Jan Čulík (CZ)
Entrepreneur from Tábor, Czech Republic. He is the owner of the Vinný Bar and Thir bistro, which focuses on natural wines and works with local farmers. He also owns a similarly locally-minded pub Výčep. He organizes two festivals: Naše chutě (Our Tastes) festival focusing on cooperation between farmers and restaurants and Bottled Alive festival, which presents natural winemakers from Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia. He founded the Tábor Wine Merchants Guild and became its guild master. He co-founded the Jíme Jih (Eat South) platform, which brings together locally-minded restaurants from southern Bohemia. Together with Ivo Laurin, he organizes the gastronomy symposium Počátky in Sudkův důl. He graduated with a degree in international relations from the Faculty of Social Studies in Brno.
How would you describe your work and goals in the context of changing how we eat?
I try to bring my customers the story behind each product - not made-up fairy tales, but rather in the sense of traceability of origin. The winemakers and farmers I work with have a sustainable and environmentally responsible mindset. They continue the traditions of their ancestors and return the landscape in which they farm to its normal state, the way it was before the intensive and depersonalized agriculture of the 1950s. I also strive to increase the social status of people working in agriculture - to make it sexy for young people to start a pig farm. What’s more, there are a number of gastronomical approaches that we use here - such as no waste, nose-to-tail eating, fermentation, circularity - these are all tools to treat the resources we have at our disposal more gently and responsibly.
What do you consider important in the light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
What’s crucial is the support for small family farms in order to make farming attractive for young people, to encourage them to move from cities to the countryside and start farming. At the moment, it takes a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of nearly self-sacrifice. The national agricultural policy must be geared towards the smallest farms. This doesn’t mean primarily financial support. What’s important are administrative, legislative, and substantive changes. The more the Czech countryside becomes a mosaic of small family producers that have some relationship to the place where they farm, the more the landscape - and we - will prosper. Water retention in the landscape, erosion, improved economic conditions in border areas, synergies between urban and rural areas - all these issues can be solved if agricultural conditions are more favorable for smaller, rather than larger, companies.
What resonated with you the most out of this year’s literature and artistic releases?
I was quite impressed by the audiobook Images from the Cultural History of Central Europe by Martin C. Putna - plenty of information and interdisciplinarity. I attended a symphony concert led by violinist Jan Mráček in the Tábor theater as part of the Klasici v Táboře festival - that was a lovely experience. Violinist Tomáš Hubka has organized this festival for many years.
|
up △ |
Jesicca Fanzo (USA)
The Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food Policy and Ethics at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University. From 2017 to 2019, she served as the Co-Chair of the Global Nutrition Report, the UN High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Systems and Nutrition, and the EAT Lancet Commission. Before coming to Hopkins, she has also held positions at Columbia University, the Earth Institute, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the UN World Food Programme, Bioversity International, and the Millennium Development Goal Centre at the World Agroforestry Center in Kenya.
How would you describe your work and your goals with regard to global food security?
I work mainly in low income countries and settings to better understand the constraints and challenges for individuals and governments to meet both human and planetary health through diets and food systems. It is all about generating data and evidence to help inform decision-making on how to ensure diets are produced and consumed are healthy, sustainable and equitable.
In the light of the present situation, what are the matters which in your view deserve utmost societal concern?
Inequities in who gets access to healthy and sustainable diets. There are populations who are marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable to insufficient, suboptimal food systems. This results in significant health and nutrition disparities. With climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical competition, things could get worse unless concerted action is taken. We are really living in a dangerous time that requires leadership who will commit to sustainable development for their citizens now and into the future.
Which publications and creative works have resonated with you the most this year?
I have gone back to reading Jared Diamonds’ Guns, Germs and Steel, which is just a classic on how societies are formed. But I am delving into David Quammen’s Spillover book which is fantastic.
|
up △ |
Anna Gümplová (CZ)
Vice-President of the Green Party and climate change activist. She was born and raised in Jihlava. She now currently lives in Prague where she studied International Territorial Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University and also worked as an assistant to the Deputy Mayor of Prague and Councillor for Culture. Gümplová is now currently working on projects related to art in the public space at G HMP (Prague City Gallery). For the last 12 years, she has been involved mainly in non-profit entities - Arnice, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, but most of all in the Limity jsme my (We Are The Limits) movement and in the youth political organisation Young Green, which she led. She later went on to lead The Federation of Young European Greens and was elected First Vice-President of the Greens in January this year.
