WEBVTT 00:00:02.092 --> 00:00:05.018 Hello and welcome. 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:09.884 Today, we had the first session of the Strategic Council for Food. 00:00:10.005 --> 00:00:14.742 The discussion was brief but in-depth, 00:00:15.172 --> 00:00:17.852 and I believe we're all glad 00:00:18.045 --> 00:00:21.142 that we've tackled the issue in this manner. 00:00:21.345 --> 00:00:26.271 Why? Food si something we live with every day, and we aren't 00:00:26.419 --> 00:00:29.391 sufficiently aware of its significance. 00:00:29.552 --> 00:00:33.498 Within public administration, this is an area covered 00:00:33.619 --> 00:00:38.331 by a number of ministries that aren't well-coordinated 00:00:38.452 --> 00:00:44.785 for a variety of reasons. It's this range of opinions 00:00:44.945 --> 00:00:50.158 we've heard today that tells us we need to coordinate 00:00:50.339 --> 00:00:56.098 our efforts for a safe, sustainable, and self-sufficient 00:00:56.259 --> 00:00:57.939 food system in Slovenia. 00:00:58.525 --> 00:01:01.565 The Strategic Council is a consultative body 00:01:01.712 --> 00:01:03.712 that will act on the principle 00:01:04.232 --> 00:01:08.251 of simultaneously considering the long term, in the form 00:01:08.405 --> 00:01:12.442 of new guidelines, as well as current challenges. 00:01:12.718 --> 00:01:18.375 We'll examine long-term perspectives and short-term challenges 00:01:18.585 --> 00:01:22.238 from various viewpoints. 00:01:22.405 --> 00:01:25.925 This way, we can combine various sectors 00:01:26.052 --> 00:01:29.671 and come up with the best solutions. 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:34.311 Our goal for the Council is to take positions 00:01:34.592 --> 00:01:38.091 regarding the effect of food on our health 00:01:38.212 --> 00:01:40.679 and raise public awareness about this, 00:01:40.845 --> 00:01:44.618 and regarding how our use and production of food 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:49.018 affect our environment, sustainability and the climate. 00:01:49.372 --> 00:01:53.638 We'll also examine how food production in Slovenia 00:01:53.772 --> 00:01:56.358 affects the country's self-sufficiency. 00:01:56.479 --> 00:02:01.498 All these aspects are included in the common strategy. 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:07.332 This project will last the government's entire term 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.045 because this is such an important issue. We've agreed 00:02:11.172 --> 00:02:14.558 about how we'll approach this. We have a president, 00:02:14.692 --> 00:02:18.031 Nataša Fidler Mis, and a vice president, Dr. Eržen. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:23.038 It's crucial that we've agreed about the priorities 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:27.318 for the next council meeting, which will take place at the end 00:02:27.519 --> 00:02:34.265 of January, and we're unanimous that we should begin 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:39.099 with the current guidelines. We'll then examine the vision 00:02:39.252 --> 00:02:43.878 of Nordic countries in this area. They're the most advanced region 00:02:44.045 --> 00:02:47.991 in the field of food. They're also determined to be 00:02:48.179 --> 00:02:52.425 the most sustainable. When we get that broader view, we'll focus 00:02:52.579 --> 00:02:57.172 on two current issues. We would like to contribute there as well. 00:02:57.605 --> 00:03:02.165 We'll devise an expert position on how to reform 00:03:02.339 --> 00:03:06.225 the system of student food vouchers, 00:03:06.465 --> 00:03:12.078 so we can use public money to encourage healthy nutrition. 00:03:12.432 --> 00:03:16.838 We'll also tackle the grocery basket index. 