Researching Food Sustainability :  reflections, challenges and the future agenda

Tuesday 8th & Wednesday 9th February 2011

Committee Rooms, Glamorgan Building , Cardiff University, CF10 3WA

The ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability & Society (BRASS) is pleased to announce the forthcoming conference ‘Researching Food Sustainability: Reflections, Challenges and the Future Agenda’ at Cardiff University from the 8^th – 9^th of February 2011.

The event will be a key opportunity to focus on the role of social science research in understanding and promoting sustainable food systems. The event will bring together leading researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the field to critically review conceptual and empirical developments over the past decade and assess future challenges, for both research and the food system itself. The outline of the event is as follows:

Day One:       Reflecting on the Evolution of Food Sustainability Research

On the first day, the proceedings will highlight and reflect on the research conducted by the Brass food group since the centre’s foundation in 2001 and discuss the implications for future research. The sessions will be organised around five core research themes. Each session will conclude with a response from an external rapporteur and an open discussion among delegates. The core themes are:

• Accountability, Governance and Regulation

Presenter: Professor Terry Marsden

External Rapporteur: t.b.c.

This theme will examine the evolution from ‘command and control’ regulatory models to much wider governance systems involving a complex array of actors in increasingly globalised systems of supply that incorporate often competing priorities and metrics for success.  Brass research in this area has incorporated the role of science in responses to the periodic food crises; the geographies of food regulation; and the sustainability of food supply systems.

• The Public Plate

Presenters: Professor Kevin Morgan & Dr Adrian Morley

External Rapporteur: Peter Standfast (Head of Procurement, UWIC)

The theme of the Public Plate explores the role of public sector food provision in promoting sustainable development. Brass related research has long highlighted the potential benefits of appropriate food procurement systems across different aspects of sustainable development including the environment, health, economic development and social justice. We have also focused on the multitude of barriers that restrict the development of these initiatives to their full potential.

• Sustainable Supply Chains

 Presenters: Dr Andrew Flynn & Kate Bailey

External Rapporteur: Simon Michaels (CEO, F3 Consultants)

The focus of this theme is on ecological sustainability within food supply chains. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing number of frameworks and methodologies for defining and measuring elements of ecological sustainability in food supply chains. Organic, local, carbon and ecological footprinting are just some of the ways in which the food sector is framing sustainability.

• Agricultural and Rural/Urban Restructuring

Presenters: Dr Alex Franklin & Dr Selyf Morgan

External Rapporteur: Alun Davies (Land Use Policy Officer, CCW)

This themed session will explore the competing pressures on land use, in a time of greater resource pressures and ongoing uncertainty, with particular reference to the primary agricultural sector and the dynamics of urban / rural relations. Brass research in this area covers both geopolitical issues around regulation, climate change and resource competition and micro level concerns for farmers such as multi-functionality, diversification, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer.

• Biosecurity and Risk

Presenter: Dr Gareth Enticott

External Rapporteur: Barbara McClean (Scientific, Evidence & Assessment Branch, WAG)

Disease and its associated risk is a central element of sustainability in food supply chain. The management of disease within the food sector has social, political and economic dimensions that influence its occurrence and containment. Moreover, modern global economic networks facilitate the spread of outbreaks. This research theme addresses farming system and food-supply chain risk management initiatives, as they relate to disease control and the associated risks involved, both perceived and actual.

The day will conclude with a presentation by Professor Alan Malcolm (Director of the Oxford International Biomedical Centre & Head of Decibell Communications) who will draw on his considerable experience in biotechnology and food science to reflect on the role of the natural sciences and technology in addressing the challenges to food sustainability.

Day Two: the Emerging Research Agenda and Policy Context

The second day will reflect on the key questions that have emerged and attempt to situate them within the broader drivers of food sustainability. This will provide the basis for a structured participative session on research priorities.

We will commence by looking at the role of public policy and the process of developing strategic approaches to sustainable food policy. Wynfford James (Head of the Food and Market Development Division of the WAG) will reflect on over a decade of agri-food policy making in Wales.

This will be followed by the presentation of an outline of the key drivers and possible future scenarios for the food sector by futures expert Hardin Tibbs (CEO of Synthesys Strategic Consulting Ltd. and Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School, Oxford University).

The second half of the proceedings will be devoted to generating an open and informed discussion amongst participants, facilitated by Hardin Tibbs, on the future challenges. The emphasis will be on generating a process that works towards a consensus on what the key challenges are, how they may evolve, and how should the academic community respond. Key questions may include:

· How should we understand the notion of food security?

· How will consumers drive the food systems of the future?

· What are the implications of these challenges for land use policy?

· How do governance structures need to evolve?

· What will be the roles of the private, public and civic sectors?

The aim is to develop an exchange of information between delegates that provides the basis for a research agenda for social science related food sustainability research. The outputs of this process will be recorded and published as a proposed research agenda. This will be circulated to all delegates after the meeting.

We hope that you are able to join us in assessing both research completed over the past decade , and in considering, at this critical time for the food system, the future agenda.

WHILST ATTENDENCE AT THE CONFERENCE IS FREE, THERE WILL BE A £10 CHARGE FOR ANYONE THAT DOESN'T ATTEND WHO DOES NOT GIVE MORE THAN 24 HOURS NOTICE OF CANCELLATION BEFORE THE EVENT

If you have any queries please contact BRASS 02920 876562 or MorleyA@cf.ac.uk

This outline can be downloaded here:

http://www.brass.cf.ac.uk/events/Researching_Food_Sustainability_Event_Outline.pdf

The programme timetable can be downloaded here:

http://www.brass.cf.ac.uk/events/Researching_Food_Sustainability_Programme.pdf