Bhutan food systems summit puts consciousness on global policy map

The first-ever Global Conscious Food Systems Summit brought governments, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, farmers and businesses together around a new approach to policy and decision-making amid an escalating polycrisis

September 8, 2026

Outdoor gathering of costumed performers around a tree; a person raises arms near a drum. — Summit participants try their hand at milk churning during the immersive experience sessions.

UNDP/Dechen Wangmo

8 September 2026 | (Paro, Bhutan) — The first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, which concluded in Bhutan, has put an idea historically associated largely with personal and spiritual practice firmly into discussions about policy, institutions and global systems change.

Nearly 400 participants from about 65 countries — including political leaders, Indigenous Peoples, farmers, scientists, businesses, young people and development practitioners — explored whether changing how people think, relate, exercise power and make decisions can unlock different responses to an interconnected polycrisis spanning climate change, food insecurity, inequality, conflict and ecological degradation.

Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan

Choidup, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Bhutan

A central proposition emerged from the week: transforming systems requires looking not only at what decisions are made, but at the values, relationships and ways of thinking that shape how and why they are made. Bhutan’s Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay brought the argument directly into decision-making:

“Behind our systems are people making decisions, and those decisions are shaped not only by what we know and what we can do, they are shaped by what we value. This is where consciousness enters the conversation.”

UNDP's Deputy Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, Beate Trankmann, stressed the importance of collective commitmment and effort in transforming the food systems. "No one nation, institution, sector or group can fix food systems alone. Progress depends on combining different knowledge, experiences and leadership around one shared purpose."

Beate Trankmann, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Asia-Pacific

UNDP/Dechen Wangmo

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon placed that shift firmly within the sustainable development agenda:

“The lesson is clear: inner and cultural transformation—a conscious shift in our mindsets, values, and worldviews—must be recognized as a fundamental enabler of sustainable development, alongside policy, finance, and technology.”

Carlos Watson, Director of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and FAO Office of the SDGs, connected that argument directly to the global food-systems policy process. Despite progress since the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, he warned that change is still not happening fast enough and that food systems risk being reduced to a technical or technocratic issue.

“This Summit, by emphasizing values, inner capacities and principles, shed light on the invisible part of the iceberg: it always starts, and ends with people.”

He said CoFSA and its members could contribute to the acceleration needed towards 2030, pointing to future opportunities including the UNFSS+6 Stocktake and the 2027 SDG Summit.

Moko Morris, a Māori food sovereignty advocate from Aotearoa New Zealand, said:

“Conscious ways of working require us to heal from past trauma and lead from a deeper place. Leadership is in every single one of us. We might do it differently, but we are required to lead in a holistic way in connection with the ecosystem.”

The Summit also explored how these inner dimensions connect with collective and structural change. Dr Jessica Bockler, Director of Alef Trust, said:

“Lasting food-systems transformation requires us to work with the inner dimensions which shape our systems: consciousness, values, relationships. We are committed to exploring how inner transformation, collective capacities and structural changes can work together to create more life-affirming futures.”

ALEF Trust supported CoFSA to make the summit inclusive with online reflective spaces for 5 different regions through its new Centre for Ecology of Human Transformation which explores the connections between consciousness, inner transformation and wider social and ecological changes.

Business leaders challenged conventional ideas of value. Dilhan Fernando, CEO of Dilmah Tea, said:

“People and Nature are one; if a business creates value for nature and people then it has the right to create economic value for itself. If it doesn’t fulfill that condition, it is extracting value. That’s no different to colonialism.”

From Bhutan to implementation

The Summit launched the Conscious Food Systems Framework, consolidating more than five years of global co-creation and over 50 examples of practice into a foundation for the next phase of the work.

Thomas Lagrand, Lead for Conscious Food Systems Alliance, one of the key organisers of the summit, said:

“Practical guidance will now be developed to help translate the approach for different actors, while the international community of practice on conscious food systems will expand through national and regional networks and leadership programmes.”

At the country level, the next phase will begin testing what conscious food systems approaches look like in practice and building evidence around their application.

Andrew Bovarnick, UNDP’s Global Head of Food and Agricultural Commodity Systems, said:

“I look forward to seeing the Conscious Food Systems Framework applied by countries, building a growing body of evidence of what this looks like at national and local levels, and how values and principles can help create the conditions for regeneration, health and equity to grow. Our collaboration with Bhutan provides an exciting opportunity to take this work forward, exploring how the Framework can be applied here and connected with Bhutan’s approach to Gross National Happiness.”

The Summit concluded with butter-lamp lighting and a water blessing, symbolically activating the “heart of food systems transformation.” The Global Conscious Food Systems Summit was convened by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Additional voices from the Summit:

Father Godfrey Nzamujo, founder of the Songhai Centre, reflecting on desertification, population growth and mounting climate impacts in West Africa, said:

“The conscious food movement should have started yesterday. It’s urgent, because if we don’t do it today, it’s going to be too late tomorrow, because this carries radical solutions. In West Africa we are facing a timebomb with the encroaching desert and escalating climate change impacts.”

Praveena Sridhar, Chief Technical and Policy Officer, Conscious Planet–Save Soil, said:

“CoFSA has been a fascinating confluence of people from diverse backgrounds. I feel it has the potential to shift how we see, understand, and ultimately work with our food systems — intentionally.”

About the Global Conscious Food Systems Summit The first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit took place in Paro, Bhutan, from 31 August–4 September 2026, bringing together nearly 400 participants from about 65 countries. It was convened by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

About the Conscious Food Systems Framework The Framework brings together more than five years of global co-creation and over 50 examples of practice exploring how consciousness, values, mindsets and relationships can contribute to food systems transformation. The next phase will focus on practical application, including guidance for different sectors and implementation at country and local levels.

Partner Alef Trust, a global leader in transformative education, hosted pre-summit online participation and five regional online gatherings in multiple languages during the Summit days to create an inclusive space for people around the world to connect, reflect, and engage meaningfully with the conversations taking place in Bhutan. Their new Centre for the Ecology of Human Transformation explores the connections between consciousness, inner transformation and wider social and ecological changes.

Bhutan and Gross National Happiness Drawing on Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness approach, Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay stressed that growth and prosperity matter, but development must ultimately serve people and wellbeing. For Bhutan, food systems should nourish people, support livelihoods and opportunities for young people, protect soil, water and biodiversity, and sustain a competitive and resilient private sector.

Media contacts:

Dechen Wangmo - Regional media contact - UNDP Bhutan (Paro, Bhutan) - dechen.wangmo@undp.org

Sunita Subba - Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock - sunitas@moal.gov.bt

Ashwini Prabha -Global, French, Hindi speaking contact - ashwin.prabha@undp.org

Nicolas Eliades - Global and Spanish speaking contact - nicolas.eliades