Dr Tara Garnett recognised for research into sustainable food systems

17 September 2015

Tara_Garnett
© Oxford Martin School

Dr Tara Garnett has been awarded the 2015 Premio Daniel Carasso at a ceremony in Madrid today (17 September 2015) for her commitment to reducing the food system’s impact on the climate through research and dialogue.

The prize rewards and supports scientific research for sustainable food and diets, and is named after Daniel Carasso, founder of Danone France and Dannon Inc in the US.

A principal investigator on the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and Lead of the Food Climate Research Network, Dr Garnett undertakes interdisciplinary research on sustainable food systems at the intersection of environmental sustainability, public health and ethics. The prize recognises her work and commitment, including her thorough research into the food system’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential that sustainable diets can play in reducing them.

The Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation says the challenge of feeding 10 billion people while respecting the planet and its citizens means research into sustainable food systems must be intensified. It said Dr Garnett "perfectly embodies the values of the Premio Daniel Carasso: scientific excellence and rigor, openness and interest in transdisciplinarity, belief in collaboration, and vision for the future of sustainable food systems".

Dr Tara Garnett on receiving the prize: “Receiving this prize is a huge honour and I am absolutely delighted. The prize money will be used to help the FCRN expand, so that it can widen its reach and help engage more people in understanding and addressing the problems we face. In my 10 years working with the FCRN we have managed, despite scarce resources and a small staff team, to build a network of thousands of members from 70 different countries – that in itself attests to the importance of these issues. FCRN’s members and our wider network reflect a huge diversity of disciplines and expertise.

“Our goal is to harness all these insights, so we can better understand the problems we face and the solutions that can help create a sustainable food future. I am proud to say that FCRN has become a trusted source of unbiased information, a ‘safe space’ for critical dialogue and a promoter of cross-sectoral, whole-systems approaches, helping to bridge perspectives on contested issues.”