Sustainable farming expert Caroline Drummond MBE has called on the food industry to work more closely with farmers when looking at ways to develop healthier food and tackle the obesity crisis.
Speaking at the Nuffield Frank Arden Memorial conference this morning (24 April), the chief executive of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) presented the findings from her 12-month study into the role farmers can play in improving the nutritional value of food.
She outlined three key areas for consideration: biofortification, biodiversity and linking more with the public
Drummond said: “Often farmers who produce the raw ingredients for food production are left out of discussions and policy making when considering how to address obesity and its associated diseases. However, my research has shown that farmers have an important role to play in helping the food industry to deliver more nutrient-rich food, and in encouraging the public to make healthier eating choices. We need to work more closely together to deliver sustainable diets which can both feed and nourish the population.”
Drummond was awarded the Frank Arden Nuffield Scholarship to review how farming can learn from science to increase the nutritional value of food produced.
As part of her studies, she reviewed the latest scientific research and thinking; travelling extensively, from Toronto to Taipei, to meet with leading researchers and organisations from around the world. These included The World Vegetable Centre in Taiwan, the Restaurant of the Future at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and The Institute of Food Research, Campden BRI, and The John Innes Centre in the UK.
She was joined at the Frank Arden Memorial Conference at Harper Adams University in Shropshire by fellow speaker and Nuffield Scholar, David Northcroft, category & varietal development manager for Waitrose.
The conference was chaired by the presenter of BBC TV show Countryfile, Tom Heap, with additional speakers in the fields of nutrition, farming and food security such as Professor Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at Oxford University; Professor Tim Benton, UK champion for global food security and professor of population ecology; and Professor Tim Brocklehurst, head of IFR food and health network.
