The 2025 Food Summit has ended. Watch video replays below.
Thank you all for making this year’s People's Food Summit a success!
Our session videos garnered millions views across social media platforms.
*Streaming Schedule*
(Times are subject to change)
Session #1 - Asia Pacific (GMT+12)
Local Time: Tokyo (2pm) — Mumbai (10:30am) — London (6am) — Bogotá (12am) — Chicago (12am)
Session #2 - Europe (GMT+11)
Local Time: London (12:30pm) — Tokyo (8:30pm) — Mumbai (5:00pm) — Bogotá (6:30am) — Chicago (6:30am)
Session #3 - Africa (GMT+3)
Local Time: Nairobi (5:30pm) — Tokyo (11:30pm) — Mumbai (8pm) — London (3:30pm) — Bogotá (9:30am) — Chicago (9:30am)
Session #4 - North America (GMT-5)
Local Time: Chicago (2:30pm) — Tokyo (4:30am) — Mumbai (1:00am) — London (8:30pm) — Bogotá (2:30pm)
Session #5 - Latin America (GMT-6)
Local Time: Mexico City (6:30pm) — Tokyo (9:30am) — Mumbai (6:00am) — London (1:30am) — Bogotá (7:30pm) — Chicago (7:30pm)
SPEAKER LINEUP
(Times are subject to change)
ASIA PACIFIC
Dr. Vandana Shiva
Navdanya International - India
The Nature of Nature and Slow Living
Vandana discusses her two latest books - The Nature of Nature and Slow Living.
Vandana and André discuss the multiple issues she raises in her books and their critical importance to regenerative agriculture, farmers, the environment, society at large and the whole planet. Link to Bio
Allan Savory
Independent - Global
Unsavory
Allan discusses his recently published autobiography, Unsavory. He details the key events in his life that led to the development of Holistic Management, which has resulted in the most fundamental changes in grazing practices and the regeneration of millions of acres around the world on every continent.
Karen Mapusua
IFOAM Pacific - Fiji
IFOAM - Organics International
Karen discusses the new governance structure, which was overwhelmingly approved by the members. This is the first major change to IFOAM-Organics International in 50 years and reflects the growth, representation, and needs of the international organics sector. Link to Bio
Carolyn Suggate
ORICoop Founder and Director - Australia
ORICoop
Carolyn and Greg discuss Organic and Regenerative Investment Coop’s (ORICoop) latest venture, a small-farm certification scheme based on PGS principles and the domestic Australian Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Products. Link to Bio
Greg Paynter
ORICoop Director - Australia
ORICoop
A keen advocate since 1990, an experienced practitioner, certification specialist, extension officer, and researcher in the public and private sectors within the organic ecosystem, previously a broad-acre agriculturist in the conventional realm. Currently assisting in the development of the Eco-Credit program and working on the development of organic fertilizers from mining offal. Driven by what I believe organics has to offer humanity while preserving nature’s capacity. Link to Bio
Prof. Dr. André Leu D.Sc.
Regeneration International - Australia
Link to Talk
Regenerative and Organic: Its Roots and Certification. Growing and Selling with Integrity
Dr. André Leu, D.Sc., was named international director of Regeneration International in 2017. Previously, he was president of IFOAM—Organics International, the international umbrella organization for the organic sector. During 50-plus years of visiting and working in more than 100 countries, André acquired an extensive knowledge of farming and environmental systems across Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australasia. He and his wife, Julia, run an organic tropical fruit farm in Daintree, Australia. Link to Bio
Neils Olsen
SOILKEE - Australia
SOILKEE's Benefits
Neils discusses the multiple benefits of his system of planting annual crops into pastures without the need to kill the pasture with herbicides or by plowing, and presents data showing lower production costs, significant increases in crop production, and farm profitability. Link to Bio
EUROPE
Simon Kraemer
EARA - Germany
Link to Talk
Regenerative Agriculture by EARA
Simon explains that the project, initiated by the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture, aims to develop a common set of benchmarks for regenerative standards to counter greenwashing by Big Ag corporations. Simon and André discuss the multiple issues involved, including how to avoid the pitfalls of organic standards, which have alienated the majority of the world’s farmers, while still ensuring credibility. Link to Bio
Paul Van Mele
Access Agriculture - Belgium
Access Agriculture
Paul discusses the scope of Access Agriculture, a nonprofit organization that supports organic farming and agroecology.
