Events hosted by TABLE
Find out what events TABLE will be hosting in the future and view recordings of previous events.
Check out food sustainability events organised by other organisations here.
Upcoming events
18 April 2024. Ask the Author: Leveraging networks to transform food systems
We've all heard calls for "Food systems transformation" - but how does it actually happen? This session was grounded in a detailed examination of parts of SIANI’s programme document, highlighting their approach to developing, implementing and evaluating their theory of change. We discussed how SIANI defines its objectives, measures impact, addresses conflicting goals among food system stakeholders, and aligns its work with wider food systems transformation initiatives.
28 March 2024. Global villain, local saviour? What's the role of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa
This event brought together four speakers who focus on livestock from both the sub-Saharan African and the global perspective, each with different experiences and goals in mind. While global trends in livestock production are clearly unsustainable, at a local level, livestock can be crucial in supporting livelihoods, as a source of nutrition, in maintaining certain ecosystems and as a climate adaptation strategy. For this reason, even within organisations, we see both areas of agreement and difference in how livestock are viewed and discussed, depending on their assumptions, local and regional perspectives and focus.
21 February 2024. Launch in Colombia of "MESA"
This hybrid event, which took place in-person at the Universidad de los Andes, celebrated the launch of TABLE's partnership with Uniandes and brought together actors from across teh Colombian food system to discuss their visions for the future of food and agriculture in Colombia, drawing upon their unique values, experiences and perspectives. The event is in Spanish.
7 February 2024. Regenerative and ultra-processed? (Part 2) - what does corporate engagement mean for regenerative agriculture?
A decade ago, few people had heard of the term “regenerative agriculture”, let alone used it to describe their work. But over recent years, the concept has become increasingly popular amongst food systems actors. Once the purview of farmers and conservationists, regenerative agriculture has recently gained interest from food corporations and big business. On 7 February 2024, TABLE and WWF reconvened the panelists from Part 1: Matthew Ryan (Nestlé), Melissa D. Ho (WWF-US), Sara Farley (The Rockefeller Foundation); and Jyoti Fernandes (Landworkers' Alliance) to discuss the meanings of regenerative agriculture and the attention its received from corporate entities, for better or worse.
11 January 2024. Regenerative and ultra-processed? (Part 1) - what does corporate engagement mean for regenerative agriculture?
A decade ago, few people had heard of the term “regenerative agriculture”, let alone used it to describe their work. But over recent years, the concept has become increasingly popular amongst food systems actors. Once the purview of farmers and conservationists, regenerative agriculture has recently gained interest from food corporations and big business. On 11 January 2024, TABLE and WWF brought together Matthew Ryan (Nestlé), Melissa D. Ho (WWF-US), Sara Farley (The Rockefeller Foundation); and Jyoti Fernandes (Landworkers' Alliance) to discuss the meanings of regenerative agriculture and the attention its received from corporate entities, for better or worse.
14 November 2023. Setting the Table for COP28: Changing diets to tackle climate change - what's the role of government?
We need a dietary shift towards more healthy, sustainable, and equitable diets. The scientific evidence is clear: if we are to have any chance of controlling food system related emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change, we need to transition on a massive scale, especially through the reduction of meat consumption in many contexts. We know where we need to go, then, but it isn’t clear how we get there. On 14th November, ahead of COP28 where food is set to feature more prominently than ever before, TABLE invited Dr. Dhanush Dinesh (Clim-Eat), Arghanoon Farhikhtah (FAO), and Dustin Benton (Green Alliance) to discuss what role governments and international governance should play in driving the food transition.
31 October 2023. Setting the Table for COP28: Can nature-based solutions deliver on their promise?
There is huge interest from policy makers, industry and NGOs in ‘nature-based solutions’ (NBS). This concept refers to activities that involve harnessing natural processes in ways that provide benefits both for human wellbeing and for biodiversity, with examples including the protection, restoration or construction of wetlands, green roofs in cities, or tree planting in and around cities to absorb floodwaters. However, while the idea has been greeted with enthusiasm by many, it has also attracted strong criticism from others. Panelists Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Nathalie Seddon, Jutta Kill, and Roberto S. Waack join to discuss. Moderated by Tara Garnett.