00:03:17.012 --> 00:03:21.165 As you know, the Agriculture Ministry is monitoring 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:26.965 grocery prices, and we would like to compare these prices 00:03:27.125 --> 00:03:31.785 by looking at various baskets. This makes comparisons 00:03:31.985 --> 00:03:36.838 between different lifestyles easier. I'd like to address a point 00:03:36.959 --> 00:03:40.318 that has sometimes been mentioned as problematic. 00:03:40.459 --> 00:03:44.272 The Council will not take a position on any lifestyle. 00:03:44.425 --> 00:03:47.818 Quite the opposite. We would like to enable people 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:52.565 to make their own informed decisions about their lifestyles. 00:03:52.725 --> 00:03:55.952 It's our responsibility to raise their awareness 00:03:56.092 --> 00:03:58.858 and give them a choice. 00:03:59.025 --> 00:04:01.165 No one is forced to do anything. 00:04:01.286 --> 00:04:04.272 People are free to choose their lifestyle. 00:04:04.432 --> 00:04:08.458 We'll just make them aware of the health, environmental, 00:04:08.592 --> 00:04:13.858 climate, and self-sufficiency implications of their choice. 00:04:14.312 --> 00:04:16.805 This is what we're trying to implement 00:04:17.005 --> 00:04:20.245 in our first two projects, the student vouchers 00:04:20.392 --> 00:04:23.978 and the grocery basket index, by the end of the month. 00:04:24.205 --> 00:04:30.412 We're not here to philosophize, but to issue specific 00:04:30.612 --> 00:04:33.998 recommendations that are quickly realized. 00:04:34.119 --> 00:04:37.270 Thank you. I give the floor to the head 00:04:37.391 --> 00:04:40.844 of the Strategic Council, Nataša Fidler Mis. 00:04:40.965 --> 00:04:45.405 Hello to everyone. I would first like to thank the Prime Minister 00:04:45.572 --> 00:04:48.277 for naming me to the Strategic Council. 00:04:48.398 --> 00:04:52.358 This seems like a wonderful opportunity 00:04:52.919 --> 00:04:57.105 for experts to contribute to political decisions 00:04:57.318 --> 00:05:02.375 in the area of food. We're facing significant challenges. 00:05:02.539 --> 00:05:05.891 We would like our food to be more sustainable 00:05:06.032 --> 00:05:10.051 and healthier. We plan to make specific contributions 00:05:10.245 --> 00:05:13.105 to the nutrition of all age groups. 00:05:13.272 --> 00:05:17.085 We've given priority to a topic that we'll consider 00:05:17.312 --> 00:05:21.158 at our February meeting, namely nutrition in kindergartens 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:25.185 and schools. This is a challenge, so we'll have advisers 00:05:25.365 --> 00:05:29.858 who'll look into this matter and provide a range 00:05:30.032 --> 00:05:33.945 of solutions we can use to improve the nutrition 00:05:34.092 --> 00:05:36.871 of children in schools and kindergartens. 00:05:37.025 --> 00:05:43.442 We'll then move on to the elderly and other age groups. 00:05:43.585 --> 00:05:46.998 We have many challenges but student vouchers 00:05:47.185 --> 00:05:53.975 are a priority for late January, as are the grocery basket indices. 00:05:54.145 --> 00:05:58.091 This will be followed by nutrition and our guidelines. 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:02.318 That's our wish because all countries need to update 00:06:02.472 --> 00:06:06.298 their food guidelines to ensure a healthy and sustainable 00:06:06.458 --> 00:06:08.058 provision of food. 00:06:08.179 --> 00:06:14.078 This is based on an article published in 2019 in Lancet, 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:18.665 one of the highest-ranked science journals. 00:06:18.852 --> 00:06:25.152 Experts from various fields concluded that we may have 00:06:25.325 --> 00:06:28.938 enough food for everyone on Earth 00:06:29.085 --> 00:06:32.551 and that we are within the limits of the planet. 00:06:32.725 --> 00:06:36.038 That's why we would like to update our guidelines. 00:06:36.205 --> 00:06:40.791 As the Prime Minister has stated, the Nordic countries have done much 00:06:40.985 --> 00:06:47.764 in this area and they have a vision for being the best by 2030. 