4. Sustainable Food Systems. Living labs to start the change

To effectively address food system challenges and shape impactful food policies, participatory approaches are essential. In this context, Living Labs offer a dynamic environment where stakeholders can collaborate and innovate. “Living Labs are an effective method to test innovations in food systems before scaling them to the whole city level,” said Alice Casiraghi.
 
In this episode of ‘Food and the Cities,’ we explore how setting up of Living Labs can help cities initiate the transition towards more sustainable food systems. 
Host Natasha Foote, interviews Shaleen Meelu, public health nutritionist and Food Trails Crosscutting Manager for the ‘Food 2030’ Pillar of Nutrition, and Alice Casiraghi, freelance designer specializing in circular economy and Food Trails Crosscutting Manager for the Circularity Pillar. 
Together, they discuss: Living Labs and their role in implementing integrated urban food policy actions.Food Councils and their significance in driving change.Participatory approaches for engaging food system stakeholders. Additionally, this episode takes a closer look at two cities from the Food Trails project—Bordeaux Metropole and Tirana—to explore their specific initiatives and the outcomes they have achieved. This podcast is brought to you by Comune di Milano and Slow Food as part of the EU Horizon 2020 Food Trails project.  Food Trails is an EU Horizon 2020 project involving 11 cities, 3 universities, and 5 food organizations. Its goal is to promote more resilient, safe, fair, and diverse urban food systems through co-designed actions in Food 2030-led Living Labs, enabling the development of systemic urban food policies.