16 October 2023. Setting the Table for COP28: Nitrogen, climate change and food: making the connections
Nitrogen is essential to life - it is a building block of amino acids and therefore proteins, and it’s essential for soils and for growing food. Nitrogen, whether delivered in the form of mineral fertiliser, manure, compost or via the incorporation of nitrogen fixing legumes in crop rotations, is an essential input into agricultural production. At the same time, nitrogen is a potent greenhouse gas, responsible for around 6% of global warming. And its negative effects don’t end there: surplus nitrogen pollutes soils, water and air, damaging fragile aquatic and land based ecosystems and causing multiple harm to human health. So how can we get the balance right? How can we manage nitrogen at both the global and the local level in ways that minimise its harms while meeting our need for safe, nutritious food? Panelists Pauline Chivenge, Wim de Vries, and Rasmus Einarsson discuss. Moderated by Tara Garnett.
9 March 2023. The future of animal protein – intensive, regenerative or eliminated
Matthew Kessler moderated a debate on the future of animal protein. The panellists were author Rob Percival, author of the Meat Paradox, who has written a TABLE blog here: The Politics of Disgust: What future for protein?, and Sigrid Agenäs, researcher in Animal Sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. This was one of two events TABLE took part in at the 2023 Tufts Nutrition Data Symposium: Sustainability Now! Action-oriented Solutions for Food Systems, Nutrition, and Diet.
10 March 2023. Too many fish to fry: public health, environmental protection and social justice – can we have it all?
Tara Garnett moderated a discussion on the challenges associated with fishing as a livelihood and source of nutrition. The debaters were Jess Sparks (Tufts University), Shakuntala Thilsted (WorldFish) and Benjamin Halpern (University of California - Santa Barbara). This was one of two events TABLE took part in at the 2023 Tufts Nutrition Data Symposium: Sustainability Now! Action-oriented Solutions for Food Systems, Nutrition, and Diet.
17 October 2022. Setting the Table for COP27: Plating up the future of meat
How much and what types of meat should we eat, and how should the meat we eat be produced? Inspired by the think piece Gut feelings and possible tomorrows: (where) does animal farming fit? TABLE is launching a new podcast project funded by Formas called Meat: The Four Futures. In this event, panellists explored the four future scenarios, present the evidence they find most convincing for their preferred future, and outline how they envision achieving their version of a more sustainable and just food system.
28 September 2022. Setting the Table for COP27: Does methane from livestock matter?
COP26 saw the launch of the Global Methane Pledge and since then 121 nations have signed up to it, thereby agreeing to reduce their methane emissions by 30% by 2030. With the food system being one the largest anthropogenic source of methane – even more so than oil and gas – efforts to honour this pledge will likely have implications for how agriculture is practiced; and potentially for what we eat.
14 September 2022. Setting the Table for COP27: Carbon sequesterers or climate trashers? What role for grazing ruminants in a 1.5°C world?
When it comes to agriculture, the role of ruminant livestock (e.g., cattle, sheep, and goats) in sequestering CO2 through grazing on the one hand, and in contributing to GHG emissions and other environmental damage on the other have become highly polarized topics of debate. Join TABLE for a panel discussion on 14 September at 6pm BST with leading thinkers and researchers on agriculture, food systems and climate change mitigation.
15 June 2022: What is ecomodernism? Perspectives from ecomodernism and degrowth on limits to growth, lifestyles and media narratives
Ecomodernism is an environmental movement that emphasises the role of technology in enabling material prosperity while also protecting ecosystems. It stands in contrast to the degrowth movement, which challenges the current economic paradigm, and emphasises the need to reduce global consumption and production in ways that tackle inequality and foster environmental sustainability. The two philosophies paint different visions for the future of humanity and the planet.
At this TABLE event, research and communications officer Helen Breewood summarised the TABLE explainer "What is ecomodernism?" This presentation was followed by a discussion between our guest speakers Linus Blomqvist and Sam Bliss, chaired by TABLE director Tara Garnett, in which we heard both ecomodernist and degrowth perspectives on technology, lifestyles and environmental limits.
6 May 2022: Decoupling desire? Food, advertising, consumption and the question of limits
Each day, the average British consumer will see around 3000 commercial messages – on billboards, on their screens, on television – and 15% of these will be for food. Advertising is part of life. This panel discussion brought together representatives from the advertising and food industries, from social enterprise and academia to explore advertising, food, desire and the question of ecological limits.
You can now view the recording and join the conversation on our community platform.
26 April 2022: TABLE and SLU Food&Cities present Ask the Author: Rethinking urban living labs
In our first Ask the Author session for 2022, we were joined by co-authors Anke Brons and Koen van der Gaast to discuss A tale of two labs: Rethinking urban living labs for advancing citizen engagement in food system transformation.
View the recording and continue the conversation on our community platform.
