Held throughout February 2018, the Sustainability Skills & Education (SusSEd) series is a collection of engaging and interactive lunchtime talks designed to give you the knowledge and understanding required to bring about a more sustainable world. Delivered by inspiring speakers from across the university faculties, these sessions will cover different aspects of a particular aspect of sustainability. This year, the talks will follow The Story of Sustainable Food: From Farm to Fork to Landfill. Whether you’re pushing to develop the skills needed to make a real difference or just want to hear more about what sustainability entails, everyone is welcome at our free sessions!
These sessions are a great opportunity for students to enhance their CV as HEAR recognition is given for attending 5 talks. Staff who are part of the Green Impact scheme are particularly encouraged to attend – teams can cross off relevant toolkit actions by attending.
Schedule
All talks from 12:10-1 pm
Monday 5th Feb – Introductory Talk: Food Sustainability: Can We Eat Healthily and Protect the Planet? – Professor Colin Osborne, Animal and Plant Science – Alfred Denny Lecture Theatre 2
Come along to the introductory talk for the Story of Sustainable Food led by Professor Colin Osborne, Associate Director of The Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures and Professor of Plant Biology in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. Food is at the heart of sustainability. We all need to eat, but modern food production damages the environment for future generations. In this talk, Professor Osborne will introduce the big issues in this area. How is the global demand for food changing as the population grows and more people go to live in cities? How do modern food production and consumption patterns harm the environment? Why is meat a sustainability issue? And how can everyone have enough to eat, without costing the Earth?
To avoid disappointment, book your place by clicking the leaf: 
Tuesday 6th Feb – Everyone’s a Fertiliser Factory – Closing the Nutrient Loop in Sustainable Agriculture – Professor Duncan Cameron, Animal and Plant Science – Hicks Pool Lecture Theatre 1
Professor of Plant and Soil Biology, and Co-director of the Plant Production and Protection (P3) Centre, Duncan Cameron, brings us our second talk. With the human population set to reach 9 billion by 2050, and the pollution generated by our current food production systems, we need a new Green Revolution. Professor Cameron discusses how we can transition to more efficient agriculture that would both minimise unnecessary waste of the Earth’s vital resources and feed the world more sustainably.
To avoid disappointment, book your place by clicking the leaf:
Thursday 8th Feb – Reaching The Sustainable Development Goals With Urban Agriculture – Dr Sanjay Lanka, Management School – Pam Liversidge Building Lecture Theatre 2
This presentation will walk you through the challenges and solutions in the transition to a food system built on the foundation of sustainable agriculture, using case studies from Central America, California, India and Mexico. It will include the key elements to focus on at the farm level and at the fork, as well as in dealing with the logistics and supply chain between these two using the concept of a short supply chain.
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Tuesday 13th Feb – Strategies to Increase Environmentally Sustainable Food Choices – Dr Nicola Buckland, Psychology – Hicks Pool Lecture Theatre 5
Recent UK population trends show increases in red meat intake. However, meat production is resource-intensive and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. As such, current diets need to change in favour of more sustainable food choices. Yet, encouraging people to change dietary habits is challenging. The main barriers to changing diets will be considered and a dual-process approach will be introduced to explain the role of conscious and non-conscious processes that influence food choices. Evidence available for targeting conscious (e.g. self-monitoring) and non-conscious (e.g. subtle environmental cues) processes to influence sustainable food choices will be examined. It will be proposed that while largely underexplored, targeting non-conscious processes might be an effective strategy to achieve sustainable food choices. Recommendations for future research will be provided.
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Thursday 15th Feb – Is a Global Shift to a Vegan Diet Necessary to Prevent Climate Change? – Megan McGrath, Student’s Union Development Officer – Firth Court Lecture Theatre F02
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Tuesday 20th Feb – Closed Loop Future – Professor Lenny Koh, Management School – The Diamond Lecture Theatre 5
Welcome to the imperfect world. Why is there so much waste and resource inefficiency in our food system? What can we do to turn waste to ‘gold’, and exploit resources more efficiently and sustainably? Professor Koh’s talk will comment on these imperfections and present solutions and a circular framework for resource efficiency and sustainability to overcome some of these imperfections. Several real examples will be showcased including the paper cup recycling initiative by a world leading coffee chain.
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Thursday 22nd Feb – Love Food Hate Waste – Ruth Roberts, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology – The Diamond Lecture Theatre 9
Our next talk will be delivered by Ruth Roberts from the Molecular Biology & Biotechnology department. Ruth is a passionate advocate for reducing the amount of food we waste unnecessarily, which for the UK stands at around 70 million tonnes per year! This talk will look at the problem of food waste in our homes and suggest easy, fun and effective ways to make the most of what’s in your fridge.
To avoid disappointment, book your place by clicking the leaf:
Friday 23rd Feb – Closing Talk – What Links Food Security & The Plastic Ocean? – Professor Tony Ryan, OBE, Chemistry – Dainton Building Lecture Theatre 1
Join us for the SusSEd closing talk, where Professor Tony Ryan, OBE, will discuss how responsible use of fossil fuelled plastic can have the lowest environmental impact and can reduce food waste.
To avoid disappointment, book your place by clicking the leaf: