At the beginning of December the(opens in a new window) UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science hosted it's 6th biennial research symposium, “Ireland’s Future Food Systems”.
We were delighted to welcome Professor Kate Robson Brown, Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact who delivered the keynote address and a number of other distinguished speakers from academia and industry.
These included Professor Francis Butler of Biosystems and Food Engineering who chaired the first session on "Defining food systems and the challenges faced".
Professor Mark Scott; Dean of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy in UCD and Chair of the Land Use Review technical working group, Dr. Nessa Noronha, Director, Food for Health Ireland, Catherine Lascurettes, Chief Operations Officer at AgTech Ireland and Karl Richards, Head of Climate Centre at Teagasc.
This research symposium highlighted the significant transformation that is required for the development of our Future Food System in many of these areas with presentations and panel discussions focusing on the requirement for collaborative thinking and long-term strategic planning in both research and practice.
This event featured ongoing research and insights from distinguished external speakers from academia and industry, including UCD Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact Prof. Kate Robson Brown, AgTech Ireland COO Catherine Lascurettes and distinguished researchers from within the School of Agriculture and Food Science.
This Symposium focused on four key areas:
- Defining food systems and challenges faced
- Current and future land use
- Food technology and changing dietary patterns
- Future technologies and solutions.
The first panel discussion explored the application of food systems research while the second session had a policy focus with Prof. Mark Scott (UCD), current chair of the Government’s Technical Working Group of the National Land Use Review, providing insights into the future policy landscape, while the future of food production and farm technologies will be the focus of sessions three and four.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROGRAMME OF SPEAKERS
The School of Agriculture and Food Science at UCD has developed a comprehensive knowledge base that can inform the food sector from farm-to-fork. Our world-leading research is a key strength in contributing to this. These areas are aligned with global research challenges under the four UCD strategic research themes: creating a sustainable global society, transforming through digital technologies, building a healthy world and empowering humanity.
In the School of Agriculture and Food Science, research is supported by key infrastructure including UCD Lyons Farm, Rosemount Environmental Research Station, the Centre for Humanitarian Action and the Institute for Food and Health. These facilities enhance research collaborations and strengthen our global reach and partnerships.
Research in the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science addresses key global challenges in sustainable food systems in areas such as climate change, food processing, human nutrition, farm- level innovation, biodiversity loss and soil health. This research will enhance Ireland’s aim to become a world leader in sustainable food systems.
The systems approach to research requires a significant breadth and depth of knowledge,
particularly in the agri-food system given its complexity and its global nature. The UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science is well positioned to contribute to the development of our future food systems given the range and depth of research excellence, much of which will be highlighted at the symposium.
Early Career Researchers Poster session:
The Symposium poster session, provided an opportunity for Early Career Researchers to share their expertise and showcase their research, focused on our future food systems. In the Symposium poster session throughout the day there was some fascinating work presented and organisers were delighted to present the prize of best poster to(opens in a new window) Fangting Bai from the(opens in a new window) UCD Institute of Food and Health with her poster titled “The antioxidant effect of saltwater Nannochloropsis grown on anaerobic digestate”.