Bold changes are needed to the way we produce our food to ensure we are able to continue feeding the world, according to experts at the LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) annual conference on sustainability in food and farming, held today on 14 November.

Speaking at the event 'The Changing Faces of Sustainability', Professor Charles Godfray, a leading academic on this topic and Director of the Oxford Martin Programme for the Future of Food at Oxford University, said that the way we produce food today is unsustainable.

Professor Godfray explained that the rising demand for food due to a growing and wealthier population, combined with the growing effects of climate change, is resulting in increased competition for land, water and other natural resources. He highlighted the importance of increasing the productivity of land, not just for food, but also a broad range of other services such as timber and fibre, water purification, flood protection, recreation and biodiversity support. 

Professor Godfray said, "Without doubt the future is uncertain, but what we can be sure of is that there will be far greater social and political pressure to produce food in new ways. We need to work together at both national and global levels to agree the most effective and sustainable ways to use our land.  We can no longer have the luxury of allowing land to be non-productive in the broad sense of the term, so a more landscape focused perspective is vital in order to capitalise on the advantages of different areas in producing different types of outputs."

Caroline Drummond MBE, Chief Executive of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) commented, "The framework of Integrated Farm Management (IFM) upon which LEAF's core values are built, is key to balancing the many different priorities demanded of farmers, in a flexible and forward looking way.  IFM is all about combining the best of traditional farming methods with the very latest innovations and new technology, within a planned management and business framework.  Knowledge is key to delivering more sustainable farming.  By providing farmers with the latest know-how, giving them opportunities to access research findings and enabling farmers to see research put into practice on real, working farms, LEAF is leading the way in developing more resilient ways of feeding a growing world population."

 

Other speakers at the event included David Pendlington, Sustainable Sourcing Director at Unilever, Dr David Barling from City University's, Centre for Food Policy and LEAF Marque farmer, Andrew Nottage.

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