Agriculture already uses almost half of the world’s vegetated land. It consumes 90 percent of all the water used by humanity and generates one-quarter of the annual global emissions that are causing global warming. And yet of the seven billion people living today, 820 million are undernourished because they don’t have access to—or can’t afford—an adequate diet.

This has to change, and Kent researchers and businesses are leading the way in accelerating innovation for the healthy, sustainable foods of the future. Whether it is through developing foods with increased nutritional value to aid human health; minimizing negative effects on ecosystems, through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and optimising the use of water, land, and energy in food production; Maintaining and improving soil quality to ensure long-term agricultural productivity; or reducing our reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.

Purpose: Join us for this exciting event, with our partners Growing Kent and Medway and the University of Greenwich, where we will showcase how Kent researchers and businesses are leading the way in innovation for the healthy, sustainable foods of the future, and also discuss what is needed to accelerate the sector, including, infrastructure, investment, funding for R&D, skills, policy, regulation and consumer and customer acceptance.

Agenda:

09:30 Coffee and registration

09:45 Welcome Pioneer Group

09:50 Building a more sustainable, secure and just food system Linus Pardoe, UK Policy Manager, The Good Food Institute Europe

10:10 Accelerating innovation for the healthy, sustainable foods of the future  Professor Nazanin Zand, University of Greenwich

10:30 Alternative proteins as a source of healthy and sustainable foods Parag Acharya, University of Greenwich

10:50 Preserving the nutritional content of crops Dr Richard Colgan, University of Greenwich

11:05 Trends in innovation in Alternative Proteins, Edward Rainsford, Appleyard Lees LLP 

11:20 Life Cycle Assessment for early stage alternative protein products Maura Heinbokel, Senior Analyst, Strategic Projects, Food Steps

11:35 The regulatory environment for novel foods Amie Adkin, Deputy Director of  Risk Assessment, Food Standards Agency

11:50 Investing in earth’s regenerative capacity to reduce humanity’s demand on nature Antony Yousefian, The First Thirty 

12:05 Flash presentations: Next generation healthy, sustainable foods

Winifred Ayeni, Root Mylk

Azhar Murtuza, Born Maverick

Will Marshall, Hooba Foods

Erick Vera Bazan, Little Inca

Geoff Bryant, Calysta

Martin Currie, AMYBO

12:50 Lunch and networking

13:30 Round table discussions: What’s next in innovation for the healthy, sustainable foods of the future? What do we need in to accelerate the innovation for the healthy, sustainable foods of the future, including, infrastructure, investment, funding for R&D, skills, policy, regulation and consumer and customer acceptance.

15:00 Summary of the day and next steps

15:30 Close

Please RSVP below to reserve your free place.