Some Reflections on the Resilience of Luxembourg's Food System

Moments of crisis like the current one sparked by Covid-19, engage social, economic, cultural and political institutions of a society and stress-test their resourcefulness, while individual and collective food supplies become primary concerns. Where does even the wealthiest of EU member States stand when it comes to food sovereignty and specific vulnerabilities, what needs to change and which food policies are needed to facilitate a sustainable food system – both locally and internationally? Combining qualitative, empirical research methods to textual and statistical analysis, as well as transformative research, I focus on key areas of Luxembourg’s food system presenting challenges – specific ones and structural ones intertwined with issues in other countries – and discuss current and planned pathways of optimisation. I will start out with an analysis of agricultural and commercial specificities of a food system with low self-sufficiency rates, linked to meat and dairy specialisations, but also to market accessibility and market structure issues, leading to heavy imports. I will then shed light on pathways currently put into practice by the State, by economic actors, by educational actors and by social movements and coalitions of the willing, advocating ecological, ethical and qualitative production methods. Finally, I will show how the first Food Policy Council at national level that Luxembourg is currently founding is favoring a deliberate shift towards a multi-stakeholder-lead effective food policy.