Food security has been declared one of the greatest challenges facing mankind in the 21st century. How we face that challenge was the topic of debate at one of the University’s latest public lectures.
With an increasing population, changes in dietary demands associated with wealth and other socio-economic factors, figures currently estimate there are almost one billion people facing malnourishment and a similar number suffering from nutritional-related issues such as obesity.
Guests gathered at the Royal Society in London on 13 September to hear from a range of keynote speakers, who explored the urgent need to address food security issues and outlined potential consequences if that challenge was not met.
Keynote speakers included Professor Guy Poppy, (pictured above), Professor of Ecology at Southampton and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Food Standards Agency, population biologist Sir Charles Godfray, and Professor Christine Williams, current Chair of the BBSRC Agriculture and Food Security Advisory Panel.
The lectures and subsequent panel discussion, which included University academics Professor Barrie Margetts, Professor Tiina Roose (CORR) and Professor Nyovani Madise, covered a host of issues including banning sugary food adverts, better regulation of the market and holding companies to account.
There were also calls for more interdisciplinary research on food security.
Professor Godfray ended his keynote speech with a sobering thought, saying:
If we fail on food, we fail on everything.
This event was part of the University’s annual series of public lectures, which explores key global challenges and demonstrates our world-leading interdisciplinary expertise on a range of topics. The 2017 public lecture series focuses on environmental and sustainability issues.
You can watch the full lecture on our YouTube channel.
The remaining event in the series is:
6 December – Delivering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
For more information, please contact the Events team: events@southampton.ac.uk
