Food Systems Academy

In this contribution to the fourth Congress of the Turkish Agricultural and Food Ethics Association in November 2023 I look beyond food to share a few reflections on food, power, poverty and resilience in the face of global catastrophic risks. To avoid these we need a fundamental rethink about how we run the world. We know the world faces a number of catastrophic risks for humanity....

Reflections on food, power, poverty and resilience in the face of global catastrophic risks In this contribution to the fourth Congress of the Turkish Agricultural and Food Ethics Association in November 2023 I look beyond food to share a few reflections on food, power, poverty and resili…

Dr Devinder Sharma is an Indian food and trade policy analyst. He trained as an agricultural scientist (he holds a Master’s in Plant Breeding & Genetics), became a journalist then left to research on policy issues concerning sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and intellectual property rights, environment and development, food security and poverty, biotechnology and hunger, and the implications of the free trade paradigm for developing countries....

Devinder Sharma on the devastation faced by Indian farmers and a potential solution Dr Devinder Sharma is an Indian food and trade policy analyst. He trained as an agricultural scientist (he holds a Master’s in Plant Breeding & Genetics), became a journalist then left to resea…

Here I reflect on 50 years of working on different aspects of the food system. I discuss some of the major changes since the first World Food Conference in 1974 to the UN Food System Summit in 2021,
shifts in thinking about food security and in power.

Food summits, policies and ethics – from 1974 to 2021 and beyond When I was asked to speak at the third Turkish Agricultural and Food Ethics Association’s 3rd Congress in 2021 I looked back on 50 years of working on different aspects of the food system. I …

Here the former director of Bioversity International in this short illuminating interview about agroecology and how using its approach is benefitting

Coalition aims to Make Agroecology mainstream says Emile Frison Emile Frison is senior advisor to the recently-founded Agroecology Coalition. In this interview he explains their aim to make agroecology mainstream in transforming food systems and the core princi…

For anyone concerned, especially scientists, about avoiding advances in biotechnology and chemistry being used for war not peace this new lecture by Malcolm Dando is a must see - http://www.foodsystemsacademy.org.uk/audio/malcolm-dando.html

https://geofftansey.wordpress.com/2023/08/02/scientists-responsibility-for-avoiding-modern-biotechnology-becoming-a-weapon-of-war-targeting-people-crops-or-animals/

Scientists’ responsibility for avoiding modern biotechnology becoming a weapon of war targeting people, crops or animals. There are major challenges to ensure that modern biotechnology is used for peaceful purposes and does not become a new weapon of war. One that could be targeted at crops and animals, not just peopl…

Make veg fun, engage with parents and farmers, use the tricks of the advertising trade to make eating vegetables a normal part of a child's culture. Listen to this interview which ends with a shocking story and key question.

How to get children eating more vegetables – Dan Parker of Veg Power Dan Parker, CEO of Veg Power, brings his 25 years experience in food advertising and marketing to the challenging task of creating a culture where eating veg is the norm for primary school chi…

UK Economist Henry Leveson-Gower, speaking personally, discusses why different economic models, infrastructure and cooperation among farmers is needed for agroecology and regenerative farming to flourish. He is also working on getting trials going of local food currencies as a way to help tackle food poverty. This is all part of his interest in encouraging more pluralist economic approaches to address today’s challenges and breaking away from the dominant neo-classical paradigm, which are explored in the online…

Agroecology needs new economic model, infrastructure & local food systems – Henry Leveson-Gower UK Economist Henry Leveson-Gower, speaking personally, discusses why different economic models, infrastructure and cooperation among farmers is needed for agroecology and regenerative farming to fl…

In this interview Nick Weir, one of the founders of the Open Food Network in the UK, explains what it is, how it works in connecting communities and why it matters for producers, citizens, a fair and resilient food future. Originating in Australia there are now Open Food Networks in 21 countries. The OFN has a range of resources to draw on, including:...

Shorter supply chains, better returns for growers, a fairer, more resilient and local food system – that’s the aim for The Open Food Network in the UK In this interview Nick Weir, one of the founders of the Open Food Network in the UK, explains what it is, how it works in connecting communities and why it matters for producers, citizens, a fair a…

I am sitting in my office surrounded by dozens and dozens of file boxes and books. They have been accumulated in nearly 50 years of working on food, agriculture and development issues. I'm trying to give or throw stuff away now. I'm supposed to be retired. Although, like many people, I find myself pretty busy with various voluntary activities as well as some caring responsibilities....

Humanity – a work in progress? I am sitting in my office surrounded by dozens and dozens of file boxes and books. They have been accumulated in nearly 50 years of working on food, agriculture and development issues. I’m tr…

Here's an excellent tool from to understand who's involved in , oil, and production and trading and the links around the world.

Trase – making agricultural commodity flows transparent and their links to deforestation The rapid expansion of soya, palm oil, beef and timber production is linked to huge amounts of deforestation around the world. Yet knowing who is growing what commodity, where, and who is trading t…

People don’t eat nutrients but foods. A simplistic, reductionist and outdated focus on nutrients obscures the reality of the role people’s diets and lifestyles has on health and plays into the hands of the food industry suggests Dr Gyorgy Scrinis, Associate Professor of Food Politics and Policy in the School of Agriculture and Food, University of Melbourne. In this conversation, he explores the reasons why the dominant way malnutrition is divided into three apparently separate types is unhelpful....

It’s time to talk foods and diets not nutrients and rethink malnutrition says Dr Gyorgy Scrinis People don’t eat nutrients but foods. A simplistic, reductionist and outdated focus on nutrients obscures the reality of the role people’s diets and lifestyles has on health and plays into the hand…

Hear why biodiverse agroecological farming systems in Africa are key for food security and tackling climate change from Edie Mukiibi in Uganda

Practising and promoting agroecology in Uganda and beyond, Edie Mukiibi of Slow Food International Building on the complex, biodiverse, agro-ecological farming systems practised in Africa is a key to food security, better livelihoods and tackling climate change argues Edie Mukiibi, a Ugandan agr…

Legumes are a key element of systems along with intercropping says Dr Pete Ianetta as well as in mitigating green house gas emissions ,

Creating ecological food systems – a leguminous view from Dr Pete Ianetta In 2017, Dr Pete Ianetta, from the James Hutton Institute in Dundee showed me round the site (see video here). Today he heads the ecological food systems work there. Here he discusses the meaning o…

As thousands of people gather for COP27 and billions depend upon serious action on climate change to prevent hunger, conflict, mass migration and untold suffering, I thought it good to share a broader perspective on the world I came across* that very few people have had. We all tend to focus on our own places and identities but seen from above you get a different view....

Going up, and looking down – we’re all Earthlings who need to work together “to create a future for ourselves that’s as beautiful as it looks from space” As thousands of people gather for COP27 and billions depend upon serious action on climate change to prevent hunger, conflict, mass migration and untold suffering, I thought it good to share a broa…