New €35m joint research centre to transform food system launches at UCD
Posted 30 May, 2024
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; Professor Louise Dye, lead of the integrated UKRI research programme, and Co-Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield; Dr Siobhán Roche, Director of Science for the Economy at SFI; Professor Eileen Gibney, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director of UCD Institute of Food and Health Credit: Jason Clarke
A €35m food systems research centre co-led by UCD aiming to help the industry's transition to climate neutrality has officially been launched at Belfield.
Funded by the Irish Government through Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Shared Ireland Fund, and by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the new collaboration will bring together world-leading researchers from across the island of Ireland and Great Britain for the first time.
Jointly managed by UCD, Queen’s University Belfast and University of Sheffield, the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems will focus on research expertise in specific shared areas including food safety and production, nutrition, plant and animal science, behavioural change, data science, food system governance, and the political process of food system transformation.
The aim is to conduct research on areas of common interest and host an interdisciplinary research team that will work with governments, policymakers, and stakeholders to deliver innovative solutions that can “drive societal and political change” in the transition to climate neutrality by 2050.
“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,” said Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan TD, welcoming the launch of the joint research centre at UCD.
Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir hailed Co-Centre as a “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,” he said.
“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.”
€35m research 'co-centre' to "transform agri-food system"
— Science Foundation Ireland (@scienceirel) (opens in a new window)May 29, 2024
Congratulations to everyone at the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems on today’s launch. (opens in a new window)#FoodSystemsTransformation(opens in a new window)https://t.co/TLquIR7x1S
(opens in a new window)Professor Eileen Gibney, Co-Director of the Co-Centre and Director of UCD Institute of Food and Health, added that the 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 Gibney will co-lead the joint research centre alongside Professor Aedín Cassidy, Director for Interdisciplinary Research at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast, and Professor Louise Dye, lead of the integrated UKRI research programme and Co-Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield.
“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," said Professor Dye.
"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. [It] will accelerate the transition towards a more environmentally and economically sustainable, transparent agri-food sector which provides healthy food for all."
Professor Cassidy added: “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.”
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations (with materials from Caroline Byrne, UCD Research and Innovation)
To contact the UCD News & Content Team, email: newsdesk@ucd.ie
