Future Food Symposium

Public food procurement can play a pivotal role in transforming food systems by promoting local economies, ensuring equitable access to nutritious food, and building sustainability and resilience within food systems. We invite presentations that explore the potential of place-based approaches to innovate, reform, and optimise public food procurement practices for a sustainable food future. These presentations can be based on original research, case studies, or conceptual discussions on topics including, but not limited to:

• Technological and logistical innovations that enhance local procurement, such as the use of open-source digital platforms
• Equity and inclusion in public food procurement by addressing the needs of marginalised communities.
• Innovative models for integrating local food systems into public procurement.
• Policy frameworks and governance mechanisms that enable or support place-based procurement practices.
• Economic, social, and environmental impacts of localised food procurement systems, along with approaches for monitoring and evaluation
• Collaborative strategies among governments, local producers, and other stakeholders.

All of us have the right to healthy and affordable food. Being able to eat regular, fresh and nutritious meals each day is fundamental to our health and wellbeing.

At Kent, in partnership with the Food foundation, we have committed to become a Right to Food University – promoting food justice, tackling food poverty and helping to transform our food system so that it operates to advance human health and an environmentally sustainable society. As part of our work we are rolling out a pilot scheme to test a blueprint for other HEI’s to become Right to Food universities – helping to mobilise regional support for a national impact. As well as hearing from our pilot institutions, we want to discuss the wider role regional partnerships and civic activity can help transform a broken food system and secure a Right to Food for all. 

We want to:

• Share practical experiences and highlights of regional food networks including the pilot institutions testing Kent’s Right to Food blueprint.
• Harness opportunities to enhance existing local and regional food systems initiatives.
• Discuss the enhanced role of civic activity and how/why it is important.

We’re looking for talks from:

• Community groups in food security space.
• Examples of civic partnerships in the food space.

Foodways of Indigenous peoples and other underrepresented and marginalized groups in postcolonial and settler colonial nations have been profoundly impacted by colonial dynamics, both historically and in the present day. For example, their traditional food systems have been undermined through land dispossession and resource extraction, and traditional methods of food production have been appropriated, often stripping them of their cultural significance and erasing their original meanings.

The revitalization and reclaiming of foodways is a powerful process of cultural renewal and resistance to colonial legacies. This process not only seeks to restore the knowledge of local agriculture and natural resources but also focuses on reviving traditional methods of food production that are deeply intertwined with cultural identity. It is a collective effort to ensure that food is no longer just a source of sustenance, but a means of asserting autonomy, healing, and cultural pride.

Thus, we welcome contributions that explore, but are not limited to:

• How has food been used as a tool for both domination and resistance in marginalized communities?
• What is the transformative power of food as resistance, particularly through culinary practices that challenge colonial legacies and reclaim cultural identity?
• What marketing strategies can food brands led by Indigenous or marginalized communities employ to highlight the historical and cultural significance of traditional food systems?
• How do we address issues of cultural appropriation of Indigenous and marginalized foodways in the modern food industry?
• What policy and advocacy efforts are being made to confront colonial structures in food production and distribution?

A recent trend within our high choice, 24-hour food culture with its focus on individually marketed, packaged, delivered and consumed products is the popularisation of bulk-buying and ‘food haul’ practices. Offers such as ‘buy-one-get-one-free’ leverage our desire to grab a bargain, but also our instincts to hoard food, and these offers are connected to the rising sales of overprocessed, unhealthy foods. Meal-prepping for the week enables us to display competencies of domestic, household management, but can inadvertently create the conditions for wasting food. The concept of the haul suggests an intensification of individual accumulation and stockpiling, as well as the strategies deployed to mitigate against anticipated scarcities and the continued threat of food insecurity.

But how else does the phenomenon of the ‘haul’ show up in food cultures? And how might we draw upon the lens of bulk, group, collective or cooperative buying and consuming as sites of alternative and additional consumption?

In this track we invite discussion about food cooperatives, clubs and hubs, food halls and markets, thinking and practice around the group as a unit of consumption, models of cooperative centralisation and efficiency, cultures of social eating, and services which seek to mobilise collectives of consumers to build inclusive food futures.

Community food practices lie at the intersection of culture, society, environment, and economy, shaping how we grow, share, and consume. In the face of climate change, food insecurity, rapid urbanisation, and unequal access to food and green spaces, community- driven initiatives may offer pathways toward resilient, inclusive, and sustainable food systems. This stream aims to bring together academics, practitioners, policymakers, local councils, industry partners, and other stakeholders to explore how community-based practices can foster more equitable futures and meaningful connections. We will examine how grassroots innovations and policy frameworks can empower communities to enrich local economies, celebrate cultural heritage, and enhance ecological integrity.

