Agriculture – Global Food Security

The food system is a vital part of the climate solution

Date: 17 November 2022
Author(s): Jack Blowers

The UN recently stated that it finds ‘no credible pathway to 1.5C in place’ with current global commitments to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In anticipation of the conclusion of COP27, here is a recap from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released in April 2022. This looks at possible solutions and mitigation strategies in response to the changing climate, including what role the food system can play in our fight against climate change.

Covid-19 and the UK Food System: Learning Lessons and Building Back Better

Date: 11 November 2022
Author(s): Global Food Security

New report, produced as part of the ‘Transforming UK Food Systems SPF Programme’ to explore the impact of Covid-19 across the UK food system, including food system resilience, lessons learnt and building back better.

New funding for healthy people and healthy planet

Date: 22 April 2022
Author(s): Adam Staines

The Transforming UK Food Systems Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) programme has awarded 11 new research projects with £14 million in funding, focusing on putting healthy people and a healthy environment at its core.

Stress to success: the behaviour of resilient vegetables under climate change

Date: 9 November 2021
Author(s): Olivia Cousins

2021 is a year of converging events; the UK is hosting the COP26 climate change conference, the UN COP15 conference focusing on biodiversity has just passed, and the international year of fruit and vegetables is in full swing. To celebrate these events, Dr Olivia Cousins shares the importance of maintaining and using the biological diversity of vegetable crops so that they can endure the stresses of our changing climate.

Harnessing Private Capital for Regenerative Agriculture

Date: 2 October 2020
Author(s): Eleanor O'Kane

A new GFS funded report explores the potential of boosting public funding with private investments to encourage sustainable agriculture, conservation, and the delivery of ecosystem services.

Unintended consequences of cash crop production in Eastern Uganda demonstrate the need for holistic thinking and multi-pronged action

Date: 22 May 2020
Author(s): Denis Muwanguzi

Sugarcane production is a major industry in Uganda, however growing the cash crop often has negative impacts for local farmers. Denis Muwanguzi explains why holistic thinking and multi-pronged action are needed.

Policy Lab on emerging food trends and their impact on the food system

Date: August 2019
Author(s): Global Food Security

GFS will hold its fourth Policy Lab for PhD students and early career researchers on the 6-8th November 2019. This event aims to synthesize the latest knowledge and evidence on emerging food trends and their impact across the food system in order to inform policy and practice.

Second GFS crop climate working group meeting

Date: June 2019
Author(s): Adam Staines

This month experts came together for the second meeting of the crop breeding and climate modelling working group. The aim of the working group is to identify ways to protect our food supply in the face of a changing climate and extreme weather.

Working group of crop breeders and climate modellers launched

Date: March 2019
Author(s): Adam Staines

As the climate crisis escalates, so will its impacts on crop production. To protect our food supply in the face of a changing climate and extreme weather, GFS has launched a working group to improve communication and information sharing between crop breeders and climate modellers.

Launch of new report on transformative innovation in the food system

Date: 18 January 2019
Author(s): David O'Gorman

A new report published by the multi-agency Global Food Security (GFS) programme describes how disruptive innovation is needed to transform the UK food system.

Transformative innovation across food supply chains to improve decision-making

Document Information: PDF 3MB
Date: January 2019

This report investigates how transformative innovation can lead to ‘business unusual’ in food supply chains, bringing together academia, industry, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), non-government organisations (NGOs) and policy makers. It examines the challenges to industry and business that technologies could address, and has provided future priorities for research, industry, and policy.

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Phosphorus: the Hidden Bedrock of the UK Food System

Date: 30 November 2018
Author(s): Christopher Lyon

There is a growing threat to the UK’s food system, and most of us aren’t even aware of it. Phosphorus is an element that is essential to all living things; it forms a key component of DNA and is important for energy transfers in cells.

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