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If food democracy is about who gets to determine the food that we eat and the character of the underlying food system, then we must examine not only who gets to make decisions that impact on food but also on what evidence, or knowledge, these decisions are made. This article argues that widening the democratic scope of knowledge on which our decisions on food are based is an essential component of food democracy. Food democracies do not just call for citizens to be knowledgeable about the food system but for all stakeholders to actively contribute to the holistic understanding of the food system. Four dimensions of knowledge democracy are set out: The co-production of knowledge with stakeholders; harnessing non-cognitive knowledge represented in arts and culture; knowledge as a tool for action; and the open access and sharing of knowledge. This framework is then used to explore how knowledge is currently already produced and used in a way that enhances food democracy, including through Participatory Action Research with peasant farmers, using the arts to create a 'contemplative commons' about food and the unique dialogue process through which the social movement <em>La Vía Campesina</em> operates. Based on these, and other, examples the article concludes that universities, and other recognized centres of knowledge production, need to focus not only on creating new knowledge partnerships but also on finding spaces to challenge and shift accepted ways of knowing in order to better promote food democracy.

In our pursuit of a more equitable, just and sustainable society, we must examine not only who makes decisions, but also on whose evidence these decisions are made. The question of whose knowledge is to be recognised,translated and incorporated into action1 is especially important in South Africa as universities attempt to respond to calls to decolonise the curricula. In this Commentary, I argue that widening the scope of knowledge production is an essential role that universities can play in creating knowledge democracy. Communities of practice are presented as a way in which scientists can cultivate research partnerships with stakeholders outside of science to co-produce knowledge needed to solve society's current complex challenges. ; https://www.sajs.co.za ; Political Sciences

If food democracy is about who gets to determine the food that we eat and the character of the underlying food system, then we must examine not only who gets to make decisions that impact on food but also on what evidence, or knowledge, these decisions are made. This article argues that widening the democratic scope of knowledge on which our decisions on food are based is an essential component of food democracy. Food democracies do not just call for citizens to be knowledgeable about the food system but for all stakeholders to actively contribute to the holistic understanding of the food system. Four dimensions of knowledge democracy are set out: The co-production of knowledge with stakeholders; harnessing non-cognitive knowledge represented in arts and culture; knowledge as a tool for action; and the open access and sharing of knowledge. This framework is then used to explore how knowledge is currently already produced and used in a way that enhances food democracy, including through Participatory Action Research with peasant farmers, using the arts to create a 'contemplative commons' about food and the unique dialogue process through which the social movement La Vía Campesina operates. Based on these, and other, examples the article concludes that universities, and other recognized centres of knowledge production, need to focus not only on creating new knowledge partnerships but also on finding spaces to challenge and shift accepted ways of knowing in order to better promote food democracy.

If food democracy is about who gets to determine the food that we eat and the character of the underlying food system, then we must examine not only who gets to make decisions that impact on food but also on what evidence, or knowledge, these decisions are made. This article argues that widening the democratic scope of knowledge on which our decisions on food are based is an essential component of food democracy. Food democracies do not just call for citizens to be knowledgeable about the food system but for all stakeholders to actively contribute to the holistic understanding of the food system. Four dimensions of knowledge democracy are set out: The co-production of knowledge with stakeholders; harnessing non-cognitive knowledge represented in arts and culture; knowledge as a tool for action; and the open access and sharing of knowledge. This framework is then used to explore how knowledge is currently already produced and used in a way that enhances food democracy, including through Participatory Action Research with peasant farmers, using the arts to create a 'contemplative commons' about food and the unique dialogue process through which the social movement La Vía Campesina operates. Based on these, and other, examples the article concludes that universities, and other recognized centres of knowledge production, need to focus not only on creating new knowledge partnerships but also on finding spaces to challenge and shift accepted ways of knowing in order to better promote food democracy. ; Centre of Excellence for Food Security, South Africa ; https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance ; hj2020 ; Political Sciences

The article examines some of the European Union's (EU) more recent policy documents on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and trade issues relating to the acquisition of natural resources to evaluate how far the EU has considered the impacts of its consumption patterns on global natural resources outside its borders. The authors reflect on the relationship between SCP and the broader concept of sustainable development and discuss how different approaches to sustainable development (specifically, social justice and ecological modernization) affect the pursuit of SCP. These different approaches are used as lenses to examine the EU's consideration (or lack thereof) of the impacts of its consumption patterns on global natural resources. The authors recommend that trade policies be made consistent with the wider policy goals of the EU, such as sustainable development/SCP and poverty alleviation and development. K. Cargill

The article reflects on the early experiences of Ghana with the European Union's (EU) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in order to control the volume of illegal logging in that country. Ghana is an early adopter of this kind of agreement, so its experiences can still give policy makers a clearer idea at this initial stage of the implementation and potential problems of any future agreements with other partner countries, especially those in the African region. The authors consider African perspectives on the concept of illegal logging, and provide a summary of Ghana's policy responses to sustainability in the forestry sector. The authors emphasize that the good intentions of the EU initiative aimed at combating illegal logging must be pursued in close collaboration with the aims of producer countries, such as Ghana. K. Cargill

Background:Post-positivist critics of the linear-rational understanding of the role of knowledge in decision making have long argued the need for the construction of socially robust knowledge to illuminate policy problems from a variety of perspectives, including lived experiences.
Aims and objectives:This article charts the attempts of researchers to employ a creative method, digital storytelling, alongside more traditional scientific data in stakeholder deliberations to inform local food governance in South Africa.
Methods:Four storytellers from a marginalised group created and introduced their digital story about a 'time when they had to make a difficult choice about what food to purchase or get' to a public governance forum and the reactions of the audience self-reported.
Findings:The digital stories were emotionally compelling and gave granular detail to the more top-down perspective of the scientific data. There were concerns, however, for the welfare of the storytellers when introducing their stories in the forum.
Discussion and conclusion:Our findings highlight the multi-functionality of digital storytelling as a method of creativity within the process of co-production, not just as a technique to make visible knowledge from marginalised groups, but also as a mechanism (when used and viewed in a wider governance context) to promote knowledge mobilisation and alternative ways of knowing. The use of digital storytelling in these wider governance contexts, or social learning spaces, however, also surfaces ethical and other risks.

Over the last 50 years, environmental protection has emerged as one of the front-ranking objectives of the EU. Today, the EU has some of the world's most ambitious and comprehensive protection policies. This chapter begins by summarising the main characteristics of EU environmental policy. Second, it reflects on the challenges that the advocates of EU action overcame to build such a significant environmental role. It then analyses how and why the focus of policy making in recent decades has shifted away from securing the EU's legal authority to act, to more managerial priorities such as ensuring that existing policy is fully implemented and insightfully updated. Finally, it looks forward and identifies what is likely to challenge policy makers in the coming decades as the EU attempts to implement its bold Green Deal policies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 global pandemic.