Policy at the Global Food and Environment Institute

Working with policy professionals is a key part of our vision to create an equitable and environmentally sustainable global food system. 

Our multidisciplinary membership represents a wide range of research and experience which can help in developing a research-informed approach to regional, national and global policy.  

This page features examples of how our members have worked with policymakers, and research that can be directly applied to the development of food systems policy.  

We also work with Policy Leeds to facilitate meetings between policymakers and researchers. To speak with one of our food systems experts, email Policy Leeds via policyleeds@leeds.ac.uk.

Please note, some content published on external websites may not be fully accessible.

Agriculture and environment 

  • Unlocking private investment in soil carbon in England. May 2023.
    Professor Guy Ziv, University of Leeds, Matthew Orman, Sustainable Soil Alliance and Professor Mark Reed, SRUC’s Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre, CEO of Fast Track Impact, and Research Lead for the IUCN UK Peatland Programme offer recommendations for the design of high-integrity agricultural soil carbon markets highlight difficulties for farmers to enrol in both Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and emerging agricultural soil carbon markets. To unlock private finance, new public schemes should focus on paying farmers for soil carbon testing, and keeping carbon stored in already well-managed, carbon-rich soils.
  • The space age: minimising the use of crates in pig production. December 2022.
    Dr Katie McDermott at the National Pig Centre will use funding from Research England to work closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to explore how the amount of time a sow (female pig) spends with restricted movement can be reduced whilst she nurses her young. 
  • Using geothermal mine water energy for food production. April 2022.
    Using geothermal energy from mine water for food production may increase food security in a low carbon way. An action plan to establish a pilot in Leeds has been developed with stakeholders.
  • Restoring agricultural soils. January 2022.
    Megan Tresise, a third year PhD student, was seconded from their PhD to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) Fellowship from October to December 2021. Megan produced the Restoring agricultural soils POSTnote that was published in January 2022, providing an overview of some of the key research areas in soil science, as well as developing soil policy initiatives.
  • Expanding the agriculture sanitation circular economy. September 2021.
    How expanding the agriculture-sanitation circular economy can address multiple United Nations (UN) policy objectives, through the recovery of water, biomass, and nutrients from sewage at scale. 

Urban food systems 

Global food systems transformation 

Image of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London via Marcin Nowak/Unsplash.com.