They enable global and local access to high-quality training videos in local languages. They have 6,476 agroecology videos in 111 languages. These high-quality videos are freely available and feature farmers and farming methods in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Link to Bio
AFRICA
Charles Tumuhe
Agroecology at Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa - Uganda
Link to Talk
Africa Taking a Lead in Building a Food and Seed Sovereignty Movement
Charles is an agricultural extension, training, and rural development expert with ten years of experience working for government and non-governmental organizations in Uganda. In his current role as a project officer, Charles is responsible for overseeing agroecology capacity-building initiatives for organizations in several African Countries. Charles has published several journal articles on topics such as agroforestry, stakeholder analysis, community action planning, and Ugandan indigenous seeds and foods and has taught in both academic and rural farm settings. He is passionate about agroecology and climate adaptation strategies and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Management, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Project Monitoring and Evaluation, and a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture. Link to Bio
Rolf Shenton
Grassroots Trust - Zambia
Link to Talk
Holistic Management, Soil Management and Roles of Leaders in Policy Changes
Rolf Shenton is a Zambian-born agriculturalist and conservationist known for his work in regenerative farming and community-based resource management. He is the founder of the Grassroots Trust, a non-profit organization focused on helping communities in Zambia build sustainable futures through practices like holistic management, low-input agriculture, and wildlife conservation.
Carmen Mannarino
Masifundise Development Trust - South Africa
Link to Talk
Small Scale Fisher Folks / Fishing Communities, Their Struggles and Their Journey in Food Systems
Program Manager at Masifundise Development Trust. More information soon. Link to Bio
Rosinah Mbenya
Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative and the African Women Leaders in Agroecology - Kenya
Link to Talk
Farmer Led Research Work in Kenya- Led by PELUM Kenya
Environmentalist by profession and passion. She's been working with organizations to stir up the contribution of agriculture sector to a more safe environment through agroecological approaches. She's got skills on advocacy, climate resilience, networking, agroenterpise development, water conservation and policy development process. Passionate about youth and women empowerment.
She sits in the continental steering committees of the Ecological Organic agriculture Initiative and the African Women Leaders in Agroecology. She's an active member of the agroecology coalition. Currently serving as a board chair of Effective IPM Association. Co-opted board member at IFOAM Organics International represnting Africa. Link to Bio
Jackson Kithokilo
Holistic Grazing & Health Management - Uganda
Link to Talk
Farmer Methods of Harnessing Water in Dry Lands Farming and Bringing Back Forgotten Seeds and Foods
Based in East Africa, Jackson a farmer, coordinates and trains on regenerative farming. With over 13+ years specializing in Dryland Regenerative Food Systems, Kithokilo integrates holistic grazing, water-conscious farming, and political agroecology to restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, and improve food security. His interest in thanatology adds a unique perspective, emphasizing life's interconnected cycles, empowering communities to build resilient, sustainable ecosystems in arid and semi-arid landscapes. Link to Bio
Farirai (Felicity) Jemwa
PELUM - Zimbabwe
Link to Talk
Agroecological Movement Building in Zimbabwe, and Participatory Action Research. PELUM Zimbabwe
I am a highly enthusiastic, motivated, and knowledgeable individual, with a strong background in ecology and a deep affinity for biodiversity and environmental fields of study. My experiences have granted me a comprehensive understanding of ecological systems and the importance of preserving biodiversity. Beyond my ecological expertise, I am deeply passionate about humanitarian work, policy, and international relations. This passion extends to a desire to contribute meaningfully to global initiatives and policies that address pressing humanitarian and environmental challenges. Link to Bio
NORTH AMERICA
Monique Gray Smith
Author - Canada
Link to Talk
Giving Thanks and the Honourable Harvest - 'Braiding Sweetgrass' for Young and Young-at-Heart
Monique is a Cree and Scottish award‑winning, best‑selling author, consultant, and speaker based in Victoria, British Columbia . Her adaptation Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, originally written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, makes this beloved work accessible to a younger audience. In this version, Monique weaves together Indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of the plants in a way that honors the original work. Monique is known for her storytelling that carries medicine and hope. Her voice reflects resilience, healing, and connection. She believes deeply in the idea that “love is medicine.” Her writing spans all ages, and Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is one of her works that particularly centers on cultivating gratitude, reciprocity, mindfulness, and belonging with and to the land. Link to Bio
Sophia Murphy
IATP - USA
Link to Talk
Shaping the Future of Food, Today. A Conversation on Trade, Borders, Food Security and Juicy Research