Key themes include community gardening, farmers’ markets, and cooperative models that reduce waste and strengthen regional economies. How culturally diverse food traditions build identity, resilience, and cohesion, and investigate regenerative agriculture, biodiversity, and sustainable resource management are part of the potential topics.

Discussions may address how land-use policies, planning regulations, and community land trusts enable urban agriculture, green infrastructure, and improved well-being. We welcome exploring how local councils, NGOs, and partnerships between community groups, research institutions, and industry can advance and scale these efforts. We also invite discussions on how marketing and communication strategies, such as storytelling and social media, may support and enhance the effectiveness of community food practices. By sharing research, best practices, and success stories, we aim to inspire collaboration, generate actionable policy recommendations, and envision pathways to more resilient, equitable, and thriving local food systems.

Food waste is a complex multi-faceted issue (Galli et al., 2019; Gille, 2012; Schanes et al., 2018). Whilst a common consensus has formed that food waste should be mitigated against, advancements have been slow, sticky and incremental (Cattaneo, et al., 2021). A proliferation of ideas and heightened awareness have only begun to realise the systematic changes to production and consumption arrangements required to adequately address the problem (Pelt et al., 2020; Reynolds et al., 2019). Research however continues to provide more intricate and explorative reasons for food waste as well as prevention strategies in the context of households, business and throughout the wider food supply chain (Kim et al., 2020; Papargyropoulou et al., 2022).

In this context we welcome conceptual and empirical work. This track is open to multidisciplinary approaches, and varied research contexts from across the globe. Potential topics could explore, and are not limited to the following:

A critical view of retail food systems. The consequences for food waste generation and prevention across the food supply chain:

• The invisibility of over-supply at supermarkets.
• The generation of surplus or a surplus model in retail operations.
• Where does the balance lie between the established industry guidance lines of what is and is not edible and how consumers undertake their own visceral edibility negotiations?
• Upcycling and reprocessing less-desirable foods – challenges and opportunities for the food supply chain.

Circular food systems, food redistribution, and food security:

• How the diverting of surplus away from supermarkets has become a reliant source of food for the community sector.
• How a culture of overproduction or over supply has adapted, rather than being mitigated or changed, with the normalization of surplus food networks consumer facing apps.
• What role do community groups play in both mitigating food waste?
• The role of local bodies in enhancing food accessibility to vulnerable consumer groups 

Consumer-centric food waste reduction efforts:

• The role consumer food organization habits in reasons for waste.
• How can we better understand edibility? Exploring grounded and difficult to change edibility norms.
• Ascribing the responsibility of food waste prevention to the consumer – food planning, management, and repurposing to prevent household food waste.
• The moralisation of food and food waste. 

Food waste collection and measurement:

• Challenges of local authorities to implement weekly food waste collection services.
• Challenges for consumers and households to engage with food waste collection schemes.
• Creating more reliable food waste data audits through local body food waste collection schemes
• Implementing household waste separation programs – systemic challenges and potential interventions. 

References 

Cataneo, A., Sánchez, M.V., Torero, M. and Vos, R. (2021) Reducing food loss and waste: Five challenges for policy and research. Food Policy. 

Galli, F., Cavicchi, A., & Brunori, G. (2019, 2019/06/01). Food waste reduction and food poverty alleviation: a system dynamics conceptual model. Agriculture and Human Values, 36(2), 289-300.

Gille, Z. (2012). From Risk to Waste: Global Food Waste Regimes. The Sociological Review, 60(2_suppl), 27-46.  

Kim, J., Rundle-Thiele, S., Knox, K., Burke, K., & Bogomolova, S. (2020, 2020/01/10/). Consumer perspectives on household food waste reduction campaigns. Journal of Cleaner Production, 243, 118608.

Papargyropoulou, E., Fearnyough, K., Spring, C., & Antal, L. (2022, 2022/04/01/). The future of surplus food redistribution in the UK: Reimagining a ‘win-win’ scenario. Food Policy, 108, 102230. 

Pelt, A., Saint-Bauzel, R., Barbier, L., & Fointiat, V. (2020, 2020/11/01/). Food waste: Disapproving, but still doing. An evidence-based intervention to reduce waste at household. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 162, 105059. 

