This September, Rennes celebrates the 10th edition of the Field to Plate Festival (Fête du Champ à l’Assiette), a citizens’ summit dedicated to food transition and joyful ecology. For three days (12–14 September 2025), La Basse Cour – a vibrant agricultural hub in the heart of the city will welcome thousands of residents, farmers, researchers, local initiatives, and artists to reflect, share, and celebrate around the theme of food and agriculture.
A collective movement for food transition
The Field to Plate Festival has grown into a landmark event, bringing together diverse communities to question how we eat, how we produce, and how we imagine our food future. This anniversary edition builds on that legacy with a strong collective dynamic: in the weeks leading up to the festival, workshops, cooking competitions and activities in the Cleunay neighbourhood ensure that the celebration is fully open and inclusive.
Cultivated biodiversity at the centre
One of the highlights of this year’s programme is the Village of Territorial Initiatives (Saturday 13 September, 2–7 pm), coordinated by INRAE and supported by the LiveSeeding project. Cities such as Montpellier, Lyon, Avranches, Rouen and Rennes will present their experiences in integrating cultivated biodiversity into local food strategies – from promoting seed diversity to strengthening urban–rural food links.
This echoes the work initiated earlier this year at the First European Symposium on Cultivated Biodiversity and Local Food Policies in Granollers (Spain), where more than 100 delegates co-created the Granollers Manifesto. The manifesto sets out a European roadmap for municipalities to embed cultivated biodiversity into food production, procurement and education, recognising seeds as the foundation of resilient food systems.
A rich and diverse programme
Beyond biodiversity, the festival offers a rich variety of experiences:
- Friday – An opening night of debate and humour with comedian-farmer Nicolas Meyrieux, questioning our relationship with living beings and agriculture.
- Saturday – Farmers’ markets, workshops on seeds and fermentation, children’s games, exhibitions, round tables, and an evening of concerts under the stars.
- Sunday – A poetic closing with the screening of Le Caprice, exploring our bond with the earth and caring for life.
From philosophy discussions under the trees to competitions for the “most beautiful tomato”, the festival embodies the idea that food is not just nutrition, but culture, community and connection to the living world.