00:06:47.885 --> 00:06:53.342 We've just begun or work, but we also have a vision. 00:06:53.645 --> 00:06:57.232 Thank you to the president. Now, the vice president, 00:06:57.359 --> 00:07:00.132 Dr. Ivan Eržen. -Thank you very much. 00:07:00.299 --> 00:07:04.632 At NIJZ, we're very pleased that the Prime Minister 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:10.137 has created a space where those of us determined to reduce 00:07:10.258 --> 00:07:16.011 the negative impact of food production 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:21.675 can find each other and develop our work. 00:07:21.859 --> 00:07:24.371 We've often been somewhat lonely 00:07:24.525 --> 00:07:30.708 in dealing with the data we've obtained. 00:07:30.965 --> 00:07:37.159 We now have an opportunity to deal with this data 00:07:37.332 --> 00:07:41.898 and with other actors in several fields 00:07:42.065 --> 00:07:49.042 to create change or provide the basis for it. 00:07:49.358 --> 00:07:53.138 As the Prime Minister has said, this will give the people 00:07:53.358 --> 00:07:56.605 a chance to make well-informed choices. 00:07:56.785 --> 00:08:04.572 They won't be forced into something, but they'll have the information 00:08:04.772 --> 00:08:09.178 to choose the nutrition habits they consider most appropriate. 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:15.411 Today's meeting has shown that we have a lot of work to do, 00:08:15.858 --> 00:08:23.725 because there are many areas, from ecology and sociology 00:08:23.872 --> 00:08:31.738 to our contemporary habits, which we can't change overnight. 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:38.571 They are deeply rooted 00:08:38.719 --> 00:08:46.425 and shaped by our culture to a large degree. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:53.242 Even though we'll inform he public in various ways, 00:08:53.412 --> 00:09:00.242 we'll still encounter views that are a part of our tradition. 00:09:00.678 --> 00:09:05.538 Nevertheless, the conditions from the beginning of this millennium 00:09:05.692 --> 00:09:09.771 have begun to change in the right direction in part because 00:09:09.952 --> 00:09:11.552 of our past activity. 00:09:11.752 --> 00:09:16.371 I'm confident that the Strategic Council, which we'll build upon 00:09:16.525 --> 00:09:20.745 in the years ahead, will help us make an important step forward. 00:09:21.092 --> 00:09:25.712 Thank you. It's time for some brief questions from the press. 00:09:25.905 --> 00:09:29.445 I have two brief questions. 00:09:29.605 --> 00:09:34.179 There was quite a bit of criticism about the composition 00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:38.958 of this Council. Several positions were still unfilled today, so how 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:42.771 did you fill them? It was mostly farmers and producers 00:09:42.959 --> 00:09:47.451 who felt they were underrepresented. Second, you say that you would 00:09:47.612 --> 00:09:51.618 like to raise awareness and give the people a choice, 00:09:51.752 --> 00:09:55.551 but the menus in schools and kindergartens are clear. 00:09:55.672 --> 00:09:59.038 Does this mean they'll change drastically? 00:09:59.872 --> 00:10:02.591 I'll start at the beginning. 00:10:02.999 --> 00:10:07.091 The Council held its first session today and its composition 00:10:07.239 --> 00:10:09.398 is now known. 00:10:09.579 --> 00:10:14.271 No interest group is dominant, nor was that the intent. 00:10:14.425 --> 00:10:18.331 This includes farmers and the food industry. 00:10:19.105 --> 00:10:22.978 According to my information, the farming-producing sector 00:10:23.165 --> 00:10:28.611 has at least four representatives, some from the Agriculture Ministry. 00:10:29.005 --> 00:10:34.578 I believe they're well-represented, even though this isn't the priority. 