Highlights and Outcomes
The first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit, 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.
The summit was co-hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Conscious Food Systems Alliance hosted the first Global Conscious Food Systems Summit from 31 August – 4 September 2026 in Bhutan.
This landmark gathering advances a new paradigm for food systems transformation—one that recognizes culture, values, spirituality, happiness, and inner development as catalysts for systemic change.
The Conscious Food Systems Framework was launched at the summit, consolidating more than five years of global co-creation and over 50 examples of practice into a roadmap for action.
Discover in detail the various topics discussed at the summit by exploring the agenda and speakers. To ensure inclusivity and global participation, CoFSA and Bhutan government, partnered with Alef Trust, a global leader in transformative education. We co-hosted pre-Summit online participation and five regional online gatherings in multiple languages during the Summit to connect, reflect and engage with the conversations taking place in Bhutan. Alef Trust will continue to support CoFSA beyond the Summit, helping sustain global engagement, connection, reflection and learning through its new Centre for the Ecology of Human Transformation.
The Global Conscious Food Systems Summit in Bhutan brought us together to listen, reflect, connect and imagine what is possible when we approach food systems transformation with greater consciousness. We will reconvene online on Wednesday, 18 November from 14.00 to 15.30 CET to share the Summit’s energy and insights. This will be a space to reconnect, exchange what has emerged since Bhutan, reflect on what we are carrying forward, and continue moving from inspiration to collective action.