Sophia Murphy joined the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) as executive director in October 2020. She is a food systems and international economy expert whose work is focused on resilient food systems and international trade. Sophia has worked with civil society organizations, as well as with government, intergovernmental organizations, and universities. She has a PhD in resource management and environmental science from the University of British Columbia. Link to Bio
Mercedes López Martínez
Vía Orgánica / Sin Maíz No Hay País - Mexico
Link to Talk
Regeneration Must Have a Gender Perspective
Mercedes López Martínez holds a Ph.D. and a Master's degree in Latin American Studies from UNAM. She is an activist, academic, workshop leader, and facilitator on topics such as food sovereignty, organic agriculture, fair trade, and climate change.She is currently the Director of Vía Orgánica, A.C. in Mexico City, and a member of the Organic Consumers Association. Link to Bio
The Johnson-Su Bioreactor: This Simple Method Makes World’s Best Compost
Dr. David C. Johnson
USA
Link to Talk
Dr. David C. Johnson and his assistant, Hui-Chun Su Johnson, are exploring how the development of beneficial soil microbiological communities in agroecosystems: improves global food security and ranch and farm profitability, reduces agrochemical usage, increases soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen, and effectively offsets significant quantities of carbon emissions. Stella McCartney LTD and SOKTAS, as an integral part of Stella McCartney’s Science Based Targets Initiative in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature achieving a net-zero emissions target for their farm-to-fashion supply chain
Hui-Chun Su Johnson
USA
Link to Talk
Hui-Chun Su Johnson and Dr. David C. Johnson, are exploring how the development of beneficial soil microbiological communities in agroecosystems: improves global food security and ranch and farm profitability, reduces agrochemical usage, increases soil organic carbon and total soil nitrogen, and effectively offsets significant quantities of carbon emissions. Stella McCartney LTD and SOKTAS, as an integral part of Stella McCartney’s Science Based Targets Initiative in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature achieving a net-zero emissions target for their farm-to-fashion supply chain
Rebecca Nelson
Professor at Cornell University - USA
Link to talk
The Number 1 Way to Fertilize Crops
Rebecca Nelson is a Professor at Cornell University in the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) and the School of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Her research group works on circular bionutrient economy in collaboration with other researchers at Cornell and in the Rich Earth network, and in the east African Circular Bionutrient Economy Network. Her work focuses on decentralized nutrient recovery from human urine in low-resource contexts and on the use of urine and other organic underutilized resources in urban gardening. From 2000-2021, she served as Scientific Director for The McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program (now the Collaborative for Resilient Food Systems), an international grantmaking program supporting agroecological research in Africa and the Andes. Prior to joining the Cornell faculty, Rebecca spent five years working on management of potato late blight at the International Potato Center in Peru (1996-2001) and eight years working on rice disease management at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1988-1996). Link to Bio
Zeead Yaghi
Scholar, writer, and editor - Beirut
Link to Talk
Israel Chemicals Limited & Bayer-Monsanto’s White Phosphorus Weapons Threaten Lebanon’s Hopes for Food Sovereignty & Agroecology
Scholar, writer, and editor based in Beirut. Holds a PhD in History from the University of California San Diego. Link to Bio
The Campaign to Stop Israel Chemicals Limited & Bayer-Monsanto’s White Phosphorus Weapons Production
Lauren Filla
Common Dreams - USA
Link to Talk
Lauren Filla is a St. Louis resident. She is a healthcare provider and organizer in Missouri with an interest in human rights and the environment. Link to Bio
Seraph Gracynn Kunkel
STL Missouri - USA
Link to Talk
Seraph was born and raised in Missouri and works in animal healthcare. In her personal time She is an artist, proudly involved in community and anti-war organizing, and a passionate advocate for Animal, Environmental, and Women’s rights. Link to Bio
Daniel Romano
St. Louis - USA
Link to Talk
Daniel "digger" Romano is a longtime environmental and human rights activist. He has studied issues around agriculture and is a long-time supporter of family farms and regenerative agriculture. He has worked to expose the dangers of pesticides in agriculture and landscaping as a member of the St. Louis No Spray Coalition and the Missouri Green Party.
Omar Dieguez
California - USA
Link to Talk
Omar + Adam — both involved with Center for Farmworker Families and Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture.
LATIN AMERICA
Avelina Landaverde
El Poder del Consumidor - Mexico
Link to Talk
The Right to Food: Debunking Corporate Propaganda
"Nutritionist and Master in Sociomedical Sciences with a specialization in Health Anthropology from UNAM. She has worked at the Obesity and Eating Behavior Disorders Clinic at INCMNSZ and in the Public Health Services of Mexico City. She is part of El Poder del Consumidor and the Alliance for Healthy Food, and teaches courses on health promotion and education at FES Zaragoza."