How would you describe your work and your goals with regard to global food security?
My political involvement in a party whose main goal is tackling the climate crisis, I think, clearly shows that my goals are to promote and communicate climate change solutions politically and in the media. These goals are, therefore, rather ambitious. In recent years, my activities have focused on getting young people more involved in politics and on their political emancipation from education to the active support of young people in political positions. Because it is we and the younger generation who will be affected by the effects of climate change, we must not be afraid to take to the floor in deciding what our future will look like. And specifically in my work, we try to introduce various ecological measures for the operation of Prague culture while emphasising the topic of climate change in projects more often. This includes evaluating grant and subsidy applications and energy transformation for cultural buildings.
In the light of the present situation, what are the matters which in your view deserve utmost societal concern?
There’s been a lot of talk that the coronavirus crisis is nothing compared to what the climate crisis will bring. But we've been talking about climate change for years. We need to make sure that this issue does not overshadow the pandemic, but rather strengthens it and links it to the effects of the crisis. Because the solution to the climate crisis not only lies in the transformation of energy sources, but also in the transformation of how society and the economy operates. And some big shortcomings are beginning to reveal themselves to us thanks to the coronavirus crisis. The issue of care as a whole should definitely come front and centre. It’s irreplaceability in contrast with how it’s assessed. And care does not only mean healthcare or childcare, but all types of work that ensure the functioning of society.
Which publications and creative works have resonated with you the most this year?
There are two literary works I’d like to point to. The book Slepé skvrny (Blind Spots) by Daniel Prokop (which was probably published last year, but whatever), the content of which may not surprise us so much, but I don't think that anyone ever wrote about the problems of Czech society in a similar way. At one point, it is an unprecedented manifesto of modern progressive left-wing politics in a Czech context, in an unprecedented data-based form. And certainly the new fictional novel Normal People by rising star Sally Rooney, which against the backdrop of the cultural and economic conditions of Western society after 2008 tells a simple story of young people whose relationship and lives are affected by what conditions they were born into.
|
up △ |
Anna Kárníková (CZ)
Director of the prominent environmental organization Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic). Anna has worked in the non-profit sector since 2018, prior to which she headed the Center for Transport and Energy. Between 2014 and 2017, she headed the Department for Sustainable Development at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, which ensured coordination across ministries on the sustainable development agenda. Anna and her team prepared the Czech Republic 2030 development strategy.
How would you describe your work and your goals in the area of environment?
Our job is to find key points in the system and work on them to enable the transformation from fossil fuels to maintaining functional ecosystems. We therefore focus on moving away from coal, pushing renewable sources, stabilizing forests after the bark beetle calamity, and stopping soil degradation and the disintegration of the countryside.
What do you consider important in the light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
I consider the current situation to be high-risk - the basic consensus on how society should function, and thus its further direction, is falling apart. What has caused this situation has not yet been well-defined. But it’s linked to growing inequalities, existential anxiety, and the undignified existence of an ever-increasing group of people. If we are unable to settle these huge structural debts, it will be very difficult to tackle such fundamental changes that things like climate change require.
Which publications and creative works have resonated with you the most this year?
I don't get much of a chance to read new books, so it wasn’t until this summer that I was able to read Elena Ferrante and Sally Rooney. I also like to read science fiction, such as the Southern Reach trilogy and the fascinating Three Body Problem, or even classics like Neuromancer. I follow the discussions surrounding the future of the left in the Czech Republic and in the world quite closely, such as the anthologies Velvet Future or Future, or the discussions around the publication of the essay Secrets of the Left, on the transformation of the economic system and the further development of capitalism, e.g. Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth or Inventing the Future by Nick Srnick and Alex Williams. I also read a little about artificial intelligence, such as the relatively accessible The Most Human Human from Brian Christian. As far as professional literature is concerned, I read George Monbiot on an ongoing basis, and I also find recent contributions to the discussion on climate movement strategies interesting, such as Brecher's Against Doom: A Climate Insurgency Manual, Latour's Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime, or Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals by Jonathan Smucker.
|
up △ |
Alena Malíková (CZ)
Alena graduated from Brno College of Agriculture (today's Mendel University). After working for the government (environmental protection, the agricultural agency), she worked at the Bioinstitut, o.p.s. (public benefit organisation) in Olomouc. Currently, she's a very active retiree.
