New Centre for Food Security

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

The University is establishing a Centre for Food Security and Professor Richard Tiffin has been appointed as Director of the Centre.

This new Centre will join together existing areas of research excellence at the University and provide a platform for real-world research around this globally important issue.

The Centre is developing its strategy under the direction of an advisory board comprising: Professor Glenn Gibson representing a theme in Diet and Health; Professor Ken Norris representing a theme in Biodiversity; and Professor Tim Wheeler representing a theme in Sustainable Agriculture.

There are many current and potential threats to our food supply such as population expansion, changes in climate and land use, over-nutrition in Western societies, and changes in nutrition in developing countries. Added to this we have an increased awareness of the environmental consequences of our food production, and recognition that the resources which provide us with food also provide us with other environmental services, for example flood protection. All this will affect the way in which we produce and consume our food in the future. Therefore, careful consideration of the journey from food production to processing to the table is vital in order to ensure resilient, sustainable, healthy food supply chains.

We need to increase agricultural production, but the same time we need a better understanding of the factors which influence the nutritional quality of our food. We need to recognise that food is produced in an ecosystem which extends beyond the farm; that the bulk of the food that we consume is processed in some way; and that diets are determined by people making choices that are constrained by their available resources. The problem is global: we need to understand the processes which link food production, the environment, nutrition and human wellbeing across the developed and developing countries. 

Our areas of research strength mean we are well placed to research many aspects of this food security agenda.  Technical innovations which will allow the impacts on productivity and health to be mitigated are part of the solution, however the economic and social systems that will facilitate adaptation to these phenomena also need to be understood. An integrative, systemic approach which brings together natural and social sciences will provide the most useful research outputs. 

The aim of the Centre is to establish Reading as a leading centre of excellence in food security, by building upon our long-standing and well-deserved reputation in the research that contributes to this agenda and enabling an increased coordination and focus across the disciplines.

The establishment of the Centre will enable us to identify areas for investment within the University, and to both encourage and facilitate more cross-disciplinary research in areas of importance. It will also enable us to better contribute to knowledge about this major global issue, and to national and international strategic debate.

The Centre will provide a platform on which to co-ordinate our research effort in this area. We recognise that a single institution approach will not succeed in addressing all of the challenges that food security presents, and we expect the new Centre to facilitate the establishment of links with leading research groups out-with the University that complement our own strengths.

The Centre has conducted a mapping exercise to confirm where in broad terms expertise resides within the University.  It will shortly be inviting key individuals to participate in a process of identifying research challenges that will form the basis for its strategic development.