On 31 August 2019, Paul Miehe, Junior Expert for the DCZ, and Anne Veltes, MA student and intern for the DCZ, participated in this year’s Farm to Neighbors (F2N) Market press conference.
F2N was founded in 2014 by Erica Huang as a market promoting a sustainable lifestyle. The market is a regular weekend event in the basement of the Liangmaqiao DRC Office Building.
Among others the press conference included keynote speeches from
- Pierre Ferrand, the Agroecology Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, who gave an overview of the food situation in Asia, an introduction to the concept of agroecology, as well as an introduction to how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations are linked to it.
- Dr. Shi Yan, the founder of Shared Harvest Farm talked about how chickens are kept and the need to improve animal welfare. In addition, she stressed on the importance of consumer and producer relations and how they need to be improved. Therefore, one of the great benefits of the market is bringing both together.
- Erica Huang, founder of the F2N Market, stressed on several aspects of today’s consumerism like the amount of food being consumed and the problems arising from palm oil production such as forests being cleared and animals losing their habitat. She went on to emphasize the importance of the SDGs and how sustainability needs to be incorporated in school’s curricula.
During the press conference F2N founder Erica Huang furthermore announced her goal to promote four of the United Nations’ SDGs at the market:
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 14: Life Below Water
- Goal 15: Life on Land
The 17 different SDGs promote an end to poverty while protecting the planet, stressing that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. These goals were adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015 with the goal to reach all 17 targets by 2030.
