Our Research
Our four research themes aim to help us achieve our goals.
To discover the activities we support, click on our theme titles. Are you working on a related project? Does your research align with our themes? Get involved and join our research network today.
Food and Environment
This theme explores the environmental impact of food production and its consumption. We are exploring ways to minimise pesticide use without reducing crop yield and quality. This includes how we manage pests and pathogens on crops. We aim to find new, ‘smart’ methods of controlling pests and pathogens in crops.
Food Security
We aim to find solutions to manage the uncertainty of food security in the UK. Our work contributes to research helping governments manage food uncertainty. We bring together experts in the food system to build new forecasting methods. We think about the impacts of events such as nuclear accidents and terrorist attacks.
Food and Health
We examine the implications of food on our health. Our NHS spends £5.8 billion a year on diseases associated with poor diet. We are developing and evaluating interventions to help people make the healthy choice, the easy choice but also the cheap choice. We are also looking at ways to improve the food we grow here in the UK, including the first local varieties of haricot beans.
Food Cultures
Food lies at the heart of human culture. Eating is one of the most fundamental human activities. We bring together food-related work in the arts and humanities. Part of our work examines how the performing and visual arts communicate food issues, such as its production, consumption and waste, to the general public.