How would you describe your work and your goals in the context of sustainable agriculture and food consumption?
My goals in the context of sustainable agriculture: My whole life, I've been interested in the effects of human activities on landscapes, especially agricultural ones (land management, biodiversity, landscape structure, beauty). I try to help create a space for dialog and to look for shared solutions related to the theme of bioregions and the effects of local communities. I am aware of the necessity of cooperation and the awareness of human connection to nature, and the necessity of careful land management.
Specifically:
- With my friends, I founded the VIKTORINA LOCA Cooperative in Příbor in 2017, which runs a cooperative package-free store with mostly local organic foods. We also introduce the farmers who supply our goods to our customers and educate them on the importance of supporting local farmers.
- Since 2018, I've headed the Příbor City Council Committee for the Environment where we are currently starting to work on “A Vision for the Landscape We Live In”.
- I co-founded and cooperate with the Pro půdu foundation (board of directors)
- In 2020 I was invited to cooperate with the board of Hnutí DUHA
- I cooperate with Svodobný statek na soutoku (supervisory board)
- Since 2000, I've been the manager of the Moravian Gate Center of the Association of Ecological Farmers
- As a continuation of my work at the Olomouc Bioinstitute, I contribute to the Olomouc Bioinstitute YouTube channel by publishing documentaries on soil and ecologically aware agriculture.
In the light of the current situation, what do you consider important and what issues should we as a society pay serious attention to?
It would be great if the society (but how should we understand this term?) created an environment which is supportive of every individual's effort to understand what they can/want to do for themselves and therefore, for the society. To understand one's own existence and responsibility, and the beauty of life on Earth.
What did you find most appealing in this years' book or art production (in general and in the context of your field of work)?
Books: Helena Norberg-Hodge's Local Is Our Future which is being translated to Czech and which I only know in part. Art production: At the unique Days of New Opera, Ostrava 2020, an opera entitled NO 50 (The Garden) by Richard Ayres.
|
up △ |
Ladislav Miko (CZ/SK)
Expert in environmental protection, Czech Minister of the Environment in Fischer's government from May to November 2009, vice-president of the LES party since 2017. One of the highest-ranking Czechs in the EU administration. Since 2005, he has worked at the Directorate-General for Environment of the European Commission as the Director of the Department for the Protection of Natural Resources and Biodiversity. From 2011 to 2017, he worked as a Deputy Director-General of the General Directorate for Health and Consumer Protection. Since 2018, he is the Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia.
|
up △ |
Martin Hojsík (SK)
Member of the European Parliament representing the Progressive Slovakia party, of which he is the Vice-President. He studied genetics and specialises in climate and environmental and animal protection. He has been with Greenpeace since 1993. He was a member of the board of directors and the program director of international organisation FOUR PAWS, where he led the animal protection program. For several years, he worked for ActionAid International in the development sector, where he led the fight against tax evasion by multinational corporations.
How would you describe your work and professional goals in the area of environmental protection?
I would describe it as a fight for a clean environment for all and for human health and animal welfare. However, even before I assumed office, I was working to achieve environmental and social justice. It’s just that my current position happened to open up a whole new window of opportunities for me to pursue these goals. I deal with various topics in the European Parliament ranging from protection against toxic substances in everyday consumer products and reducing the impact of our activities on nature to the greening of the economy.
What do you consider to be important in light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
The current health situation shows that we urgently need to address environmental issues. The climate and biodiversity crisis affects us all. It’s an existential matter, as it affects the survival of the human race and society as we know it. Not only should it be seen as a threat, but also as an opportunity to move towards a greener and fairer society that’s more resilient. Therefore, large amounts of public and private funding for post-coronavirus recovery must go in this direction.
What resonated with you the most out of this year’s literature and artistic releases?
