News

The Heartbeat of Africa: Food, Culture and Wellbeing

11 October 2021

Food has served a variety of cultural, economic, culinary, and even aesthetic purposes in African countries throughout history. In the 20th century, pyramid-like displays of groundnut sacks adorned cities in northern Nigeria. Known as the groundnut pyramids, these tourist attractions were a symbol of growing agricultural...

Event Report: Through the Laboratory Keyhole.

21 September 2021

On Thursday 16th October our ‘Through the Laboratory Keyhole’ on-line event took place, as part of the Open Cambridge Festival. Viewers were treated to a privileged behind-the-scenes peek at four research projects in the Department of Plant Sciences. Hosted by Professor Howard Griffiths, it included three specially-made...

How is food insecurity portrayed in UK newspapers?

20 July 2021

Food insecurity is a growing concern in the UK. A study published today in BMC Public Health looks at the framing of food insecurity in national UK newspapers and provides insight into the public and political attitudes toward food insecurity and potential interventions to tackle the problem. Authors Amy Yau and Jean Adams...

British consumers complicit in forty-year ‘healthy eating’ failure, new study suggests

2 July 2021

‘Healthy eating’ campaigns have largely failed in Britain for the last four decades because consumers have adapted confusing advice, and incorporated fast and convenience foods into self-defined ‘balanced’ lifestyles, a new study argues. Supermarkets and food manufacturers have been excessively blamed for Britain’s...

The Mandala Consortium: transforming urban food systems

2 July 2021

The MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge is leading one of four multi-million pound interdisciplinary research programmes awarded funding in 2021 to support the transformation of the UK food system. The research is being funded through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) ...

Event Report. Healthy Eating: What makes it so hard?

2 July 2021

This on-line event attended by over 250 people looked at how we can target our nutrition and nutritional policy to halt the global obesity epidemic and tackle diet-related disease. Our panel included some of the UK’s leading experts in behavioural psychology, genetics and public policy, who shared their knowledge and...

The UK wastes millions of tonnes of food every year: here’s how we can change that

1 July 2021

Food waste is a huge problem for the environment. Making and getting rid of excess food accounts for around 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, if global food waste were a country, it would rank third in the world for greenhouse gas emissions after China and the US. Globally, we throw away around a third of all...

Coffee Break Seminar: Launch of the Forgotten Crops Society

1 July 2021

Please find the event recording here. We have a an extra special Coffee Break Seminar planned for this Friday, 2nd July! It will feature the launch of the Forgotten Crops Society, founded by Cambridge Global Food Security, University Mohamed VI (Morocco), the Crop Trust, OCP North America, and the National Museum of...

Improving food allergen management in food manufacturing: An incentive-based approach

14 June 2021

To date there is no cure for food allergies and the only way for consumers to prevent allergic reactions is to avoid trigger allergens. Despite the importance of declaring food allergens in food manufacturing, the number of incidents due to undeclared food allergens has been high in recent years. In an article, recently...

Event Report: Plastic in the Food Chain: Can we do without it?

9 June 2021

This event brought together experts on recycling, sustainable consumption, public health, materials, the plastics industry, and food retail for a wide-ranging discussion of plastic in the food chain and whether its usefulness outweighs its dangers. 201 attendees signed up with 79 participating in the live event and others...

The Heartbeat of Africa: Food, Culture and Wellbeing

Event Report: Through the Laboratory Keyhole.

How is food insecurity portrayed in UK newspapers?

British consumers complicit in forty-year ‘healthy eating’ failure, new study suggests

The Mandala Consortium: transforming urban food systems

Event Report. Healthy Eating: What makes it so hard?

The UK wastes millions of tonnes of food every year: here’s how we can change that

Coffee Break Seminar: Launch of the Forgotten Crops Society

Improving food allergen management in food manufacturing: An incentive-based approach

Event Report: Plastic in the Food Chain: Can we do without it?

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