48 / SEEDWORLD.COM FEBRUARY 2019 ON LOCATION: The Netherlands Curating a Food Culture From the fields to flavor, the city of Ede is in the midst of developing an entire municipality focused on food. N EATLY NESTLED IN the countryside and a mere six miles from Wageningen University & Research is the city of Ede, the first municipality in the Netherlands with a comprehensive vision on food. That vision is healthy and sustain- able food for everyone. It starts with our food and agriculture policy, says Leon Meier, the city’s councillor for Food. Meier explains that Ede currently has an estimated 800 farmers, but in the next 10 years that number is expected to be closer to 200. “Society has been driven away from the production of food, so we have to re-establish that link,” Meier says. One way they are doing that is through school gardens which act as teaching labs, and the produce is then used to prepare stu- dent meals. Another way, Meier highlights, is through the use of the city’s public spaces by planting nut and fruit trees. There’s also Gelderse Vallei, the leading food hospital of the Netherlands. It ensures that “every patient receives the right nutrition in the right measure at the right time.” Sound familiar? The policy, which was put in place four years ago, centers on integrated food governance taking into account production, sustainability and a healthy economy. Ede is part of the “FoodValley,” which consists of eight cities and municipalities working together on economic development around food and agriculture. “We found out several years ago that 82 percent of the research in our country is being done in this FoodValley region, the strip between Ede and Wageningen University. Here 82 percent of everything is connected in some way to food and agricultural research, Meier explains. As an outsider looking in, it’s built on a number of seem- ingly unconventional partnerships. As an example, the Human Nutrition Department of Wageningen University & Research col- laborates with the hospital on nutrition, disease and health. According to the hospital, one in five of its patients is mal- nourished. This doesn’t necessarily mean that someone is underweight. People with a good weight and people who are overweight can be malnourished as well if they do not get enough healthy nutrients, such as proteins and vitamins. “We know that malnourished patients often spend longer in the hospital, the efficacy of treatments are more unlikely to be successful and complications are more frequent,” says Meier. Research is also done on the importance of good nutrition and exercise for the physical condition of people. Scientists study how optimal nutrition promotes performance and recovery in athletes. “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates Wageningen University is a global leader in plant science and was home to the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists 2018 annual meeting.