2021 is a big year for sustainability policy, with several major climate conferences on the horizon. In the run-up to this autumn’s COP26 and UN Food Systems Summit meetings, we’re sitting down with some of the world’s leading sustainability scholars to get their perspective on what these conferences can achieve and how the public can push for better sustainability outcomes. In our first interview, we spoke with Professor Sir Charles Godfray, director of the Oxford Martin School.
2021: A Watershed Year for Sustainability?
2021 holds great potential for systemic shifts in responses to climate change, with several major international climate conferences set to take place before the year is out. As world leaders are due to make major decisions on biodiversity, food systems and greenhouse gas emissions, these meetings are vitally important to the future of our planet. Read on for a brief overview of the upcoming events and their goals.
The Place of Urban Agriculture in Sustainable Future Cities: What Is Urban Agriculture, and Why Does it Matter?
If you grow tomatoes on your balcony, keep a basil plant on your windowsill or try out home hydroponics – you’re participating in urban agriculture. From pot plants to more intensive subsistence farming within urban boundaries, urban agriculture can reduce food miles from farm to table, cut carbon emissions and fight food poverty; offer avenues to more local employment and improve the health and wellbeing of city residents; and protect biodiversity, from plants to bees and birds.
In Conversation With… Vaclav Smil
Professor Vaclav Smil has made a career of digging into the numbers behind sustainable development and environmental challenges. We reached out to him to talk about the challenges of food system change, the effects of COVID-19 on meat prices, and what we as consumers can — and can’t — do to push for a more sustainable food system.
What Do We Mean When We Talk About Food Systems?
It’s a term that comes up a lot in sustainability discourse – we talk about the sustainability of food systems or about the pressure they put on planetary boundaries. But what exactly are ‘food systems’?
What Does ‘Plant-Based’ Really Mean?
‘Plant-based’ has become something of a buzzword in the last few years, spotted more often than not next to a photo of a buddha bowl or a spirulina smoothie on Instagram. Going by the hashtag, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a cutesy synonym for ‘vegan’. Read on for more on this nebulous term.