Global Food and Environment Institute, University of Leeds

Have you seen our farm? The University of Leeds Research Farm is a 317 hectare site that sits between Leeds and York, bringing together four farmsteads. Currently, about 75% of the land is used for arable #farming, including wheat, barley and oil seed rape.  The site is also home to the National Pig Centre (NPC), set up in partnership with the Centre for Innovation in Livestock (CIEL). The NPC is the UK’s largest and most advanced facility for commercial-scale research into #pig nutrition, behaviour, health & welfare, and production systems, working in collaboration with industry to drive greater sustainability, efficiency, resilience and wealth across the agri-food sector.   Dr Gesa Dr Reiss has led on the creation of a virtual 3D tour of the site. This tool is now used to showcase our advanced facilities to stakeholders who may have an interest in using the farm as a research site before a face to face visit is arranged. You can view the 3D tour here: https://gfei.imnet.uk/

For those who were interested to read about Rory's research in this post earlier in the week, why not join us on Wednesday 4th June (12pm) to hear Rory speak about the project? Rory will deliver a 40 minute webinar where he will share insights from the project 'Food on Film: Community-led film making in the context of Bradford'. He will also reflect on the merits of storytelling approaches in the context of sustainability challenges, as well as the efficacy of participatory film-making as a tool for community-run organisation. This webinar is free and open to all. Please register on Eventbrite: https://lnkd.in/eFQcJbaW

Evidence from Sara Gonzalez's research was used in the report below 👇 Sara's research focused on markets to show their community value particularly for low income and minoritised groups.

GFEI spotlight: Dr Rory Padfield is an Associate Professor in Sustainability and Business in the Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, he explores themes of social and environmental justice, sustainability in business and organisations, and storytelling and communication. Rory is co-founder of the Critical Sustainability Stories (CriSS) tool. CriSS is an educational tool for storytellers aiming to explore sustainability and climate change in an informed, evidenced-based way. The CriSS tool has been applied in different contexts, including opera, theatre, art and immersive technology storytelling.  👉 https://criss.org.uk/   Recently, Rory has explored:  - How can we talk about food, health, & sustainability in a meaningful way?   - What tools do we need and who needs to be part of these conversations?  He has led a project called 'Food on Film: Community led film making in the context of Bradford food sustainability'. The researchers trained five Bradford based community groups in participatory film-making and critical sustainability storytelling & was delivered in partnership with Bradford Council. The result of the project is five unique and powerful documentary-style films on food sustainability themes. Check out the films by: - Inn Churches - Feeding Bradford and Keighley - Catholic Care - Horton Community Farm - Eyarun Nessa (Eden Association) 👉 Films: https://lnkd.in/gi7BtM2x 👉 More on the project: https://lnkd.in/gmhgGDmK

Our newsletter is now available. Read on to catch up with: - A fantastic blog by colleagues at the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development for World Health Day - Research farm updates, including welcoming a wide range of visitors - An opinion piece by Peter Gittins and Oriana Casasola on the UK Government's decision to pause the Sustainable Farming Incentive - Updates from interdisciplinary research projects and centres across different aspects of the food system and much more! 👇 https://lnkd.in/ePEA2T45

'As with many wicked problems, poverty, hunger and food insecurity can seem too big, too intractable, too complex to tackle. Our current solutions are too often reliant on individuals, asking people to make better choices, when the challenge is that many people have a lack of options.' In collaboration with the Food Ethics Council, we've co-authored a blog that delves into the right to food in the UK. It explains what the right to food entails, how we can achieve it, and emphasises that ensuring the right to food is the responsibility of the UK Government, not the third sector. Read 'The Right to Food in the UK: Moving from third sector solutions to Government action': https://lnkd.in/eVK4B8ux Thanks to the authors Beth Bell, Clare James and Effie Papargyropoulou for this piece.

Sir Alec Shelbrooke, MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, visited the University of Leeds Research Farm recently to hear about the research and innovation being carried out at the farm. The group discussed the pros and cons of an agricultural circular economy, how to improve animal welfare, reducing GHG emissions, and the move to more sustainable farming.

Are you registered for our webinar next Wednesday at 12pm? Dr Andy Newing will deliver 'Neighbourhood inequalities in access to food stores – could online groceries and branded convenience stores help alleviate contemporary food deserts?'. Andy will look at contemporary food deserts – neighbourhoods lacking good access to fresh, healthy and affordable food – resulting from a complex interplay between neighbourhood characteristics and food store provision. The webinars are free and open to all. Register on Eventbrite: https://lnkd.in/eV5mg-XG

We have three upcoming webinars scheduled and open for registration. Have you booked your place? Our webinars are free and open to all. They last around 40 minutes and include a 10 min Q&A session with the speaker. Check out the schedule and register: https://lnkd.in/ezKtC53a

Today is #WorldHealthDay. So, we thought we would introduce you to some of our colleagues whose research lies in the crossover between food and health or takes a 'One-Health' approach. Read our blog for a deeper dive into four research projects with a One Health focus: https://lnkd.in/emCTCdGu ➖ Professor Rebecca King is Head of the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development.  Rebecca is leading the COSTAR research project, funded by UK Research and Innovation GCRF Collective Fund. This project takes a One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance (#AMR) in Nepal and Bangladesh. 👉 https://lnkd.in/embCitid ➖AMR is a known as a One Health problem because it impacts human, animal and environmental health.  Researchers are engaging communities to consider how behaviours linked to animal and environmental issues impact AMR and to develop capacity building strategies. 👉https://lnkd.in/evhq85NS ➖Dr Nichola Jones is a Teaching and Research Fellow and Programme Leader.  Her focus on the COSTAR project is gendered dynamics of AMR within communities, e.g. who holds which positions in communities, who makes decisions around health (people and animals).  👉 https://lnkd.in/eEG7Y7S7 ➖Dr Bassey EBENSO is Associate Professor of International Health.  He leads the CHORUS consortium. A pillar of this explores food environments of the urban poor in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal and Nigeria and the associated prevalence of non-communicable (NCDs) 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewGbSjki  ➖Dr Francis K. Poitier Poitier is a Teaching Fellow in International Health.  Francis' research focuses on complex health issues using an intersectional and systems lens with experience working in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and Caribbean island states.  👉 https://lnkd.in/eyKnXcxy ➖If want to find out more about the ongoing research of the Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development, visit: https://lnkd.in/eXxFNFBW #HealthForAll Photo credit: CHORUS Urban Health