Reynolds, C., Goucher, L., Quested, T., Bromley, S., Gillick, S., Wells, V. K., Evans, D., Koh, L., Carlsson Kanyama, A., Katzeff, C., Svenfelt, Å., & Jackson, P. (2019, 2019/02/01/). Review: Consumption-stage food waste reduction interventions – What works and how to design better interventions. Food Policy, 83, 7-27. 

Schanes, K., Dobernig, K., & Gözet, B. (2018, 2018/05/01/). Food waste matters - A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182, 978-991.

The growing desire for ‘craft’ or ‘artisanal’ food and beverages has become a notable trend among urban middle classes and beyond. The idea of becoming ‘artisans’ in the food and drink industry has also gained traction among those who seek an escape from traditional white-collar jobs that, despite being well-compensated, are often perceived as lacking meaning.

In this context, the notion of ‘craft’ has developed a strong symbolic association with the ethical production and consumption of food across all stages of the production chain. This aligns with broader goals in food studies, such as sustainability, resilience, and rural development, and stands in contrast to the declared environmental and health challenges posed by industrial agriculture.

Nevertheless, the neo-craft economy faces significant challenges. Some of them stem from threats to it, including practices by agri-food and beverage industries that appropriate the ‘craft’ label to market products that do not embody true artisanal production – referred to as ‘craftwashing.’ Additionally, there are inherent challenges within the neo-craft economy itself, such as the economic competitiveness of ‘craft’ goods compared to their industrial counterparts. Critical perspectives are also highlighting issues of class, gender, and ethnic discrimination and barriers to access within the craft industries, as well as the impact of the craft economy on urban spaces—particularly concerning gentrification, touristification, and the ‘foodification’.

This stream seeks contributions from researchers, practitioners, community organizers, and activists who are investigating these themes from diverse angles. We welcome both research-based presentations (theoretical and empirical) and case studies that highlight relevant initiatives and projects related to the future of craft food and beverages.

This stream is focused on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are being used to reduce food waste across the food supply chain, from production to consumption. It would address relevant topics such as consumer food waste, food supply chains, and big data in relation to food sustainability.

Potential subthemes:

• AI-driven technologies for improving food inventory management and reducing waste in retail and restaurants.
• Machine learning applications in predicting food demand to minimize overproduction and waste.
• AI tools for optimizing food processing and transportation, ensuring efficiency and waste reduction.
• Using AI to analyse consumer behaviour and encourage sustainable consumption patterns.
• Case studies of AI innovations in food waste reduction in different sectors (e.g., agriculture, retail, hospitality).

The Leveraging AI for Food Waste Reduction and Optimization track will explore the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies in addressing the global challenge of food waste. With nearly a third of all food produced globally being wasted, AI presents a powerful tool for optimizing food systems and reducing waste at multiple stages, from production to consumption. This stream will focus on AI applications in food inventory management, where machine learning algorithms can forecast demand more accurately, reducing overproduction and excess stock. AI can also optimize supply chains, improving efficiency in food processing, storage, and transportation, thus minimizing spoilage and waste. In addition, the track will delve into how AI technologies can influence consumer behaviour, encouraging smarter purchasing decisions and reducing waste at the household level. Case studies will highlight successful AI innovations in various sectors such as retail, agriculture, and hospitality. The ethical implications of using AI for food waste reduction, including data privacy concerns and equitable access to technology, will also be explored. This track aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how AI can drive sustainable change in food systems, offering actionable insights for stakeholders at every level, from producers to consumers. By harnessing the power of AI, this stream will contribute to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of halving global food waste by 2030.

In the UK, we continue to live through a challenging socio-economic context and millions of people remain excluded from accessing food through the marketplace (JRF, 2024). When access to food through market-based spaces is only partially possible and/or no longer an option due to socio-economic circumstances, people are pushed into liminality (Moraes et al., 2021), and to the margins of the marketplace. People rely instead on spaces of emergency food access (McEachern et al., 2024), such as foodbanks. According to a recent report published by the House of Commons Library (2024), 7.2 million people or 11% of the UK population were in households experiencing food insecurity during 2022/23. This included 17% of children. In the same period, the Trussell Trust (2024), which runs a network of foodbanks, supplied their highest-ever number of three-day emergency food parcels.

Existing academic literature has tended to focus on people’s experiences of emergency food access through networked and independent foodbanks. However, people can also utilise other types of liminal, occasionally progressive, and often caring spaces of food access that go beyond food provision and that seek to offer services that build resilience and help people transition out of a state of food insecurity. These spaces include social supermarkets (also known as community shops, pantries, larders, community supermarkets, citizen supermarkets, grub hubs or food clubs), subsidised fresh food spaces (Relton et al., 2022), community kitchens (Smith and Harvey, 2021), social eating spaces (Smith, 2024), community fridges (Anker et al., 2023), among many others.

