CLA Conference Will Tackle Food and Environmental Security
The ability to continue to produce sufficient food to feed ourselves without causing loss of or damage to the environment is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind in the 21st century – and next month a major conference at Cornwall’s Eden project will look at the challenges and some of the options available.
The conference, which takes place on Monday 16 March - during the Future of Farming Week - is being organised by the CLA, the rural economy experts, and has attracted leading speakers from across the whole spectrum of food and environmental management.
CLA South West Director, John Mortimer, said: "As climate change takes it grip on land nearer the equator and as populations rise, the demand for food grown in the northern temperate zones of the world - including the UK - will continue to rise. The challenge is how to ensure that the land our children and grandchildren will need to feed themselves is still available to them – and that the skills required to farm and produce food are not lost because of short-term expedients."
The CLA’s national policy director, Prof. Allan Buckwell, a leading expert on the Common Agricultural Policy whose 2007 paper on food and environmental security prompted widespread debate at UK and European government levels, will open the conference. He will be followed by Caroline Drummond, the Chief Executive of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming). Caroline works throughout the UK and Europe developing and promoting the concept of Integrated Farm Management - a system which enables farmers to produce affordable food in harmony with the environment.
The South West perspective will be presented by John Lee, the chairman of the South West Farming and Food Futures Group. John is a farmer from Devon and is a former President of, the European farmers organisation, CEJA, and currently Chairman of the Governors of Bicton College. The final speaker will be Dr Tony Kendle, who is the Eden Project’s Foundation Director. Tony joined Eden after an academic career at the University of Reading. He has worked as a researcher and consultant both in the UK and overseas specialising in nature conservation and horticulture.
The conference which starts at 10.15 a.m. is open to anybody and tickets, which include lunch and a tour of the Eden Project, are priced at £26.50. Tickets are available from the CLA’s regional office which can be contacted on 01249 700289 or by e mail sarah.fern@cla.org.uk
"We have seen a remarkable political about face on this whole issue of food security over the last two years, however, reconciling the apparent conflict between food production and environmental security is the issue. We are extremely lucky to have speakers who can not only explore the intellectual and practical challenges but who can also interpret what that will mean to South West farmers and their management plans," said Mr Mortimer.