00:10:35.245 --> 00:10:43.078 We're dealing with eating habits, and only when we manage to adapt 00:10:43.265 --> 00:10:48.875 those to a healthy lifestyle and sustainable production 00:10:49.072 --> 00:10:52.085 will we move on to production. 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:56.031 But it's right that everyone is involved. 00:10:57.258 --> 00:11:01.505 Moving on to the question about guidelines. 00:11:01.752 --> 00:11:04.251 Nothing, least of all the guidelines, 00:11:04.405 --> 00:11:07.031 will be drafted overnight. 00:11:07.219 --> 00:11:13.125 The guidelines will be ready in about a year. 00:11:13.452 --> 00:11:17.718 That's when we'll start to carry out specific change. 00:11:17.978 --> 00:11:23.343 I would like to emphasize that the decision about what goes 00:11:23.464 --> 00:11:27.675 into the guidelines is based on three principles: 00:11:28.372 --> 00:11:33.132 health, sustainability, and local and national self-sufficiency. 00:11:33.792 --> 00:11:37.218 These principles must be bound into a whole. 00:11:37.352 --> 00:11:40.805 That hasn't been the case so far because the actors 00:11:40.926 --> 00:11:44.291 weren't connected. We're now bringing them together 00:11:44.458 --> 00:11:46.392 to ensure the best solutions. 00:11:46.552 --> 00:11:51.118 How this will affect specific suppliers depends on the results 00:11:51.239 --> 00:11:54.851 of the debate and the suppliers themselves. 00:11:55.052 --> 00:11:58.478 The school system is very fragmented when it comes 00:11:58.599 --> 00:12:01.299 to food. It doesn't have unified menus. 00:12:01.420 --> 00:12:04.525 But we would like to have unified guidelines. 00:12:04.645 --> 00:12:08.405 Why is it so useful for us to have student food vouchers 00:12:08.605 --> 00:12:11.491 on the table today? It's our first attempt 00:12:11.725 --> 00:12:15.705 to integrate experts from various fields 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.898 into our debate about specific choices. 00:12:19.045 --> 00:12:23.132 I underscore choices. I'm not talking about a single menu. 00:12:23.325 --> 00:12:26.892 Everyone is talking about that, but we say no. 00:12:27.325 --> 00:12:31.351 The menus must include various different diets, 00:12:31.499 --> 00:12:36.064 so everyone can make a smart decision based on their preferences. 00:12:36.185 --> 00:12:40.605 We don't want to blindly direct people left or right. 00:12:40.792 --> 00:12:43.958 That may have happened in the past, 00:12:44.219 --> 00:12:47.725 but we'd like give people the awareness to make 00:12:47.872 --> 00:12:51.245 their own decisions. I believe in personal choice 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:55.704 and we carried out a mini lab in the cafeteria across the street, 00:12:55.825 --> 00:12:59.624 where we gave people a choice they didn't have before. 00:12:59.745 --> 00:13:03.972 Prior to our term in office, there was no choice. There were 00:13:04.093 --> 00:13:08.612 just meat-based options, period. There was no meat-free menu. 00:13:08.785 --> 00:13:12.318 When you hear the results, you'll be surprised to see 00:13:12.459 --> 00:13:16.358 what happens when you give people a choice. 00:13:16.792 --> 00:13:20.505 The role of the government is to connect knowledge 00:13:20.645 --> 00:13:26.091 and pass it on to the people, so they can choose. 00:13:26.212 --> 00:13:31.031 This is our guiding principle, and the principles are the same: 00:13:31.458 --> 00:13:34.665 health, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. 00:13:37.125 --> 00:13:45.075 My question is about the credibility of your efforts to reduce 00:13:45.285 --> 00:13:51.571 the environmental impact and encourage sustainability 00:13:51.772 --> 00:13:55.492 in the context of the wasteful use of the Falcon jet 00:13:55.685 --> 00:13:59.138 for the trip, which may not have been the only one, 00:13:59.352 --> 00:14:03.385 but it was made public. How do you reconcile your credibility 00:14:03.532 --> 00:14:11.285 in this area with the lack of change or new, sustainable 00:14:11.505 --> 00:14:19.019 criteria in the area of transport? 