Institute of Development Studies

Global Food and Farming Futures – Lead Expert Group

The Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures addresses the question: 'How can a future global population of 9 billion people all be fed healthily and sustainably?'

Looking forward to 2050 the Foresight team and the Lead Expert Group examined the global food system and considered issues of sustainable food production, demand, and distribution in an environment of climate change, environmental stress, and competing demands for land, agriculture, and aquatic resources.

Sherman Robinson of the Globalisation team and Lawrence Haddad, Director of IDS, are members of the Lead Expert Group. Dirk Willenbockel of the Globalisation Team also worked on background research supporting the project.

The project's final report was launched in January 2011.

• IDS key contact: Sherman Robinson
• Project dates: January 2009 - January 2011
• Project status: Open
• Funder: Government Office for Science

Researchers

• Lawrence Haddad
• Sherman Robinson
• Dirk Willenbockel

Selected Outputs

• Foresight (2011) 'The Future of Food and Farming: Final Project Report' , London: Government Office for Science
• Reilly, M. and Willenbockel, D. (2010) 'Managing Uncertainty: A Review of Food System Scenario Analysis and Modelling', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series B 365.1554:3049-63
• Godfray, H.C.J., Beddington, J.R., Crute, I.R., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J.F., Nisbett, N., Robinson, S., Toulmin, C. and Whiteley, R. (2010) 'The Future of the Global Food System', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365.1554:2769-77, London: Royal Society Publishing
• Godfray, H.C.J., Beddington, J.R., Crute, I.R., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J.F., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, S.M. and Toulmin, C. (2010) 'Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People', Science 327:812-18

Related projects

• Foresight Project Global Food and Farming Futures: Food System Scenarios and Modelling (2009)