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Rydym ni eisiau gwell system fwyd yng Nghymru, un sy’n sicrhau bod bwyd o ansawdd da, wedi’i gynhyrchu’n gynaliadwy, ar gael i bawb, yn awr ac ar gyfer cenedlaethau’r dyfodol. Dyma ein gweledigaeth ac amcanion.
Mae’r system fwyd yn cyffwrdd â phob rhan o’n bywydau. Mae’n cwmpasu sut yr ydym yn ffermio, sut yr ydym yn gofalu am ein tir a’n bywyd gwyllt, beth rydym yn ei fwyta a sut mae hynny’n effeithio ar ein hiechyd, beth yr ydym yn ei wastraffu a pham; mae’n llunio’r ffordd y mae bwyd yn cael ei gynhyrchu a phwy sy’n ei gynhyrchu, a pha werth sydd i hyn; mae’n effeithio ar ein cymunedau, ein diwylliant a’r byd ehangach yr ydym yn byw ynddo.
Ond nid ydym wedi bod yn cysylltu’r cyfan. Mae meysydd polisi fel ffermio, iechyd a busnes yn cael eu hystyried fel materion ar wahân mewn llywodraeth, tra bod grwpiau buddiant cystadleuol mewn cymdeithas sifil yn aml yn eirioli safbwyntiau gwrthwynebol. Mae hynny yn golygu y gallwn golli’r synnwyr o gyfanwaith cydgysylltiedig, lle mae gwahanol agweddau yn cydweithio. Mae dadlau yn iach, ond rydym ni angen edrych ar dir cyffredin hefyd.
Mae Maniffesto Bwyd Cymru yn cael ei seilio ar werthoedd a rennir. Mae cymaint y gallwn ni i gyd gytuno arno: bwyd iach a lle wrth y bwrdd inni i gyd; cefn gwlad sy’n gyfoethog mewn bywyd gwyllt; llai o fwyd yn cael ei daflu; diwydiant bwyd ffyniannus; cenhedlaeth newydd gyda sgiliau coginio a garddio; cyflogaeth deg a gwerthfawr yn y gadwyn fwyd; masnach deg gyda gwledydd eraill; a diwylliant o ymddiriedaeth a pharch. Rydym wedi nodi deg o egwyddorion ar gyfer y system fwyd yng Nghymru a’u rhoi nhw yn ein Maniffesto drafft.
Rydym ni eisiau dod â ffordd newydd o feddwl i’r sgwrs ynglŷn â bwyd yng Nghymru, gan roi llais i bawb ac archwilio meysydd o anghydfod a datgysylltiad, er mwyn gwireddu ynni ffres ar gyfer newid.
Rydym yn cyhoeddi amrediad eang o safbwyntiau ar y wefan hon ac rydym yn trefnu digwyddiadau. Rydym yn chwilio am bobl a all helpu’r Maniffesto ddod yn ganolog i’r ffordd o feddwl yng Nghymru, fel y gallwn ni sicrhau bwyd da ar gyfer pawb, yn awr ac yn y dyfodol. A wnewch chi ymuno â ni? Anfonwch e-bost os gwelwch yn dda at helo [at] maniffestobwyd.cymru.
We want a better food system in Wales, one that ensures that good quality food, produced sustainably, is accessible to everyone, now and in future generations. Here are our vision and aims.
The food system touches every part of our lives. It encompasses how we farm, how we care for our land and wildlife, what we eat and how that affects our health, what we waste and why; it shapes the way food is produced and who produces it, and what value this carries; it impacts our communities, our culture and the wider world we live in.
But we haven’t been joining the dots. Policy areas like farming, health and business are considered separately in government, while in civil society rival interest groups often champion opposing views. That means we can miss the sense of an interconnected whole, where different aspects work together. Debate is healthy, but we also need to be looking for common ground.
The Wales Food Manifesto is built on shared values. There is much that we can all agree on: healthy food and a place at the table for all; a countryside rich in wildlife; less food thrown away; a thriving food industry; a new generation with cooking and gardening skills; fair and rewarding employment in the food chain; fair trade with other countries; and a culture of trust and respect. We have identified ten principles for the food system in Wales and put them in our draft Manifesto.
We want to bring new thinking to the conversation about food in Wales, giving everyone a voice and exploring areas of conflict and disconnection, in order to release fresh energy for change.
We publish a wide range of viewpoints on this website and we organize events. We are looking for people who can help the Manifesto become central to thinking in Wales, so that we can ensure good food for all, now and into the future. Will you join us? Please email hello [at] foodmanifesto.wales.
Maniffesto Bwyd | Food Manifesto 
Wales should consider developing sustainable dietary guidelines. Like most existing dietary guidelines, dietary guidelines in the UK have a narrow view of how diet relates to health. In essence, they restrict the concept of diet to the amounts of nutrients contained in foods and the concept of health to the presence or absence of diseases caused by the lack or excess of of one or more nutrients in the diet. While the amounts of nutrients in foods and diets is of course relevant for health, this is only one of the characteristics of diets that are relevant to disease, health and well-being.
Foods and diets are more than carriers of nutrients. Foods are produced, transformed and supplied within food systems whose characteristics influence health through their impact on society and the environment. Food systems can be socially and environmentally sustainable promoting justice and protection of the living world. Alternatively they can create many types of inequity and threats to natural resources and biodiversity. At a social level, the context of eating, like when, why, where and with whom meals are consumed as well as the symbolic and emotional values of foods, dishes and meals contribute to the enjoyment of eating, the building of memories and customs and the strengthening of relationships and connections, all of which are important to health and well-being.
