Food Systems at the Heart of the Ecological Emergency

The Earth Emergency Cluster, in collaboration with the Earth Rover Program, invites you to a timely and thought-provoking event exploring the critical role of food systems in the wider ecological crisis.

Through a series of fast-paced Quickfire Talks, leading thinkers from across disciplines will examine how soil, agriculture, policy, psychology, and history intersect with today’s environmental challenges.

Speakers include:

Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid – Assyriologist and historian, University of Oxford
Prof Tarje Nissen-Meyer – Founder and Executive Director, Earth Rover Program; Professor, Department of Mathematics, University of Exeter
George Monbiot – Journalist, author, and environmental and political activist
Prof Simon Jeffery – Founder and Executive Director, Earth Rover Program; Professor of Soil Ecology, Harper Adams University
Prof Louise Dye – Professor of Nutrition and Behaviour, School of Psychology; Co-Director, Institute for Sustainable Food, University of Sheffield
Prof Gideon Henderson – Geochemist and Professor of Earth Sciences
Dr Andy Jarvis – Director, Future of Food, Bezos Earth Fund
Together, these speakers will explore themes including historical perspectives on societies and food, interconnected ecological systems, the often-neglected importance of soil health, the psychology of sustainable food transitions, and the links between climate, policy, education, science, funding, and action.

The talks will be followed by a panel discussion, bringing speakers into conversation and creating space for critical reflection and audience questions.

Panel moderated by:
Olivia Vashti Ayim

Join us for an engaging evening that connects the past, present, and future of food systems and asks what must change to meet the scale of the ecological emergency.