Food: Field to Table?

Food gives life. It provides energy, strengthens social bonds and enriches culture worldwide. Our collective hunger has remodelled the globe. We have flattened forests, emptied seas and developed an incredible range of technologies to satisfy our collective appetite. Parts of the world have unrestricted access to nutritious food, but many regions are in desperate need of calories or micronutrients. Millions suffer and die from an excess of food while millions suffer and die from a lack of it.

This research group examines multiple aspects of the global food system, following food across academic boundaries from field to table. We cover the collective impact of technological innovations, market forces and human behaviour on global food security. Our aim is to explore how much optimisation can take place within the traditional architecture of our food system and explore the potential of emerging alternative food systems to provide solutions.

Food has the power to help billions, provoke conflict and make or break the economies of entire continents. By bringing together early career researchers from across the University for a seminar series and focussed reading group, we hope to stimulate wide discussion on some of the core questions faced in securing our global food future.

Themes for 2015-16

Michaelmas Term: Generating Food Lent Term: Market Forces Easter Term: Consumer Choices