Famines are often typified by indifference, incompetence and/or negligence by political leaders. Add climate change, agri-food resource depletion (land, soils & water), crop pathogen anti-microbial resistance and population pressures, and starvation and disease looks increasingly likely for millions if not billions of people.

Few grasp the scale of feeding the 68 million of us here in the UK, where many are already experiencing a nutrient famine. The Birmingham Food Council’s scenarios work illuminates a possible why out of potential catastrophe.

Background

The 2006 Lunar Society Annual Lecture was by Professor Sir John Lawton, then Head of the National Environment Research Council (NERC). He spoke about the urgency of climate change action.

As a result, the Society invited Sir John to return to the city to spell out what climate change meant to key regional decision-makers at a dinner discussion on 8th June 2006, organised by a new Climate Change Subcommittee comprising Sandy Taylor, Alan Wenban-Smith, Debbie de Haas and Kate Cooper.

The outcome was a report, Carbon Neutrality & the West Midlands City Region. The Subcommittee also set a tad wild target for Birmingham itself to reduce its carbon emissions by 60% within 20 years. Nonetheless, the 60% mantra drove what is now a carbon negative CHP system within the Inner Ring Road, and many other initiatives across the city and the wider region.

Brief biography

Most of Kate’s working life was designing and leading interesting projects with blue-chip clients. She was also subject leader for innovation at the Warwick Manufacturing Group for several years. With hindsight, she realises these experiences neatly set her up to cajole a posse of regional scientists and others to contribute to a Birmingham 2050 Scenarios Project (2011-14). Its purpose was to continue the carbon neutrality initiatives begin with the Lunar Society through exploring possible food futures for the city. It generated several spin-offs. Arguably the most fun was The Hand That Feeds: A musical about food crime (think rock opera meets Greek chorus meets community choir meets jazz). Arguably the most important was a request to Kate to set up a Birmingham Food Council, and to structure it to be independent of any other organisation.

She is now its Executive Director. Currently her work focuses on (a) food and the economy, (b) food safety, integrity and assurance and (c) the strategic challenges associated with food security.