Cultivating Change: An Interview with Voedsel Anders on Agrifood Transformation
1st August, 2025
A conversation between Douwe De Vestele from Voedsel Anders and the GoNaturePositive! initiative
GoNaturePositive!: Welcome, Douwe. Could you start by telling us about Voedsel Anders and your work in transforming food systems in Flanders?
Douwe De Vestele: Thank you for having me. Voedsel Anders is a movement organisation focused on building a more sustainable and equitable food system in Flanders through agroecology. We work to connect and strengthen farmers, citizens, and organisations who share a vision of farming that works with nature rather than against it. Our approach is holistic - we organise events, engage in policy work, and run practical projects that demonstrate how agroecological principles can transform not just farming practices, but entire food systems.
What drives us is the understanding that our current industrial food system is failing both people and planet. We're seeing biodiversity collapse, soil degradation, and farmers struggling financially whilst being trapped in a system that requires ever more external inputs. Voedsel Anders exists to show there's another way.
GoNaturePositive!: That systems thinking is crucial. What does a nature-positive economy mean for your sector, and what is one concrete step your organisation is taking to support it?
Douwe De Vestele: A nature-positive agricultural sector is a food system based on equity and food sovereignty, in which farmers in every part of the world are sufficiently remunerated to work together with nature to produce healthy food for everyone. It's about fundamentally shifting from extraction to regeneration - where farming enhances biodiversity, builds soil health, and supports thriving rural communities.
With Voedsel Anders, we build a movement for agroecology in Flanders by connecting and strengthening farmers, citizens, and organisations with events, policy work, and projects. One concrete example is our work supporting farmers transitioning to agroecological practices through knowledge sharing networks and advocating for fair pricing mechanisms that recognise the true value of sustainable farming.
Douwe De Vesteles
Project Assistant | Voedsel Anders
GoNaturePositive!: That connection between farmer livelihoods and environmental outcomes is vital. How do you see this playing out in practice?
Douwe De Vestele: The key insight is that ecological health and economic justice are inseparable. When farmers are fairly compensated for ecosystem services - carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, water purification - they can afford to farm in ways that regenerate rather than degrade natural systems.
We've seen this in Flemish farms that integrate livestock grazing within nature reserves, where extensive grazing maintains ecological balance whilst providing farmers with sustainable livelihoods. These farmers aren't just producing food; they're actively contributing to landscape management and biodiversity conservation. But this only works when society values and pays for these broader benefits.
GoNaturePositive!: Looking at the broader policy landscape, how do current policies support or hinder your sector's efforts toward nature-positivity?
Douwe De Vestele: The Common Agricultural Policy maintains the status quo of industrial, intensive food production, whilst its budget should be used for a truly agroecological transition that helps the public good. The CAP currently favours large-scale, input-intensive farming through its direct payment structure and investment priorities.
Even with recent reforms introducing eco-schemes and environmental measures, the fundamental logic hasn't changed. The policy still rewards farmers for maximising production rather than optimising their contribution to ecosystem health and community wellbeing. Member states have significant flexibility in implementation, which has often resulted in weakened environmental protections rather than strengthened ones.
GoNaturePositive!: You mentioned the need for systemic change. Can you give us an example of how alternative approaches work in practice?
Douwe De Vestele: Absolutely. We work with farmers who've adopted agroecological approaches - combining crops and livestock, integrating trees and hedgerows, using natural pest management. These systems often show higher biodiversity, better soil health, and greater resilience to climate extremes. But the challenge is economic viability within current market structures.
One farmer we support maintains heritage livestock breeds on grasslands that would otherwise be lost to intensive agriculture. The grazing patterns maintain botanical diversity crucial for pollinators, whilst the animals provide high-quality, locally-adapted food. However, this farmer struggles to compete with industrial operations that externalise environmental costs.
GoNaturePositive!: How do you measure success in building this movement for agroecological transformation?
Douwe De Vestele: We look at both quantitative and qualitative indicators. Quantitatively, we track the number of farmers engaging with agroecological practices, the area of land under transition, and policy changes that support rather than hinder sustainable farming.
But equally important are qualitative measures: are farming communities becoming more resilient and self-determined? Are consumers developing deeper understanding of food system impacts? Are young people choosing to enter farming because they see it as meaningful work that contributes to ecological restoration? The quality of relationships - between farmers and consumers, between agriculture and nature - tells us as much as production statistics.
GoNaturePositive!: What role do you see initiatives like GoNaturePositive! playing in advancing agroecological transformation across Europe?
Douwe De Vestele: GoNaturePositive! provides crucial opportunities for cross-sectoral learning and policy influence at the European level. Food systems connect with every other sector - from biodiversity conservation to climate action to rural development. Having platforms where we can share experiences, learn from different approaches, and collectively influence policy is essential for systemic change.
Through GoNaturePositive!, we can demonstrate how agroecological approaches contribute not just to sustainable farming, but to broader nature-positive economic transformation. This kind of integrated thinking is exactly what's needed to move beyond sectoral silos toward genuine systems change.
“A nature-positive agricultural sector is a food system based on equity and food sovereignty, in which farmers in every part of the world are sufficiently remunerated to work together with nature to produce healthy food for everyone. With Voedsel Anders, we build a movement for agroecology in Flanders by connecting and strengthening farmers, citizens and organisations with events, policy-work and projects.”
GoNaturePositive!: Finally, what advice would you give to other organisations working toward food system transformation?
Douwe De Vestele: Start with relationships and build from there. The transition to agroecology isn't just technical - it's fundamentally social and political. Success comes from building trust between farmers, consumers, and communities whilst challenging the structures that keep destructive practices in place.
Also, don't underestimate the power of practical demonstration. When people see thriving farms that work with nature, taste food produced through regenerative practices, and meet farmers who are genuinely excited about their work, it shifts conversations in ways that abstract arguments cannot. Change happens when alternative approaches become visible and accessible.
GoNaturePositive!: Thank you, Douwe, for sharing these insights. Voedsel Anders's approach to building movement for agroecological transformation provides inspiration for food system change across Europe.
Douwe De Vestele: Thank you. We're excited to continue this work and to learn from others building the nature-positive economy we all need.
This interview was conducted as part of GoNaturePositive!'s ongoing series exploring pathways toward a nature-positive economy. For more insights on agricultural transformation and agroecological approaches, view the agri-food sectoral brief. Learn more about Voedsel Anders at voedsel-anders.be and GoNaturePositive! at gonaturepositive.eu