June conference in London on meeting the global food security challenges of the future through science and innovation

May 9th, 2011 by Inside Government

Inside Government has organised a conference on “Meeting the Global Food Security Challenges of the Future through Science and Innovation” on Thursday 28 June 2011 in central London.  Conference registration begins at 9 am with the first address at 9.30 am.  The conference finishes at 4.10 pm.  The conference venue is to be confirmed in mid-May.

Professor Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Advisor to HM Government will give the morning Keynote address on “A Global Solution to Food Security.”

Professor Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government to give morning Keynote address on "A Global Solution to Food Security" (image courtesy of Inside Government - click image to expand)

Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, Centre for Food Policy, City University London has been invited to speak also.

Some of the subjects the one day conference will cover include:

• man-made and natural threats to our food security
• encouraging greater biodiversity to mitigate the impact of disease
• research and development in food technology
• promoting Corporate Social Responsibility
• reducing the food industry’s carbon footprint, reducing waste in food packaging
• meeting future needs of sustainable, affordable and nutritious food
• technologies for optimised crop productivity
• developments in the Common Agricultural Policy,
• animal welfare, farming skills, agriculture science and other developments to insure British farming remains competitive and sustainable.

Currently the British food sector is heavily dependent on imports, vulnerable to sudden price increases, and disruption to fuel supplies. These vulnerabilities are further exposed due to last-minute ordering, long distribution chains, and the impact of climate change on transportation infrastructures.

Household food waste in the UK is growing, amounting to an estimated 8.3 million tonnes each year. Food that is thrown away is a major contributor to the production of greenhouse gases in the UK.

The global population is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050. Producing safe, affordable and nutritious food in a sustainable way is a core challenge facing the food production sector and wider society.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, Co-Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Agro-Ecology;
• Professor Janet Allen, Director of Research, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council;
• Tim Smith, Chief Executive, Food Standards Agency;
• Melanie Leech, Director General, Food and Drink Federation;
• Richard Miller, Head of Sustainability, Technology Strategy Board,
• Dr David Evans, SCI BioResources Group;
• Gwyn Jones, Vice President, NFU.

For the full conference agenda please visit the conference website.

Sustainable Guernsey readers have been offered a 15% discount to attend this conference if they book through this web link.