The Oxford Martin Programme on
The Future of Food
The Challenge
A significant overhaul of the current global food system is needed to meet the challenges of feeding a growing world population in a healthy, equitable, sustainable and resilient way.
The future of food programme links together research on the food system at Oxford and facilitates solution-orientated research to address these major concerns. The research includes scientific, economic, social and environmental issues of food production and consumption, as well as how food affects health, sustainability and economic development.
By integrating existing research, supporting new interdisciplinary initiatives, and facilitating interactions between academia, government, civil society and the private sector, we provide fresh insights and propose effective action to address the challenges of feeding the global population.
Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP)
The global average consumption of meat and dairy is rising, driven by increasing incomes and population growth. The growing demand for meat matters as its consumption has significant effects on people’s health and livestock production can have major environmental impacts.
The LEAP programme aims to understand the health, environmental, social and economic effects of meat and dairy consumption to provide evidence and tools for decision makers to promote healthy and sustainable diets.
LEAP is supported by the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet Our Health Programme and is a four-year project (2017-2021) led by Professor Charles Godfray and Professor Susan Jebb.
Food in the Anthropocene
Long Read - May 2019
There is an urgent need to find answers to the question of how to feed the world’s population - projected to reach 10 billion by 2050 - in a healthy and sustainable way. From fundamental changes to farming methods to the potential of alternative protein sources, Oxford Martin School academics are working to secure solutions for both people and planet.
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latest news
View allMost national dietary guidelines are not compatible with global environmental and health targets, and are in need of reform
Adopting more stringent guidelines in UK could reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70% and reduce diet-related deaths by more than 100,000 a year, study finds
Ecological Society of America award for Professor Sir Charles Godfray
Get the maths right on emissions or risk missing temperature target, warn Oxford scientists
The way that governments are setting targets for different greenhouse gas emissions could be “unfair, inefficient and dangerous”, researchers argue in a new paper.
How we worked with the New Scientist on its Veganuary experiment
New Scientist magazine approached our team to get involved with their small Veganuary ‘experiment’. I was excited! Their idea was to ‘self-experiment’ and for some of their staff to try a vegan diet for a week.
people
View allCharles Godfray
Director, Oxford Martin School
Susan Jebb
Professor of Diet and Population Health
Marco Springmann
Senior Researcher in Population Health
Mike Rayner
Professor of Population Health
Tara Garnett
Food Climate Research Network Leader
Alexandra Sexton
Postdoctoral Researcher in Geography
Sarah Harper
Clore Professor of Gerontology
Kelly Reed
Project Manager
Publications
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Inclusion, transparency, & enforcement: How the EU-Mercosur trade agreement fails the sustainability test
Demonstrating GWP*: a means of reporting warming-equivalent emissions that captures the contrasting impacts of short- and long-lived climate pollutants
Risks of ischaemic heart disease and stroke in meat eaters, fish eaters, and vegetarians over 18 years of follow-up: results from the prospective EPIC-Oxford study
Making Sense of Making Meat: Key Moments in the First 20 Years of Tissue Engineering Muscle to Make Food
EAT-Lancet score and major health outcomes: the EPIC-Oxford study
Managing nitrogen to restore water quality in China