If you want to know how cashew apples can be turned into beautiful burgers, or how the millions of tonnes of waste from coffee cherries can be turned into nutrient rich drinks, you will love this episode of Table Talk. Join the conversation to understand how the current relationship between sustainability and consumers is changing - and how an innovative, sustainable supply chain can deliver exciting, healthier, nutritious, traceable and safe food to satisfy changing consumer needs.

Table Talk

178: People power: intriguing ways that consumers are creating a better food system

In this podcast we are joined by barley experts and enthusiasts EverGrain, an ingredients company supplying nutrient dense barley for plant-based products whilst delivering circularity in the food system. How can barley help formulators deliver higher protein and fibres to meet growing consumer demand? What unique role does barley play in supporting sustainability and circularity? 

177: Uncovering the power of barley for plant-based innovation

The plant-based market is absolutely booming, with more and more consumers choosing plant-based foods and meat alternatives as they look to reduce their impact on the climate and improve their health. While the taste and texture of plant-based products has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years, is it still a barrier to some consumers who might make flexitarian choices otherwise? In this podcast we join the plant-based experts from Barentz, an ingredients company supplying plant based ingredients for plant based product concepts, to find out how brands can improve texture and taste of their products. What innovations are available for producers, and why is texture so important to our overall enjoyment of food? Host Stefan Gates is joined by Tracey Sanderson, Managing Director, Sensory Dimensions, Mariano Vasconcellos, Technical Director – Food, Barentz and Angela Whitney, Area Manager, Barentz to explore our senses and how they impact the popularity of plant-based products. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About our panel Tracey Sanderson BSc, CSci, RSensSci Tracey is Managing Director at Sensory Dimensions where she has worked since 2010. In her role she supports clients across the food, personal care, home, and healthcare sectors to create successful products and packaging and maximise competitive advantage. Prior to Sensory Dimensions, Tracey worked at the University of Reading as a business advisor to the Life Sciences sector, and before that in Sensory and Consumer Science with RSSL/Cadbury and Leatherhead Food Research. Angela Whitney, Area Manager, Barentz Angela has worked for more than 30 years in the UK Food Industry for both manufacturers and for the last 17 years for a Food Ingredient Distribution business introducing a range of concepts and functional ingredients to market. With a degree in Agriculture and Plant Science she has spent most of her career in sales, product management and senior management roles. Mariano Vasconcellos, Technical Director – Food, Barentz Mariano Vasconcellos is Technical Director of Food at Barentz International and studied Food technology in the Netherlands. Mariano started his career at Unilever and conducted research on lipids and fat-replacers. He continued working at this multinational consumer goods company filling roles from Culinary Development manager to Global Savoury Development manager. After 15 years at Unilever, Mariano moved to HJ Heinz to work as their Technical Brand Manager. In August 2010 Mariano took on the role as Technical Director of Food at Barentz International in which he is now present for more than 11 years, being responsible for the application capabilities within the Barentz Group. Mariano has extensive knowledge about food technology and is a noteworthy industry expert when it comes to innovative and trend-setting solutions. 

176: Will taste and texture innovations encourage more consumers to go plant-based?

