Food Climate Research Network - Phase 2
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: Centre for Environmental Strategy
Abstract
The UK is about to establish a binding target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% over 1990 levels by 2050. The food chain accounts for around 20% of the nation's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is therefore a clear need for a body with a remit to examine this contribution and to explore how food-related emissions might be reduced. The Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) was established with this task in mind. Its principal aim has been to provide a comprehensive research, policy and communication resource on food-related aspects of climate change for the benefit of stakeholders and policy-makers along the food chain. The network's initial phase was funded by the EPSRC to the end of January 2008. Based at the University of Surrey's Centre for Environmental Strategy, the network has now accumulated a membership of 800. It is highly regarded as a research focus and knowledge broker by industry and government alike and is now seeking funds to build on this success. Recognising its unique contribution to food climate research and policy, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) has already agreed part funding of the next stage of the FCRN. This proposal sets out a programme of work for the continuation of the network over the next four years.The FCRN's purpose to date has been to map out the territory. Phase 1 synthesised a clear understanding of where the main food GHG impacts lie, explored key issues related to specific sectors in the food chain and developed some preliminary scenarios for what a less GHG-intensive system of production and consumption might look like. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it explored not only the technological options for GHG reductions but also the economic, behavioural and societal context in which our food system is situated and its implications for sustainability. Research carried out during Phase 1 includes 4 extensive working papers relating to GHGs from the following areas: Fruit & vegetables; Alcoholic drinks; Food refrigeration; Meat & dairy products.A fifth paper providing an overview of food and climate change is in preparation.These working papers have provided the basis for numerous presentations in academic, business and policy arenas including, in particular, 5 seminars organised by the FCRN and involving academics, policy-makers and business stakeholders . The working papers have also provided the foundation for conference papers, journal papers, newspaper articles, and media appearances. A further core output (supported by co-funding from the Esme Fairburn foundation) is a comprehensive website, widely praised for its clear and extensive communication of research and policy findings related to food and climate change. The ongoing aim of the FCRN is to continue to provide a focus for research and policy on food and climate issues in the UK (and elsewhere). Specifically the FCRN aims to synthesise existing research and develop new research on the link between food and climate, to communicate this research to decision makers and to work with diverse stakeholders to help achieve key GHG reduction goals. In the next phase of the work programme, we intend to pursue this aim through an approach which encompasses the following core tasks:A.Research synthesis: Bringing together the huge body of research on food and climate change, and drawing out core themes and tensions; B.Knowledge-transfer: Communicating existing research knowledge to a wide variety of audiences all along the food chain, and in particular ensuring that policy makers are informed by the most up-to-date academic and industrial research; C.Building momentum for change: Engaging with policy makers, business, NGOs and the research community to raise awareness of the need for action and to encourage collaboration on contentious issues;D.Research development: Building proposals for new research in key areas to complement and extend existing knowledge.
Organisations
Publications
Springmann M
(2016)
Global and regional health effects of future food production under climate change: a modelling study.
in Lancet (London, England)
Millward DJ
(2010)
Plenary Lecture 3: Food and the planet: nutritional dilemmas of greenhouse gas emission reductions through reduced intakes of meat and dairy foods.
in The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
Herrero M
(2016)
Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector
in Nature Climate Change
Garnett T
(2015)
Policies and actions to shift eating patterns: What works? A review of the evidence of the effectiveness of interventions aimed at shifting diets in more sustainable and healthy directions
in Food Climate Research Network and Chatham House
Garnett T
(2009)
Livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions: impacts and options for policy makers
in Environmental Science & Policy
Description | FCRN is now a vibrant network of researchers and policy-makers in the field of climate and food. The FCRN was founded in 2005 to move the food discourse on from a narrow focus on 'food miles.' Early life cycle assessments were demonstrating the substantial contribution that the entire food chain -not just food transport - makes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet there were no organisations with a remit to improve knowledge and catalyse action in this space. While food and GHG emissions were the FCRN's initial starting point and remain a key concern, its focus has evolved over time. Early work focused on quantifying food system GHG emissions and identifying reduction options. This led to a series of widely read reports, most notably Cooking up a Storm (2008) which estimated overall UK food GHG emissions, and underlined the need for shifts in consumption as much as production. A summary was commissioned by the UK Government's Foresight programme and catalysed a follow-on study, "How low can we go?" jointly commissioned by WWF and FCRN. Since then work has moved on to consider how different GHG reduction approaches affect other areas of social, ethical and environmental concern, including animal welfare, human nutrition and biodiversity. Most recently, work has focused on how and why stakeholders prioritise concerns differently. Future goals are to find ways to bridge differences and broker collaboration for change. The FCRN maintains its UK focus but has extended its scope to include food system developments elsewhere, most notably China. Our Appetite for Change report analyses the dramatic changes in China's food system over 35 years, explores linkages among emerging environmental, health, economic and cultural trends and highlights livestock as a unifying theme connecting multiple issues. For the UK, the interconnectedness of the global food system means this international perspective is essential: changes in other countries affect the UK and vice versa. |