This year, solidarity and the vulnerability of the cultural sector resonated with me.
|
up △ |
Matouš Hrdina (CZ)
Communications manager for Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, editor of the Seznam Zpráv newsletter, and contributor to various Czech media. Matouš previously worked as the programme director of Radio Wave and editor of Heroine. In his work he is mainly interested in new communication technologies and topics relating to the environment, and he is also devoted to cultural journalism.
How would you describe your work and your goals in the area of media?
In the media, I focus mainly on editorial activities, and as an author, my primary focus is journalistic texts on topics outside the mainstream agenda. I’d like to contribute to the popularization of less obvious social and cultural trends, which are often drowned under the tidal wave of a superficial news agenda.
What do you consider important in the light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
Above all, there is an urgent need for an open society-wide debate on our current political and economic system and the various alternatives that could replace it. And to an even greater extent, a debate about the very essence of the human species and our relationship to other forms of life. Without it, we will be completely unable to solve other major problems in the long term, such as climate collapse and the overall devastation of the environment.
What resonated with you the most from this year's literature and artistic releases?
The Czech edition of the book New Dark Age by new media theorist James Bridle is definitely worth reading. It deals with the consequences of the uncontrolled expansion of digital technologies. In the field of environmental literature, I found Vesper Flights, a collection of essays by British poet and writer Helen Macdonald, very interesting. I have to mention an amazing publication in the same field - Krajina! (Countryside!) by naturalist Jiří Sádel – it should most definitely be included in this list, even though it was published last year.
|
up △ |
Danuše Nerudová (CZ)
Economist and rector at the Mendel University in Brno. In her scientific work, she has long specialised in European taxes, which she regularly gives lectures on abroad. She is the chairwoman of the Commission for Fair Pensions and an advocate of equal opportunities for women on the job market.
How would you describe your work and goals in the areas of economy and education?
I’m the rector of a traditional Czech university and I believe that the role of a university is, in many respects, irreplaceable, as is the entire education system. Be it past or present, the free academic community has always played a key role in promoting democratic principles in society. But universities also play a “third role”, and that is to influence society. This is can be seen directly in how a part of the young generation is formed. They have been entrusted into our care and they expect us to prepare them for the real world and equip them with all the tools they need to get by in life. And this not only goes for the field of economics, but also for forming and upholding moral values.
What do you consider to be important in light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
We’ve had democracy for over 30 years, but it’s still not the standard in other European countries, Belarus being the big example here. Adhering to good moral values and always having the courage to publicly defend democracy and its constitutional principles in situations where they gey trampled on - I consider all this to be the basic premise for raising and educating the younger generation, who are capable of critical thinking and mindful of good moral values. Aside from upholding democracy, it’s also about caring for the environment and our country in a broader context, so that we can pass our planet on to the next generation in at least the same state in which we used it.
What resonated with you the most out of this year’s literature and artistic releases?
I’m a huge fan of James Bond films, so I’m very much looking forward to what the next instalment will bring to the table. The production team, of course, had to postpone the film’s premiere until the end of this year.
|
up △ |
Anna Strejcová (CZ)
One of the founders as well as the director of the Save Food (Zachraň jídlo) Association, which draws attention to the problem of food waste. Anna studied journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague. At first, she was involved in marketing and communication with journalists. She now manages the team and seeks out new opportunities for organizational development.
How would you describe your work and your goals in the context of changing how we eat?
My (our) work strives to reach a wide audience. From the very beginning of Zachraň jídlo’s operations, we made a commitment to ensure that our ideas reached as wide an audience as possible, not just those specifically addressed. That's why we offer advice to mainstream audiences, such as those who consume meat. We don’t deal with the composition of food or its nutritional value, but rather we look at food waste through the lens of natural resources that have been invested in food production. And we strive to waste fewer of these.
What do you consider important in the light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
As a society, we should focus on the effectiveness of our actions. There is a great deal of pressure to produce a huge amount of food, and this pressure will continue to increase as population numbers rise. Because of this, there is more and more deforestation and degradation of groundwater. But at the same time, we are unable to make the most of the food we produce. The UN estimates that up to a third of food is wasted. I think that focusing on technology and education that will reduce waste will be a huge investment in our common future.
What resonated with you the most from this year's literature and artistic releases?