This track welcomes new research on these diverse, more blended models of food access as well as people’s experiences of accessing these services. For example, we would welcome new works on the organisations empowering change, whether and how such services are enabling people to move out of food insecurity, how social connection and resilience emerge through these alternative modes of food access and consumption (including the nature of these social connections, resilience and consumption strategies), as well as people’s experiences of coming out of a state of food insecurity and any new lifestyle and resilience strategies that emerge as a result of past experiences of hardship. Guest speaker: Professor Greta Defeyter

This stream will consider social, economic, and legal aspects of the emergent technology cultured meat (aka cultivated meat) – the tissue engineering of muscle for food from animal cells. This novel technology has a history of just over twenty years or research, and has been available in purchase in small quantities in countries including Singapore, the USA, and Hong Kong. Cultured meat invokes a radical intervention into food production, both as a radical departure from traditional methods and configurations for what counts as meat, but also as a strategy for addressing issues including the environment, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness. The stream will review emergent trends in the area, such as analysis of the dominant framings used in the sector, issues related to consumer acceptance, regulatory pathways and their impact, and analysis of business formations and operations within the sector.

The world’s population is expected to approach 10 billion by 2050. Fifteen years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that a 70% increase in the amount of food produced was required by 2050 to feed this growing global population. The current trajectory for crop yields per unit area of land is insufficient to meet future needs.

Moreover, increasing global temperatures due to climate change severely limit crop performance and yield, and have a negative impact on the nutritional quality of plant foods. This session will consider how plant science research and innovation is tackling the challenge of producing sufficient nutritious food, by producing new varieties with improved traits such as greater nutrient and water use efficiency. The implementation of new biotechnological strategies is important for sustainable crop production, as are also novel approaches that enhance nutritional value while reducing the risk of food allergies. This not only requires innovative plant science but also societal acceptance and proportionate, science-based legislation for genome-edited crops.

What we buy is now increasingly surveilled and recorded in digital archives. Whether we use loyalty cards or not, almost every single transaction we make in restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets, convenience stores and supermarkets are logged in databases. Though these data typically remain private and proprietary, many organisations are now choosing to anonymise the data and provide access to researchers. These ‘digital footprint data’ can provide extraordinary insights into a wide range of social and health issues, including nutrition, diet-related disease, social inequality, and consumer psychology, to name but a few. This symposium stream will showcase cutting edge research on the use of digital footprints and big data to address novel scientific questions in the social and health sciences. We encourage anyone working with food-related digital footprint data (whether the focus is empirical, conceptual or methodological) to submit their research.

Educational institutions are uniquely positioned to impact the dietary habits, health, and well-being of children and young people. With children and young adults spending a significant portion of their day in schools and universities, the food environment in these settings can have profound, lasting effects on their nutrition, health behaviours, academic performance, and economic outcomes later in life. Ensuring access to nutritious food within educational institutions is vital not only for promoting healthy growth and cognitive development but also for fostering equitable opportunities for all students.

Food in Education stream will explore the multifaceted role of educational institutions in fostering a healthier food landscape to support students’ health and well-being. We invite submissions on a wide range of themes, including but not limited to:

• Food insecurity among pupils and university students
• Effectiveness of food policies and interventions in educational settings
• Sustainable food provision in educational institutions
• Students’ perspectives on healthy eating
• Innovative approaches in food education

By addressing these themes, the Food in Education stream will emphasize the potential of educational settings to drive positive health and economic outcomes. Through innovative policies, supportive food environments, and holistic education, educational institutions can shape healthier, more resilient generations, better equipped to face the challenges of the future.

This strand will explore cutting-edge innovations in food processing, emphasising transformative technologies and sustainable practices that enhance production efficiency and minimise environmental impact. With a focus on processing and manufacturing, discussions will address emerging techniques such as novel thermal and non-thermal processing, process intensification, and advanced preservation methods.

Key themes include integrating circular economy principles within food manufacturing, exploring opportunities for valorising by-products and waste streams, and leveraging automation and digitalisation for smarter, more resilient food systems. The strand will also examine how these innovations contribute to food safety, product quality, and nutritional value while addressing industry challenges like resource efficiency and scaling up production.

By engaging technology developers, researchers, and industry stakeholders, this session aims to foster collaboration and inspire actionable strategies to meet the demands of a growing global population sustainably.