Daniela Garcia-Caro is committed to making our food systems more just and sustainable. In her PhD, she studies the role of law in food system transitions. She’s also part of a cooperative that tries to make organic vegetables and other food stuffs more accessible. In the past she has been involved in EdibleEUR, the campus garden, where she has given workshops to inspire participants to change their relationship with food and the broader environment. She is currently engaged with Bee the Change, EUR’s campus bees, as she embarks on a beekeeping journey.
'Our food systems are the most important avenue through which we interact with our environment. That’s why I believe we need to be interested and involved in the way we grow our food. In my volunteering at the campus garden, we encourage students and staff to grow and harvest different things. I have also given workshops there, where I share insights about my research and ideas for how to engage in local food systems change.'
From bananas to apples
'We are used to eating the most delicious fruits from all over the world, all of the time. However, our current food system is neither just nor sustainable and it needs to change. Rather than eating bananas in the Netherlands year-round, it makes more sense to eat seasonal fruits like apples and berries. In Rotterdam, I’m part of a food cooperative called Biobulkbende (please join us!). As a collective, we buy organic vegetables and products directly from providers rather than supermarkets, making goods more affordable to our community by cutting out the middleman. We are also starting a garden there. By engaging in alternative food networks, I hope to create a food system that puts people and the environment at the center of it, not huge food corporations like Nestlé.'
The law impacts everything
'While I don’t think we should all go back to farming, I do realize that as an individual you can feel really powerless. I believe that change starts with an awareness that our food systems behave like they were designed to, and this design needs to change. In my research, I take agroecological perspectives to explore how laws facilitate or hamper food system transitions, focusing mainly on pesticides and their regulation. This is important because the law determines our playing fields: when the law normalizes unsustainable behavior like the massive dependence on pesticides, there is very little space or support for better alternatives.'
Don’t be indifferent
'I believe as individuals, we do have enough power to impact change. I think if you want to create change, you need to dream about the kind of planet you want to leave behind. I wholeheartedly consider myself an activist academic: knowledge is power, and if you know better, you can’t be indifferent to what happens in the world. I would encourage everyone to choose something they are passionate about and join a movement. For me, it’s food systems, but it can be anything. My first suggestion will always be getting your hands dirty and growing your own vegetables. But you can also consider how you can get your food differently. Maybe even join a cooperative.'
- PhD student
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