A panel of experts in agriculture and food innovation discussed the future of food in the face of climate change.
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There is an inextricable link between our food and climate change. Agriculture is responsible for some of the biggest carbon emissions, and at the same time, food security is under serious threat from the impacts of climate change. Crop yields worldwide have already been negatively affected by drought and drying—and disruption to global food supplies is only expected to get worse.
The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019) estimates that agriculture is directly responsible for up to 8.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with a further 14.5% coming from land use change, such as clearing forests to create farmland. Carbon released by the global movement of food is not the only greenhouse gas of concern: there’s also methane released by livestock and from organic waste in landfills, along with nitrous oxide produced by fertilisers.
So how does the way we produce, transport and consume food need to change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also increasing the resilience of our food supplies? Should we stop eating meat? Should we eat more insects? Will the food of the future be predominantly lab-produced?
At this online event, we brought together a panel of experts in agriculture and food innovation to debate these questions and more. Speakers include:
- Kristin Ohlson: Award-winning journalist and best-selling author of The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet
- Dame Professor Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS: Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge, Chief Executive Officer of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge
- Petronella Halwiindi: Country Director, Uganda, Farm Africa
- Heston Blumenthal OBE: Six Michelin-starred chef, founder of the world-famous Fat Duck restaurant, pioneer of multisensory eating and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- Dr Modi Mwatsama: Senior Science Lead (Food Systems, Nutrition and Health), Our Planet, Our Health, Wellcome Trust; formerly Director of Policy and Global Health, UK Health Forum
- Matt Reynolds: Science Editor at WIRED UK and author of The Future of Food: How to Feed the Planet Without Destroying It, due to be published on 16 September
- Dr Anjana Ahuja (Chair): Science correspondent at the Financial Times and co-author (with Jeremy Farrar) of bestselling book Spike: The Virus vs. The People – The Inside Story
