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FAO to discuss transition to a sustainable, nutritious food system / Pic: GettyImages-Chris2766

Guest Article

Hand in hand to transform agri-food systems in Europe, Central Asia and beyond: FAO

By QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

From 2 to 4 November, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is convening its 32nd Session of the Regional Conference for Europe, virtually hosted by the Government of Uzbekistan, where FAO Members will have the opportunity...

Brands will need to reach us in our homes in the 'new normal' of social distancing / Pic: GettyImages-yvonnestewarthenderson

COVID-19 will force FMCG brands to take experiences in-home

By Liz Richardson

How can food and drink brands reach consumers during the COVID-19 lockdown? Experiential brand activity will have to be taken directly to consumers in their homes, Liz Richardson, managing director and partner at HeyHuman, suggests.

©GettyImages- vencavolrab

Guest article

The new Agricultural Revolution needs you: Good Food Institute

By Dr. Liz Specht, Associate Director of Science and Technology for The Good Food Institute

In the 1960s and '70s, a series of papers and books like Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb promised that before the turn of the millennium, humanity would be devastated by cataclysmic famines, deadly food riots, and disastrous resource wars.

©GettyImages/Koldunova_Anna

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food desertification: Who pays the ultimate price?

By Flora Southey

Millions of people around the developed world live in areas with severely limited access to affordable fresh food. So what are the fallouts of living in a ‘food desert’? And who ends up paying the ultimate price?

Nestle's plant-based Garden Gourmet Incredible Burger

Food for thought

Activists should embrace allies in the move to plant-based meats

By Bruce Friedrich, executive director of the Good Food Institute

Activists should take a pragmatic approach and be willing to work with 'big food' in order to support an increase in consumption of plant-based options, Good Food Institute (GFI) executive director Bruce Friedrich suggests.

©iStock/Droits d'auteur Leonid Eremeychuk

Food for thought

Why the food industry can’t ignore the bioeconomy boom

By David Burrows

Publication of the European Commission’s new bioeconomy strategy last October may have passed many in the food sector by. However, the agri-food chain lies at the heart of the concept.

©iStock

Food for thought

More taxes on unhealthy foods aren’t on the cards… yet

By Katy Askew

Momentum is growing behind calls to impose fiscal sanctions on unhealthy foods. And while such stringent action is not on the immediate horizon that could change if the food industry fails to step up its efforts on reformulation.

©iStock

In conversation with FoodNavigator

12 things you need to know about the meat tax debate

By David Burrows

Meat taxes are a controversial idea that get strong reactions on both sides of the debate. But, with pressure on global resources continuing to rise, it is a topic that is likely to remain on the agenda in the coming years. Here’s FoodNavigator’s guide...

GettyImages/StasV

Food for thought

Opinion: Rising hunger levels a call to action for food makers

By Katy Askew

A new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that the progress on tackling hunger made over the last decade was wiped out this year. The global food sector must respond by stepping up its efforts to combat malnutrition and...

© iStock/Magone

Food for thought

Opinion: Do we expect too much of cheap food?

By Katy Askew

Food manufacturers are caught between sometimes contradictory consumer expectations around value and values. As people understand more about what goes into their food – driving demand for higher quality standards – they may also need to swallow higher...

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SPECIAL EDITION: ORGANIC AND NON-GMO

Can organic food capitalise on flagging confidence in the food industry?

By David Burrows

Since the horsemeat scandal of 2013 there has been a steady stream of food scares and scandals, which has played neatly into the hands of organic food. Sales were up more than 11% in Europe at the last count, but is the sector making the most of growing...

Confectionery brands can outlive sugar regulation, but must act now, says HeyHuman, a brand agency that has worked with Mondelēz. ©GettyImages/BlindTurtle

Guest article

Sweetening the pill - preparing for a sugar tax extension

By Neil Davidson, managing director of HeyHuman

Inaction is not an option for confectionery brands if they want to survive in an age of increased regulation on sugared products, writes Neil Davidson, managing director of brand agency HeyHuman.

©iStock

Be warned: obesity plans make for easy targets

By David Burrows

The UK's childhood obesity strategy has been criticised again – this time in an analysis published in the British Medical Journal. Will all this flak put other EU countries off the idea?

Bad Science author Dr Ben Goldacre at the IFT show

Is food marketing awash with bad science? If so, who is to blame?

Dr Ben Goldacre: ‘Does this food cause or prevent cancer? Honestly, there's no need for any more stories like that, they have almost no value’

By Elaine Watson

There was plenty of handwringing at the IFT show this year about the lack of scientific literacy characterizing the debate around food and farming, backed up by scores of press clippings about ‘franken-foods.’ But is the media solely to blame, and what’s...

Photo: iStock

BREXIT REACTIONS

Britain votes to leave the EU: What now?

By Niamh Michail

Britain has voted to leave the European Union and Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned as a result. Across Europe and the UK, the food industry is coming to terms with the outcome.

Leaders ripping apart the black box

Leaders ripping apart the black box

By Virpi Varjonen

It’s hard to care when you don’t know the real supply chain picture, argues Scandinavia-based analyst Virpi Varjonen in this guest article.

Many representations of GMOs, like this one, tap into intuitive ideas of unnaturalness - even though this is far from the reality of GM technology

Being anti-GMO may have ‘intuitive appeal’

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may be intuitive for many people, claims a paper published in the journal Trends in Plant Science.

Nestlé CEO: Business should not lead the social agenda

By Caroline SCOTT-THOMAS

Business plays a crucial role in meeting sustainable development goals – but it should not lead the social agenda, according to Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke, speaking at the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos.

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