Given the current situation, I didn't have a chance to take in as much art this year as I would have liked. Due to the restrictions, however, I was able to watch several series, and I can recommend for example Mrs. America. Although the story takes place in the 70s and 80s, it also reflects current events in the USA. I very much liked Barbora Šlapetová and Lukáš Rittstein’s project Manop at Prague's DOX. It presents their multiple trips to West Papua and their encounters with indigenous tribes in the rainforest. I was fascinated by the confrontation with our way of thinking and the fairy tales and myths found in both worlds.
|
up △
|
Jan Štefl (CZ)
Private farmer and businessman from Domašín u Studené. Jan has been the Vice-Chairman of the Association of Private Agriculture of the Czech Republic since 2013. He also works as a forensic expert in the field of economics and engineering, motor vehicles, and agricultural machinery. He graduated from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, where he majored in agricultural mechanization. Since 1991, he has managed a private family farm near Jindřichův Hradec, which is largely operated under the principles of organic farming.
How would you describe your work and your goals in the area of agriculture?
I work on a farm with my wife, my brother and his wife. We all have university degrees in agriculture. Our wives are economists - they do the accounting and administrative work. Our son and nephew also work on the farm with us, along with several permanent and seasonal employees. We operate using both conventional and organic farming principles. We raise beef cattle organically, as well as grow triticale, oats, caraway, and clover. Using conventional farming techniques, we mainly grow wheat, barley, triticale, potatoes, and clover. We use appropriate agricultural machinery. Our goal is to continue in these areas of business.
What do you consider important in light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
I currently consider one of the most important things in the field of agriculture to be the redirection of agricultural support in the Czech Republic, in particular to those farmers who are not only carrying out their business in the countryside, but also living there. Above all, they are a guarantee that local agricultural production will be linked with proper care for the local countryside, environment, rural area, local diversity in food production and, last but not least, the security of food production in our country.
What resonated with you the most from this year's literature and artistic releases?
I mainly follow professional media and literature. I’ve recently become interested in books by Paul Babiak, for example Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.
|
up △
|
Petra Tajovský Pospěchová (CZ)
She studied sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Brno and has been making a living as a journalist since she was eighteen years old. Petra Tajovský Pospěchová mainly writes news stories on the food industry and on culinary topics in general. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and mountain climbing, collecting herbs, and singing. She also co-organises the Cook2Help benefit and the Mowing in Stromovka event in Prague.
How would you describe your work and goals in the context of changing how we eat?
For more than ten years, I've been writing about the quality of food and the various tricks that large manufacturers use to try and confuse consumers. Journalism is a profession that aims to change the world for the better. Writing about food doesn't always have to be about the latest sponge cake recipe. It can also be about investigative work and creating a platform for readers to see the food and grocery industry from a bigger-picture perspective, including the industry's ethics and long-term environmental impact.
What do you consider important in light of the current situation and what issues do you think we, as a society, should take seriously?
For me, even during the most troubling of times, it's important to look for new opportunities and positive outcomes, whether they're intentional or not. In the gastronomic industry, a pandemic and the closure of borders that come with it could ideally lead to a greater inclination towards local raw materials and the support of smaller local producers. And also to the reduction of enormous food waste.
And one more thing. The pandemic has shown just how many people in our country are teetering on the edge of poverty. We are still waiting for an initiative – whether from above or below – that will start paying attention to the eating and shopping habits of low-income households and try to change them. Foreign experience tells us that increased culinary literacy has a positive impact on a family's health and financial situation. In our country, this topic has been left more or less on the backburner, and possible attempts to solve it are often unsystematic or akin to Victorian times.
What resonated with you the most from this year's publications and creative works?
I think that the culinary symposium Počátky (Beginnings), which takes place in Sudkův důl, straddles the line of art. Flowers from the surrounding meadows are fermented here, whole roe deer are roasted in a millet, and generally experimental, local ingredients from snout to tail and pike to pistil are processed. The wedding of two members of the band Holinky was musically a big deal for me. Dozens of great folk musicians gathered there, playing for as long as their strings would allow them. Out of this year's books, I would highly recommend the latest Timothy Snyder and the second revised edition of Respect and Be Respected. What the book describes in relation to children also applies to us as adults. Maybe more so than we might like to admit.
|
up △
|
