Underutilized crops and their future potentials
November 2, 2022
The importance of crop diversification, for biodiversity and to cope with extreme weathers brought on by climate change, has never been more important. At the University of Nottingham, we have set up a Crop Diversification Unit, led by Dr Sean Mayes, to examine traditionally underutilized crops and their potentials as alternative sources of food for …
Food Systems in Small Islands and Developing States conference
October 17, 2022
This post is written by Dr Chin Chiew Foan, Associate Professor in Plant Biology, based at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. The Food Systems in Small Islands and Developing States conference 2022 (FSSIDS 2022) was held at The Everly Putrajaya Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 7-9 September 2022. There were more than 50 participants from 10 countries …
Evolving grass pea from ‘orphan’ crop to staple food
September 8, 2021
This post is written by Drs Peter Emmrich and Levi Yant. Malnutrition from protein deficiency is a widespread problem and concern. Populations in the developing world are at particular risk due to the higher costs of animal proteins when compared to plant proteins. These populations therefore tend to rely on protein-rich plant-based foods like beans, …
Bambara groundnut for food and nutritional security
August 11, 2021
This post is written by Tan Xin Lin. Xin Lin is a post-graduate student with the BamBREED project, supervised by Dr Susan Azam Ali and Prof Festo Massawe. Her study aims to explore the hard-to-cook phenomenon of Bambara groundnut through the evaluation of physical, hydration, microstructural and compositional characteristics associated with various Bambara groundnut genotypes. She …
Food Security in Small Island Developing States (FSSIDS) – a conference report by Dr. Chung Hong Tan
September 11, 2020
In the first week of September 2020, the Future Food Beacons at the University of Nottingham’s UK and Malaysia campuses jointly ran an international workshop Food Security in Small Island Developing States (FSSIDS 2020). The workshop brought together more than 30 participants from 10 countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in addition to …
Coronavirus and the food system: a reading list
March 26, 2020
Gardening and growing Growing and gardening while in isolation, by Mark Diacono (Facebook/Telegraph) Land available for allotment use has declined 65% since the 1960s (Institute for Sustainable Food, Sheffield) Food supply chains The UK’s food supply and a call for rational rationing, by Prof Tim Lang (The Conversation) Interview with Tim Lang, by Jay …
An interview with Dr Tereza Campello, Visiting Research Fellow, Future Food Beacon
October 19, 2018
Dr Tereza Campello was the Minister of Social Development and Fight against Hunger in Brazil, from 2011-2016. Dr Campello formulated and coordinated the Brazil without Extreme Poverty Plan, which contributed decisively to the elevation of 22 million people out of extreme poverty. She coordinated the Food and Nutrition Security National Policy, which saw Brazil’s …
