TABLE

TABLE is a global platform for knowledge synthesis, for reflective, critical thinking and for inclusive dialogue on debates about the future of food.

TABLE seeks to facilitate informed discussions about how the food system can become sustainable, resilient, just, and ultimately “good”. We impartially set out the evidence, assumptions, and values that people bring to food system debates. 

Growing public awareness of interconnected crises including climate change, biodiversity loss, malnutrition and inequality means that the environmental and social impacts of the food system are being scrutinised more closely. Furthermore, debates about the future of food are becoming more intense, divisive and polarised.

TABLE’s starting premise is that while debate is essential, polarisation is damaging. Our mission is therefore to support dialogue on food systems that is more nuanced and self-reflective. 

Better dialogue requires two ingredients. First, scientific knowledge helps us to understand the issues and complexities around healthy and sustainable food. However, science alone cannot tell us how to act or decide what a good and ethical food system is. The second crucial ingredient is understanding how debates are influenced by people’s values and preferences. This is where TABLE steps in.

People hold many - sometimes contradictory - values, desires, assumptions and cultural preferences. These influence how they interpret scientific evidence, understand today’s world, judge what is most important in a food system, and think about possible and desirable futures. For example, a person’s opinion of whether we need to eat less meat may depend, among other things, on what they believe about the malleability of human nature, what landscapes should look like, and the moral standing of animals.

These underlying values need to be brought into the open and more explicitly discussed. When they are not, the consequences are all too often miscommunication, the entrenchment of existing positions, and inertia.

TABLE's goal therefore is to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and perspectives to reflect on values, to clarify the arguments, assumptions and evidence around issues of concern, and - where possible - to identify points of commonality.