- This event has passed.
What we eat and why it matters
February 17, 2021 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm UTC+1| Free – £16.76
5×15 & Rathbones present the fourth session in The Earth Convention series, which looks at the impact of the food system on the environment.
We’re delighted to announce that the hugely popular Earth Convention series is back. In this fourth session we will explore the global impact of food production on the environment and climate change – and indeed on human health.
Food production is responsible for a quarter of all the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming, according to a recent study from Oxford University. However, the environmental impact of different foods varies hugely. One of the most powerful things that we, as individuals, can do to reduce our emissions is change what we eat. And it is increasingly recognised that we cannot achieve our national and international climate targets without overhauling the food system.
In this session we will examine a range of issues with leading experts and innovators who are charting the way forward – from what has been exposed about the global food system by the coronavirus crisis to what constitutes “sustainable eating”. How has the food industry evolved since the Second World War? Which part of the food supply chain is most carbon intensive and can we find a solution to food waste? What can consumers and governments do to encourage farmers, businesses and retailers to reduce their carbon emissions?
Professor Tim Benton – Director of the Energy, Environment and Resources programme at Chatham House. From 2011-2016 he was the “champion” of the UK’s Global Food Security programme.
Anthony Warner – journalist, blogger and chef also known as “The Angry Chef” and author of the new book Ending Hunger: The Quest to Feed the World Without Destroying It.
Dr Geeta Sethi – Advisor and Global Lead for Food Systems at the World Bank and responsible for managing the World Bank’s programme on Food Loss and Waste Reduction.
Tristram Stuart – food campaigner, founder of Toast Ale, TED Speaker, and author of The Global Food Waste Scandal. The environmental campaigning organisation he founded, Feedback, has spread its work into dozens of countries worldwide.
Chaired by Rosie Boycott – Crossbench peer, food campaigner and co-founder 5×15.