New collaborative research centre to transform food system launches at UCD

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan TD and Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir welcomed the launch of a transformative new joint research centre at University College Dublin (UCD).

Managed jointly by Queen’s University Belfast, University of Sheffield and UCD, the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems will bring together world-leading researchers from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain for the first time, with research expertise in specific shared areas of common interest that are core to food system transformation including: food safety, food production, nutrition, plant and animal science, behavioural change, data science, food system governance, and the political process of food system transformation.

Conway Fellow, Professor Denis Shields who is co-lead of the data and modelling platform of the Co-centre for Sustainable Food Systems, along with Chris Creevey, QUB said, “Working with colleagues at UCD, QUB, Oxford and elsewhere, this platform will promote availability of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) food data relevant to production, safety and nutrition in Ireland and the UK, and build models of food systems that can guide transitions to more sustainable healthy nutrition.” 

The €35million Co-Centre is jointly funded for six years by the Government of Ireland’s Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and through the Shared Island Fund; and by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and industry.

The interdisciplinary research team will work collaboratively with government, policymakers and industry stakeholders across jurisdictions to deliver innovative solutions to drive societal and political change in the transition to climate neutrality by 2050.

Speaking today, Minister O’Donovan said: “Congratulations to all the academic, industry and funding partners involved in the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. You are each playing an integral role in creating what promises to be an impactful research relationship  between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain over the next six years. 

“There is an urgency to provide food system transformation, with local, national and international food solutions that are underpinned by science, safety and governance. This Co-Centre will lead the charge in collaboratively generating those solutions.” 

Minister Muir said: “I want to wholeheartedly congratulate the team on reaching this significant milestone. At DAERA, we are extremely pleased to be co-funders in this major programme of research and innovation into Sustainable Food Systems. I firmly believe that this collaboration will contribute to achieving the best science to tackle challenges together on these islands.

“The Co-Centre launch comes at a very relevant time for Northern Ireland, as my department leads on the development of a new Northern Ireland Food Strategy Framework, which places food at the heart of our society.

“The Co-Centre provides an opportunity, on a scale not funded by DAERA before, to have very real impact on the transformation we need to see in our food systems.”

Professor Eileen Gibney, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director of UCD Institute of Food and Health at University College Dublin, said: “This Co-Centre will play an important role in transforming our food system to be more healthy and sustainable across these islands. The Co-Centre will drive change in the way we produce and consume food, addressing economic, social, and environmental problems to ensure safe nutritious food for all. We need to consider the challenges we face now and in the future, and provide solutions that will work for us all.”

Professor Aedín Cassidy, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, said: “This is an exciting programme and has come at a crucial time with our existing food systems facing a wide range of challenges. In today’s society, a tenth of our population is undernourished while 25% are overweight, with over a third of the world’s population unable afford to eat a healthy diet. Add to this, our food supplies are disrupted by heatwaves, floods, drought and conflict. This funding announcement and the new Co-Centre it creates, will allow us to do the research needed to address these issues and to develop and test strategies to ensure a safe, transparent, sustainable, resilient food system and enhance the evidence base to realise the transition to healthy diets from sustainable sources.”

Professor Louise Dye, lead of the integrated UKRI research programme, and Co-Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield, said: “We need to act now to ensure that we develop a robust, resilient and sustainable food system that provides access to healthy, affordable, nutritious food for all. The Co-Centre draws on a huge breadth of expertise from across the three jurisdictions in a transformative interdisciplinary collaboration which will take a one health approach to nutrition security, supported by UKRI, from soil to human health. The Co-Centre will accelerate the transition towards a more environmentally and economically sustainable, transparent agri-food sector which provides healthy food for all. The Co-Centre will also provide training, education and experiential events to inform the public, academics, industry, policy makers and others about food systems transformation.”

SFI’s Director of Science for the Economy, Dr Siobhán Roche said: “The launch of the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems represents an important development in collaboratively delivering environmentally and economically sustainable transformation of our food system. Together with our co-funders, we look forward to seeing the Co-Centre becoming a global leader in food system transformation through innovative research and technology development.”

The new Co-Centre delivers on the Irish Government’s Food Vision 2030, the Northern Ireland Food Strategy Framework, and UKs National Food Strategy.