Exploitation Route | The FCRN has had an influential voice in discussions on 'sustainable healthy diets' - what they are and how they might be achieved. The co-ordinator, Tara Garnett, co-chairs a working group on 'sustainable healthy diets' for Defra's Green Food project - this is in the process of undergoing peer review and will soon be published on the Global Food Security website. The FCRN has also directly influenced the work of a number of NGOs (particularly Friends of the Earth, WWF-UK, WRAP and the Eating Better Alliance) in their evolving work on sustainable diets. In addition, the FCRN's work on sustainable healthy diets has led/is leading to formal collaborations with a number of organisations, both national and international. These include the Waste Resources Action Programme in the UK, and internationally with the Food and Agriculture Organisation and Bioversity International. The FCRN's published work on sustainable intensification in agriculture is also helping to inform and add nuance to narratives on addressing global food security in the face of climatic and other environmental change. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Energy Environment Retail |
URL | http://www.fcrn.org.uk/fcrn/research |
Description | Findings have been used to inform government thinking, the work of the non governmental sector. A key FCRN impact arises from its work of engaging a diverse, vibrant and growing number of members (currently 1000+) who collectively span over 70 countries and multiple sectors and disciplines. In addition to peer reviewed journal articles the FCRN has achieved the following both during the project funding phase and subsequently: • Undertaken our own integrative, trusted and policy relevant research on food systems sustainability, producing numerous reports, briefings and academic papers. One of the FCRN's papers: "What is a sustainable healthy diet?" was downloaded 48,000 times in the six months between April to August 2014. • Gathered, summarised and widely disseminated the research of others. Our well used website houses a large, up to date and freely accessible library of 3,500 publications on food, climate and sustainability; an interview series, blogs and our own publications. We send a weekly information-packed newsletter to 2,600 individuals of which over 1,000 are network members. • Engaged with diverse stakeholders and broker discussions. Our members span over 70 countries, although the core is UK based. They are drawn from all sectors, including NGOs, academics, policy makers and industry and from diverse disciplines - including human nutrition, psychology, life cycle analysis, animal ethics, soil science and economics, many of whom have diverse specialisms and views. We have enabled them to interact by providing real and virtual spaces for debate. We have also organised workshops (~5, spanning sustainable intensification in agriculture, the evolution of China's food system, and soil carbon sequestration) and presented regularly to diverse audiences The network continues to to grow and currently has 1500 members (March 2016). |
First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Other |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | CCAFS Secretariat |
Amount | $150,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 07/2012 |
End | 07/2015 |
Description | Dept for Env Food & Rural Affairs DEFRA |
Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FCRN2008/01 |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2008 |
End | 07/2010 |
Description | Dept for Env Food & Rural Affairs DEFRA |
Amount | £25,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2012 |
End | 07/2013 |
Description | Dept for Env Food & Rural Affairs DEFRA |
Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FCRN2008/01 |
Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2008 |
End | 07/2010 |
Description | Foresight |
Amount | £25,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Foresight Group |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2012 |
End | 07/2013 |
Description | Rockefeller Brothers Fund |
Amount | £27,421 (GBP) |
Organisation | Rockefeller Brothers Fund |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 03/2012 |
End | 03/2013 |
Description | Article by Make Wealth History |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 'Parliament revisits the limits to growth'. An article online by Make Wealth History reporting on the APPG Limits to Growth launch referencing Tim Jackson and Robin Websters 'Limits to Growth' report. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://makewealthhistory.org/2016/04/20/parliament-revisits-the-limits-to-growth/ |
Description | Commentary on the Struggle for Meaningful Work - CUSP blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | For most of us-wherever we are in the world-work is a central component of our lives. Any Great Transition narrative wanting to connect with people has to address issues of work. How do we reorient the economy so that its values reflect our values rather than profit? (This blog is a commentary on an essay by Kent Klitgaard - and first appeared on the Great Transition Initiative website, Feb 2017.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.cusp.ac.uk/blog/sm_meaningful-work_gtn/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral |
Description | Intergenerational learning - CUSP blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Agenda 2030 forms an ambitious set of long-run goals. Yet, for those most affected, the year 2030 seems like a very long time in the future. How can we make the most of it and involve kids in the SDGs task, Sue Venn asks, reflecting on her participation at a recent Global Goals conference at Ken Stimpson Community School. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.cusp.ac.uk/blog/intergenerational-learning-sdgs/ |
Description | Professionals and citizens - CUSP blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A blog response to Melissa Lane by Victor Anderson. I am almost fully in agreement with Melissa Lane's paper, but I think she greatly understates her case, which could and should be applied far more widely. Her paper calls on professionals to consider a much wider than usual range of responsibilities, including a moral obligation to pursue sustainability as an objective. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.cusp.ac.uk/themes/m/va_m1-1/ |