Conventional dietary guidelines treat foods as mere carriers of nutrients, so understating the relationship between diet and well-being. They treat foods as mere carriers of nutrient, overlook the cultural dimensions of diet and typically fail to consider the link between diet and the social and environmental sustainability of food systems. Healthy, sustainable dietary guidelines derive from socially and environmentally sustainable food systems.
In Wales, we need sustainable dietary guidelines that take into account not only the nutrient content of food and diet, but also the impact of the means of production and distribution of food on social justice and environmental integrity. The Well-Being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 is about improving the social, environmental, economic and cultural well-being of Wales and sustainability must be embedded into everything public sector bodies in Wales do. Given that food is essential to, and at the centre of, life sustainability should also be built into the food system across Wales. Sustainable Dietary Guidelines would help to improve the availability of healthy, sustainable food choices and hence, over time, a more sustainable food system fit for the 21st century.
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would love to make contact and discuss your input into a conference coming soon
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Food is at the forefront, the peak of human well-being. Think about it: what else do we do, on average, three times a day? For many households, more is spent on food than any other single expense, besides perhaps housing. And we put it into our bodies! It is a truly intimate part of our daily existence. Hospitality that incorporates food is also the surest way towards friendship!
And yet, increasingly, mainstream culture has commodotised food, with the result that most consumers are anything but well-served by what they put into their bodies, in the name of food. It’s about convenience and cost—not health, wellness let alone the joys of food preparation. Unless we develop a food system that addresses this abject commodotisation of food, we risk tinkering around the edges. The shareholder-driven economy has become all-powerful: driving the pharmaeceutical-centric view of dealing with disease* with no room for the ages-old understanding of well-being driven by healthy nutritious food. (*We could also add: the accompanynig chemical pesticidal approach and its detrimental effect upon the countryside.)
Wales, perhaps, has the opportunity, more that any other part of the UK, to buck the trend. It stands apart with a proud history of sensing when it’s populace is being taken for granted and when its destiny needs to be taken back into its own hands. Brexit provides the political ‘kairos’ — a propitious moment for action. The end of the CAP and of dependency on EU handouts. But it must not fall into the trap of allowing Westminster to take over what is a devolved responsibilty for agriculture. Wales must take charge of its destiny. It is small / independent enough to get on with it.
Here in Llanelli, we are about to embark on the establishment of a national (global?) first with the Health and Wellness Centre, being overseen by the Arch partnership of two health trusts and a university. It is based on the possiblity of changing the paradigm from the currently unsustainable approaches to addressing disease, to whole-of-life / holistic approaches to health and wellbeing. Food and a healthy food system needs to be part of that development.
Sadly, as long as the food industry remains commodotised, this will in practice be highly difficult. Big Food industry has a track record of complicity with the causes in the the rise of obesity and its not yet ready to give up the fight to control our lives. My own recent personal experience and broad-based research has revealed the importance of correctly realigning our understanding of nutritious food. In particular, there is a critical need to reappraise our understanding of the vital role that *healthy* fats play in keeping us healthy—and at a natural weight! And the critical role that unhealthy levels of carbs and sugars is playing in the sequence of: raised glucose levels — leading to inulin resistance — to metabolic syndrome — to inflammation — to overt disease (obesity, diabetes, hypertension etc).
Space and time does not permit the discussion of the role of land, though it must be noted that with the One Plant Policy, Wales has demonstrated its capacity to think and act politically for itself—showing the way to others. But has the policy been implemented sufficiently well to make a difference? Others will judge.
All of these dots need joining up! I thoroughly commend the Food Manifesto Wales approach to listening to the voices of all involved. But I wonder: what will it take to change the stasis of the last few decades?
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Unless serious attempt to regulate retail/multiples much else will struggle.Perhaps some room for manoevre with devolved planning powers and worth keeping application of Business Rates in sight.Any hint of taxing/rating car parking would produce significant change.Powers under devolved public health are also well worth brushing up on as NHS costs and mortality stats aren’t going away.Senedd still seems v.cautious but at least a case for action might get support.FUW+NFU Cymru both seem old school but are still a route to more clout if Welsh production is to be favoured.
I think many decision-makers have finally twigged that laissez-faire has been a bad idea and may well be a bit more ready for intervention.Eg I’m not sure abolishing the Milk Mkting Board or free of charge ADAS would look so clever any more.Getting waylaid by higher food price accusations is a red herring ultimately,the issues are getting value/nutrient rich food and the public being well paid enough to buy it (while currently being screwed via post 2008 housing/rent/asset scam).Politicians are however easily+understandably spooked by fear of food price rises.
Supporting smaller producers while the mainstream mkt moves further away feels like sticking plaster/tokenism.Latest UK data on diets and Aldi/Lidl mkt share is sobering. Producers want a real mkt with prices that enable profitability+jobs.Far too many marginal mkts right across the UK.
Arable,particularly grain,seems stunted in Cymru.Welsh Grain Forum is a ray of light but most production seems basically animal porridge with little vision of mkts for human consumption(where the mkt will have to go/is v.slowly going).Plenty of arable friendly land in S.Pembs+Vale of Glamorgan.An arable version of Puffin for grain might be an aspiration with a brand to match Blas y Tir?
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