00:14:19.785 --> 00:14:22.771 I'll give a direct answer. 00:14:23.051 --> 00:14:26.207 This isn't about the credibility of individuals. 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:32.175 We need to change the eating habits of us all 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:35.105 because of our health, sustainability, 00:14:35.292 --> 00:14:39.191 and self-sufficiency. These are our three criteria. 00:14:39.372 --> 00:14:42.951 We need to do this so we can survive on our planet 00:14:43.165 --> 00:14:46.285 and reduce the burden on our healthcare system. 00:14:46.432 --> 00:14:51.171 This has nothing to do with our transportation policy, 00:14:51.319 --> 00:14:56.051 which, along with sustainability, is a matter for the Climate Change 00:14:56.172 --> 00:15:00.838 Council, and I'll be glad to discuss this matter then. 00:15:00.979 --> 00:15:06.978 Today, we're saying that, sadly, the National Program 00:15:07.332 --> 00:15:11.071 for Energy and Climate, which is the only document 00:15:11.252 --> 00:15:16.831 that discusses climate and includes transpiration policies, 00:15:17.032 --> 00:15:21.325 while farming and food are virtually absent. 00:15:21.912 --> 00:15:25.951 And we know that almost 20% of greenhouse emissions 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.698 are produced in these sectors. 00:15:28.805 --> 00:15:33.091 Health isn't even included in this energy and climate program. 00:15:33.252 --> 00:15:37.625 This matters because food supplies, perhaps because they 00:15:37.865 --> 00:15:42.265 seem self-evident, are absent from the most important strategic 00:15:42.425 --> 00:15:47.085 documents issued by the state. With the Strategic Council, 00:15:47.206 --> 00:15:51.018 we're raising the issue of food to an entirely new level. 00:15:51.225 --> 00:15:55.242 We would like to have a high-quality, expert debate, 00:15:55.739 --> 00:16:00.425 so we politicians can hear what the experts have to say. 00:16:00.772 --> 00:16:04.858 We'll talk about credibility when we pass some measures. 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:09.218 Perhaps you can judge it when we take on student food vouchers. 00:16:09.405 --> 00:16:13.045 Did we make a breakthrough based on all three criteria 00:16:13.166 --> 00:16:14.766 and our debates? 00:16:15.112 --> 00:16:17.438 Thank you and a follow-up. 00:16:17.579 --> 00:16:22.658 If I understood you correctly, you'll connect efforts 00:16:22.805 --> 00:16:26.718 in this area with those in transport, which is covered 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:32.185 by another council... -This year, we need to prepare 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:37.205 an updated version of the National Program for Energy and Climate 00:16:37.372 --> 00:16:42.398 for 2023. Naturally, when we prepare that document, 00:16:42.585 --> 00:16:45.891 we'll need to address all the sectors, from energy 00:16:46.012 --> 00:16:49.825 and industry to transportation and farming, that produce 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:55.885 greenhouse gases. Within this debate, we'll include 00:16:57.065 --> 00:17:01.551 some conclusions from the area of food, but this isn't about 00:17:01.745 --> 00:17:05.508 overlapping topics, but rather about two parallel issues. 00:17:05.645 --> 00:17:09.805 After all, food is about much more than climate policy. 00:17:10.012 --> 00:17:13.411 It's primarily about health. 00:17:13.538 --> 00:17:17.691 That's why we have so many representatives of the medical 00:17:17.885 --> 00:17:23.425 profession in the Council. Health and healthcare reform 00:17:23.612 --> 00:17:27.425 are discussed quite frequently. The best reform is when we 00:17:27.585 --> 00:17:31.966 need our doctors less often, and healthy food is the first step 00:17:32.087 --> 00:17:33.595 in that direction.