LocationsAmidst deepening climate crisis, a new conscious food systems framework distills five years of global work as nearly 400 participants from more than 60 countries gather in Bhutan.
Food summit puts human values at heart of global systems change
September 1, 2026
Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan
1 September 2026 | (Paro, Bhutan) — Nearly 400 participants from more than 60 countries gathered in Bhutan today for the first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, connecting issues that reach far beyond food. They will concretise how values, mindsets and relationships influence our decisions to change the systems shaping our world.
Hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), the four-day Summit brings together political leaders, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, youth and development practitioners.
“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,” said Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan. “It asks us not only what we can produce, but also how we should produce it? Who benefits? At what cost? And what kind of future are we creating in the process?”
Food is the entry point. How it is produced, financed and consumed connects climate change and biodiversity loss with health, livelihoods, inequality, culture and natural resources — making food systems a powerful lens through which to examine wider systemic change.
Her Excellency Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minsiter of Sri Lanka
Food is the entry point. How it is produced, financed and consumed connects climate change and biodiversity loss with health, livelihoods, inequality, culture and natural resources — making food systems a powerful lens through which to examine wider systemic change.
“Food security depends on the health of our land, the ecosystems sustaining it, and the communities caring for them. UNDP stands ready to strengthen the framework to turn values into action and consciousness into change, with policies, investment and partnership for food systems that feed everyone, without costing the earth," said Beate Trankmann, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
Beate Trankmann, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific
Spiritual teacher and humanitarian Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) brought the relationship between inner and outer change to the individual level.
“The world will become good, only if the minds of individuals become good. Therefore, along with the understanding of the outer world, it is essential that we also come to know our inner world,” Amma told the Summit.
The 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon placed the challenge within a wider global context.
“The challenges facing our world are deeply interconnected and cannot be solved in isolation," said Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, “Lasting transformation begins with recognizing that we are, first and foremost, global citizens — bound by shared responsibility to one another, to nature, and to future generations. That shared identity must now drive collective action”.
Hon'ble Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Hon'ble Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Co-Founder of Project Dandelion
Bringing an Indigenous perspective to the relationship between people, food and the natural world, Mindahi Bastida, Otomi-Toltec Indigenous Scholar, Ceremonial Leader and Global Advocate for Biocultural Rights, said:
“When we talk about food systems, we understand that the food that we eat is what we are. We need to rethink about everything, as humans, and we need to understand that other beings are also important. It’s a deep connection.”
From ideas to practice
The Summit also marks the release of a new Conscious Food Systems Framework, distilling more than five years of co-creation, consultation and movement-building across CoFSA's global community.
“Agriculture is on the front line of climate change, but it must also be part of the long-term solution. We know many of the solutions needed to make food systems healthier, more regenerative, resilient and equitable. The harder question is why change remains so difficult,” said Thomas Legrand, Lead Technical Advisor of CoFSA.“Our work is showing that our ways of being, relating, thinking, exercising power and making decisions are instrumental for systemic transformation.”
Developed ahead of the Summit, the Framework brings together a shared vision and principles, conscious ways of working at individual, collective and institutional levels, lessons from the field and more than 50 initiatives worldwide applying consciousness approaches to food systems.
The work is already moving into practice. CoFSA connects more than 900 members and 8,000 supporters; more than 300 people have participated in its Conscious Food Systems Leadership Programme; and six conscious food
interventions have been tested, including work in India and Colombia and pilots across four continents.
What comes next
Over the next three days, participants will explore what this means in practice across regenerative farming, policy and governance, power and inequality, health, education, finance, farmer wellbeing and Indigenous and faith traditions.
Bhutan provides a distinctive setting. Its philosophy of Gross National Happiness has long placed wellbeing, environmental stewardship, culture and good governance alongside economic progress — offering a living context for many of the questions being explored.
The Summit will culminate in recommendations and practical pathways for taking this work beyond Bhutan, with conclusions and outcomes to be released at the end of the gathering.
Notes to editors:
Follow the Summit online worldwide
Sessions from 1–4 September will be livestreamed and recorded, alongside daily regional online gatherings across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, giving audiences worldwide an opportunity to follow the discussions and connect with the wider Summit community.
Opening press conference (1 Sept, 2026): https://youtu.be/PrMVyZ87RS8
solutions to address the polycrises: Register and for one on one interviews - send email to nicolas.eliades@undp.org
Official Summit opening - Igniting Consciousness to address the Polycrisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k3CGzcsTg0
Explore ways to participate:https://www.consciousfoodsummit.com/get-involved
Summit information and programme:https://consciousfoodsystems.org/bhutan-summit-2026/
The Global Conscious Food Systems Summit takes place in Bhutan from 31 August to 4 September 2026, convened by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA) and UNDP.
Nearly 400 participants from more than 60 countries are attending, spanning government, food production, Indigenous Peoples, science, civil society, business, youth and development.
The Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA) is a global community working to integrate consciousness, values, culture and inner capacities into food systems transformation.
Media opportunities: Summit participants and experts are available for interviews across food and agriculture, climate and nature, development, governance, health, finance, Indigenous knowledge, culture and systems change. Further Summit conclusions and outcomes will be released at the end of the gathering.
Online participation and registration:https://consciousfoodsystems.org/online-participation/
Summit programme and information:https://consciousfoodsystems.org/bhutan-summit-2026/
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