal for a Food Democratic Campus to aid the climate-just and socially-fair transformation of our food system, which was adopted the day before. We congratulate our new spokespeople Susanne Salzgeber, Sara Akramy, Sami Celtikoglu, Sabine Werth, Gundula Oertel, Frank Nadler and Annette Jensen on their election!’ (translated from German, shortened)

Regarding its flat-hierarchical organisational structure, the Ernährungsrat informs of an innovative development:
‘The past year has brought a lot of challenges for the Food Policy Council – for example, a pandemic that (almost) only allowed digital meetings, personnel changes in the coordination and the postponing of the spokespeople elections due to corona. There were few opportunities for exchange between the spokespeople group and the active members. At the same time, there is a lot of energy for a climate and socially-just food transition, this was shown not least by the action conference in November. Since December, the transitional group of spokespeople has been working to find structural answers to the weak points. The result – inspired by sociocracy – is a circle structure with a core as a space for thinking, discussion and decision-making, a strategy circle of spokespeople and various working groups. The vast majority of participants at the plenary meeting supported the further development of these structures.’ (translated from German, shortened)

The Ernährungsrat Berlin campaigns for sustainable food, nutrition and agriculture politics in the Berlin region. It is an open movement without formal membership. Everybody with a passion to sustainably transform the urban food system in the city and region of Berlin is invited to participate.

Katrin Bohn is a co-initiator of the Ernährungsrat Berlin. This grassroots initiative was initiated in 2014 by six sustainable food enthusiasts, including Katrin, via the AG Stadt & Ernährung and officially launched in 2016.

For information about the Ernährungsrat Berlin see here.

Information about the AG Stadt & Ernährung is here.

For more information on the development of the Ernährungsrat Berlin see here.

Image: The plenary decided on the development of the food policy council’s structure based on sociocratic principles. (source: Ernährungsrat Berlin www 2021)