Maria Quispe
Prosuco - Bolivia
Link to Talk
Cultivating Pride in the Andes: Yapuchiris and Pachagramas
Agricultural Engineer with postgraduate studies in Rural Development and Project Preparation and Evaluation. She has nearly 20 years of professional experience in areas such as Strengthening of Microenterprises, Sustainable Rural Development, Social Inclusion, Food Security, Risk Management, and Climate Change Adaptation in the agricultural sector. She has worked with institutions such as World Vision, CISTEM, the Suka Kollus Program of COSUDE, and international development organizations such as FAO and IFAD. Since 2011, she has served as the Executive Director of PROSUCO (Promotion of Sustainability and Shared Knowledge), a non-profit organization that works on Sustainable Rural Development, Food Security, and Agricultural Risk Management in communities of the Bolivian highlands. Link to Bio
Tania Monserratt Téllez
Semillas de Vida - Mexico
Link to Talk
Defending Food Sovereignty from the Roots
"Monserratt Téllez, an internationalist from the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at UNAM and a master’s student in Latin American Studies at the same university. She has been interested in understanding and influencing the transformation of the global agri-food system, specifically through the study of the corporate privatization of seeds and the defense of seeds in the hands of small-scale farmers. She collaborated with the Center for Global Change and Sustainability (CCGS), served as a thematic advisor in the Chamber of Deputies, and was coordinator of the Tlalpan Alternative Market. She is currently the coordinator of political advocacy at the Semillas de Vida Foundation."
Marcos Ezequiel Filardi
Human Rights and Food Sovereignty Lawyer - Argentina
Link to Talk
The Right to Eat: Let Hunger Belong in a Museum
Member of the Free Chair of Food Sovereignty at the School of Nutrition of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA); Hunger Museum; Network of Lawyers for Food Sovereignty (Redasa); Union of Community Assemblies (UAC); Union of Scientists Committed to Society and Nature in Latin America (UCCSNAL); People's Health Movement; National Movement Laicrimpo; and the Yopoi Human Rights Collective. University lecturer in human rights, food sovereignty, and environmental law, and former advisor at the National Directorate of Agroecology. He currently serves as Program Officer at the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group). Link to Bio
Sammia Quisintuña
Swissaid - Ecuador
Link to Talk
Participatory Research and Community Resistance: Learning to Defend
Sammia Quisintuña is a Kichwa warmi (woman) from the Salasaka and Chibuleo peoples of Ecuador. Her journey is woven from Andean territories and knowledge toward spaces of community and global dialogue, with a deep interest in agroecology, Indigenous pedagogies, Indigenous ontologies, gender, climate justice, and Andean philosophy. She is currently collaborating with the Swissaid foundation, supporting the Peasant Agroecology Schools in pedagogical matters with the aim of strengthening the rural facilitators, to create a space for practical and political dialogue, thus forming political subjects through methodologies such as farmer-to-farmer pedagogy and Indigenous pedagogies. She is also part of a CLACSO research group focused on studying contemporary agroecological communities.
Valeria García-López
ECOSUR - Colombia/México
Link to Talk
Can a Suitcase Full of Seeds Become a Tool of Community Resistance? Stories of Travel and Organizing
Valeria is passionate about seeds and diversity. She is currently part of the Agroecology Scaling team at ECOSUR, with a postdoctoral fellowship in the project Participatory Research in Agroecology in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPA-LAC).
In recent years, she has supported organizational processes in Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico on issues related to agroecology, popular education, and seed defense. She is interested in understanding how struggles for the commons by different peoples and communities—especially food sovereignty and the defense of heirloom and native seeds—contribute to the territorialization of agroecology. Link to Bio
Juliana Tângari
Comida do Amanhã Institute - Brazil
Link to Talk
We would like to thank the McKnight Foundation for once again providing a generous grant to support and amplify the voices of small-scale farmers and food producers to spread the word about agroecology, permaculture, holistic grazing, agroforestry and working towards a more just, healthy, organic and regenerative food system through the People's Food Summit.
Video Highlights from Previous Years
People's Food Summit 2023, Africa - Precious Phiri, Chifundo Kokwa, SCOPE Malawi - Malawi, and Juliet Nangamba, Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT) - Zambia
People's Food Summit 2024, Asia-Pacific - Dr. André Leu, Regeneration International
People's Food Summit 2024, Europe - Sheila Darmos, Holistic Farmer and Simon Kramer, EARA Germany
People's Food Summit 2024, North America - Zen Honeycutt and Kelly Ryerson, Moms Across America
People's Food Summit 2023, Latin America - Ercelia Sahores, Regeneration International; Mercedes López, Vía Orgánica; Arturo Carilla, BAP