Bhutan hosts first ‘conscious food summit’ amid threats to global supplies

Organisers say people must revive spiritual relationship with food amid double threat of climate crisis and conflict Mending the broken food system under the threat of climate-driven weather extremes will require more than economic fixes and intensive agriculture, according to the organisers of a pioneering summit this week, who say the world must revive its spiritual relationship with food. Delegates from more than 60 countries and the UN will gather for the next five days in Paro in the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan for the world’s first “conscious food summit”, which will bring together governments and farmers, mindfulness experts and yoga therapists. Tshering Tobgay, Bhutan’s prime minister, said: “Food lies at the intersection of many of the defining challenges of our time – hunger, poor nutrition, poverty, climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasingly food security is also being disrupted by conflict and geopolitical instability. Our central message is simple: transforming our food systems requires both inner and outer change.” Conscious eating is at the heart of these talks, which will promote regenerative practices and Indigenous knowledge. “Consciou