13 April 2022: Webinar, "How to squeeze fat into a sustainable food future"
Prompted by the article The role of fats in the transition to sustainable diets (2021) authored by Bojana Bajželj, Federica Laguzzi and Elin Röös, TABLE hosted a webinar on 13 April 2022 to discuss the role of fats from a food systems perspective. The discussion covered environmental considerations and tradeoffs with different sources of fat production, the nutritional nuances of different types of fat, and what role could microbial oils and insects play in 'solving the fat gap.' More info can be found here.
24 February 2022: Panel Discussion: "Fleshing out a future COP"
In conjunction with the Oxford Martin School, TABLE held a panel discussion event on 24 February 2022 on differing perceptions of the best future for livestock and how COP27 can address livestock-related concerns. The event featured Dr Tara Garnett (director of TABLE and fellow of the Oxford Martin School), Dr Helena Wright, Policy Director at the FAIRR Initiative, Dr Pablo Manzano, Ikerbasque Research Fellow at the Basque Centre for Climate Change, and Dan Blaustein-Rejto, Director of Food and Agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute.
11 January 2022: Whose evidence counts? Exploring evidence for Agroecology, Regenerative Approaches, and Indigenous Foodways.
On 11 January 2021, TABLE and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food hosted a panel discussion centred around the “Politics of knowledge”, the first section of the Global Alliance report: Understanding the evidence for Agroecology, Regenerative approaches, and Indigenous foodways. The panel discussed what knowledge and evidence counts and to whom, and who decides which evidence is legitimate for making policy or ushering in food systems transformation?
8 December 2021: An open discussion on power in the food system
On 8 December 2021, TABLE hosted and recording an open discussion about power in the food system with representatives from civil society, academia, media and the private sector. At TABLE we recognise that our own biases and perspectives will influence how we think about power in the food system so the purpose of the event is to hear a range of different views and understandings of power. This kick off event helps us think about who and what shapes, controls and influences past, present and future food systems. More event info can be found here.
9 July 2021: Ask the Author - True cost accounting for food - new metrics for the 21st century
TABLE and Global Alliance for the Future of Food co-present an Ask the author session. We discussed Chapter 1, "From Practice to Policy: New Metrics for the 21st Century", from the book "True Cost Accounting for Food: Balancing the Scale" published by Routledge in June 2021. We were joined by co-editor Lauren Baker (Global Alliance for the Future of Food) and chapter author Carl Obst (IDEEA Group). A summary and recording of the event can be found here, and summary of the book can be found here.
2 June 2021: TABLE launch event: Should the future of food be global or local?
TABLE's official launch event on 2 June 2021 celebrated the transition from the Food Climate Research Network into TABLE. The event centred on perhaps one of the most complex questions around food and sustainability: At what scale should the food system operate? In other words, should the future food system be more globalised or localised, and why? Please click here for more information about this event.
11 May 2021: A dialogue on Regenerative Agriculture: Why is it taking the world by storm?
TABLE and LEAP present a dialogue on Regenerative Agriculture (RA) between Ken Giller (Wageningen UR) and Yichao Rui (Rodale Institute) moderated by Tara Garnett (TABLE). We discussed the following topics: How is RA different from agroecology, organic, sustainable agriculture? What is meant by soil biological health? Is it important? How does RA tie in with debates about land-sparing and land-sharing?
30 April 2021: Ask the Author - A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture
We discuss Simon Bush (Chair of the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University) and colleagues’ recent publication in Nature: A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture. We were also joined by co-authors Alejandro Buschmann (Universidad de Los Lagos) and Dave Little (University Stirling).
12 March 2021: Ask the Author - Considering plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats
TABLE presents Ask the Author series, an intimate space for a detailed discussion about the research and its implications with participants from a range of disciplines and sectors. We discuss Raychel Santo (Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future) and colleagues’ recent publication in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems: Considering Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Cell-Based Meats: A Public Health and Food Systems Perspective.
5 February 2021: Ask the author - Halting European Union soybean feed imports favours ruminants over pigs and poultry
TABLE presents Ask the Author series, an intimate space for a detailed discussion about the research and its implications with participants from a range of disciplines and sectors. We discuss Johan Karlsson (the Swedish Agricultural University) and colleagues' recent publication in Nature Food: Halting European Union soybean feed imports favours ruminants over pigs and poultry. The paper examines three scenarios for animal-source food production in the European Union under two constraints: halting all imports of soybeans and soybean meal used as animal feed, and not using any additional land for animal feed cultivation (either inside or outside the EU).
Related content
- Recording: A dialogue on Regenerative Agriculture
Research Library - Considering plant-based and cell-based meats
Research Library - A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture
Research Library
- Scenarios for halting European Union soybean feed imports
Research Library
