On 25th June, with just over a week to go until the General Election our experts will reflect on the growing consensus for food system change, from the Hope Farm Statement, to The Food Conversation, and Farming Voices and other aligned campaigns. 

The panel will discuss whether the political manifestos are bold and ambitious enough in response to calls from progressive businesses, farmers and citizens and explore where there is room to push further for more substantial change. 

Speakers:  

Nick Stace, Head of sustainability and social purpose for Barclays UK, serving on the ExCo. Chair the Conduit Club Holding Company and advisor to Rewired Earth.

Anna Taylor joined The Food Foundation as its first Executive Director at the beginning of June 2015 after five years at the Department for International Development. At DFID, Anna led the policy team on nutrition and supported the delivery of the UK’s global commitments to tackle undernutrition. Before joining DFID, Anna worked for a number of international organisations including Save the Children and UNICEF and has been at the forefront of international leadership on nutrition for several years, supporting programmes in a wide range of contexts in Africa and South Asia. Anna has also worked for the UK Department of Health. In 2014 Anna was awarded an OBE for her work to address the global burden of undernutrition. She did a MSc in Human Nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1994. In May 2017 Anna became a member of the London Food Board to advise the Mayor of London and the GLA on the food matters that affect Londoners. She is a Board member for Veg Power and an advisor to the International Food Policy Research Institute. She served as Chief Independent Adviser to Henry Dimbleby for the development of the National Food Strategy published in 2021.’

Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he demonstrated that business can profit through purpose, delivering shareholder returns of 290% while the company consistently ranked 1st in the world for sustainability. Today he works across a range of organisations to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which he helped develop.  

Sue Pritchard is the Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Sue leads the organisation in its mission to bring people together to act on the climate, nature and health crises, through fairer and more sustainable food systems, and a just transition for rural communities and the countryside. Sue’s background is in combined research and practice in leadership and organisation development for systems change, working with leaders across public, private and not for profit organisations, especially on complex partnership projects. She is a Trustee of CoFarm Foundation and is an independent Governor at Royal Agricultural University. Living on an organic farm in Wales, Sue and her family raise livestock and farm for conservation.

Henry Mance is the Financial Times chief features writer, and author of the book How to Love Animals and Protect our Planet. He is passionate about rethinking our relationship with other species, especially in terms of what we eat and how we protect ecosystems. Before joining the FT in 2010, he was a policy researcher at a biodiversity thinktank in Colombia.

James Mayer, President UK and Ireland at Danone.