Keynote lecture and networking reception
Wednesday 20 January 2010, 6.00pm to 8.30pm
The Royal Society, 7 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG - map
Supported by BBSRC
Register now - see below for details
The world faces a looming crisis in food security: in order to meet future demand for food (from a population predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050) we will need greatly increased global production and more effective distribution of food. But the increases must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. Research that brings together many disciplines – and the efficient translation of that research into policy and practical applications – will be essential for meeting these huge challenges.
Jonathon Porritt, former Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission 2000-2009, states that: ‘After years of neglect, there's now plenty of interest in food security, with growing recognition about the impact of accelerating climate change, high fossil fuel prices, competition for land and water, and growing demand for food all around the world.
But policy (on food and agriculture) is still based on yesterday's science, rather than today's science, and shows little indication of changing a 'gathering perfect storm' as John Beddington, the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor, has described it. This seems to represent a massive leadership failure.’
Join Jonathon Porritt for a discussion of food security challenges and opportunities for commercial and academic research and development, and the actions that need to be taken by Government, businesses and academics to secure our future supply of food.
Biography of Jonathon Porritt
Jonathon Porritt, co-founder of Forum for the Future, is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. Established in 1996, Forum for the Future is now the UK’s leading sustainable development charity, with 70 staff and over 100 partner organisations, including some of the world’s leading companies.
In addition, he is co-director of The Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Programme which runs Seminars for senior executives around the world. He is a non-executive director of Wessex Water, and of Willmott Dixon Holdings. He is a trustee of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, and is involved in the work of many NGOs and charities as patron, chair or special adviser. He stood down as chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in July 2009 after nine years providing high-level advice to government ministers.
He was formerly director of Friends of the Earth (1984-90); co-chair of the Green Party (1980-83) of which he is still a member; chairman of UNED-UK (1993-96); chairman of Sustainability South West, the South West Round Table for Sustainable Development (1999-2001); a trustee of WWF UK (1991-2005), a member of the Board of the South West Regional Development Agency (1999-2008).
His latest books are Capitalism As If The World Matters (Earthscan, revised 2007), Globalism & Regionalism (Black Dog 2008) and Living Within Our Means (Forum for the Future 2009). Jonathon received a CBE in January 2000 for services to environmental protection.
BBSRC
This event is kindly supported by BBSRC, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences and the largest
funder of agriculture and food related research in the UK. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around £450M in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding internationally competitive research, providing training in the biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities, centres and institutes.
Further information
Timing
- 18.00 - arrivals and registration
- 18.30 - event commences
- 20.00 - networking reception
- 20.30 - event completes
Pricing
Thanks to the support of BBSRC, this event is free to all with a professional interest in research and development, business, agriculture or food security. A reserved allocation is available for R&D Society members and for companies use or develop food science or technology.
To Register
Please book using the online booking form. No payment is necessary, however if you book a place and do not attend and do not cancel your attendance in advance, we reserve the right to charge a £70 non-attendance fee. A reserved allocation of tickets is available for our Corporate and Individual members.
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Getting real about food security