Food and the Environment: How what we eat impacts the planet

Food Researchers in Edinburgh (FRiED) and RSPB Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Food Coalition, are hosting a talk and open discussion on Food and the Environment: How what we eat impacts the planet.

We are delighted to be able to welcome Professor Tim Benton to give a talk on the impacts of our food system on the environment.

Professor Benton is Dean of Strategic Research Initiatives at the University of Leeds and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House, UK. From 2011-2016 he was the “Champion” of the UK’s Global Food Security programme which was a multi-agency partnership of the UK’s public bodies (government departments, devolved governments and research councils) with an interest in the challenges around food. The key role of GFS was to undertake systemic analysis and horizon scanning, in order to identify research priorities to mitigate the challenges of providing sufficient, sustainable and nutritious diets for all.

He has published over 150 academic papers, many on the topics of agriculture and its sustainability. His particular interest is currently on (a) food system resilience in the face of climate change, and (b) on how to manage land to deliver all we ask from it, sustainably. He has recently led on the production of an independent report requested by the supermarket chain, Morrisons, on the role of UK producers in feeding the UK.

This event is part of a series organised by the members of the food coalition leading up to the anticipated Scottish Good Food Nation bill. We believe the Good Food Nation Bill has the potential to deliver real change in the food system; one that delivers high levels of well-being, social justice and environmental stewardship now and for future generations. The events explore cross-cutting issues relating to food, forming part of the Scottish Food Coalition’s contribution to a national Good Food Conversation.