Last July, Mintel labelled collagen a ‘hero ingredient’, with the global market set to hit €828.6m by 2023. What is behind the growing consumer demand for supplements, and how is the trend for ‘beauty from within’ driving significant growth in the collagen market. This episode, in partnership with BioCell Technology, brings together a panel of experts to help explain how the demand for collagen has exploded, and why brands are looking at collagen instead of other products such as whey. Joining host Stefan Gates are Suhail Ishaq, President, BioCell Technology LLC Nathan Gray, Science and Technical Director, Collagen Stewardship Alliance and Rowena Thomson, Nutrition Science Communications Manager, Solgar International, The Bountiful Company. Together they’ll explain why self care is so important for consumers right now, especially following COVID-19, and how collagen can help support healthy ageing and overall wellbeing. About our panel Suhail Ishaq, President, BioCell Technology LLC Suhail Ishaq, President of BioCell Technology, is a business executive with over 25 years of experience in the nutraceutical industry. His in-depth knowledge of food, drug, and cosmetic research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance have made him one of the most sought‐after professionals in the dietary supplement industry. Suhail is an anti-aging pioneer and leading innovator with several patents surrounding hydrolyzed collagen type II, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid compositions for health and beauty. He's routinely quoted in trade and scientific publications internationally. Nathan Gray, Science and Technical Director, Collagen Stewardship Alliance Nathan Gray is an industry analyst and consultant with more than a decade of experience in the food and nutrition space and more than 15 years in media and science communication. An experienced communicator and strategic connector, Nathan brings with a wealth of experience and expertise in food technology, nutrition science and wellness trends. As an industry thought leader, he is passionate about innovation and scientific discovery in nutrition – and in particular the microbiome and sports nutrition categories. Nathan has a BSc Human Biosciences from the University of Plymouth, UK, where he specialised in exercise nutrition, immunology and science communication. After this he gained a postgraduate certification in Science and Environmental Journalism at the University of Lincoln, UK, where he worked on radio and TV productions in addition to online and print journalism. Rowena Thomson, Nutrition Science Communications Manager, Solgar International, The Bountiful Company  Rowena Thomson brings over 9 years of international expertise communicating science and health benefits at The Bountiful Company for the Solgar Brand. Her in-depth knowledge of food supplements, botanical ingredients and the consumer goods industry has supported award-winning innovation launches, business-to-business educational programmes and helps communicate complex and technical information to distributors, retailers and commercial teams.

175: Why are people so excited about collagen?

When you think of Japanese food it’s unlikely that you’d think of plant-based meat alternatives. With a diet rich in fish and meat you’re more likely to think of Wagyu beef or some freshly made sushi delicacy, however the scene in Japan is changing thanks to food-tech start-ups like Next Meats. With products like the NEXT Egg 1.0, a dairy-free egg product, and the NEXT Yakiniku barbecue meat alternative products the company is looking to deliver tasty meat and dairy alternatives to the world from Japan. On this episode we’re joined by Saaya Matsukubo, US Area Manager, Next Meat, who will explain the rich plant-based culture that has existed in Japan for a long time,  how the market for plant-based meat alternatives is growing there, and their ambitions for global expansion for their brand. Join us to hear how Japan might be the perfect location for the next explosion of plant-based innovation. About Next Meats Next Meats Co, the alternative meat venture company from Tokyo, is known for commercialising the world's first vegan Japanese barbecue meat analogues—the NEXT Yakiniku series, as well as the NEXT Gyudon, which is a vegan simulation of the traditional Japanese beef bowl. Based in Tokyo, Next Meats is a food-tech venture company that specialises in the research and development of Japanese-style alternative meat products. Its journey of product development began in 2017, and the company was officially established in June of 2020. In December 2020 they announced their partnership with Toyota- Tsusho Corporation, and was listed on the American OTCBB in January of 2021. The company is currently rapidly expanding their presence to over 9 countries. They plan to research various types of alternative proteins in the future and aim to replace all animal meats by 2050. 

174: Will Japan become the new centre for plant-based innovation?

In this episode we cast our eyes toward Singapore, home of a rapidly growing food and agri-tech sector. Why is food tech booming in Singapore? What start-ups are disrupting the future of food in the region? What is making investors so excited when it comes to innovation in the country? Join us to find out! From pioneering cellular meat tech to plant-based innovation centres, we'll discover why Singapore has proven such a fertile ground for next-gen solutions to the challenges our food systems face. Providing their unique insight and perspective are Dilys Boey, Assistant CEO, Enterprise Singapore and Andrew Ive, Founder, Big Idea Ventures. They'll explain the reasons why Singapore is leading the way on food and agri tech and what exciting things are coming from the investment that's being made in the country. About our panel Dilys Boey, Assistant CEO, Enterprise Singapore Ms Dilys Boey is Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Singapore, overseeing industry development of the Lifestyle & Consumer, Food and AgriTech sectors. Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. The agency works with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups, and builds trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards. Prior to joining Enterprise Singapore, Dilys was a Partner and ASEAN People Advisory Services Leader at Ernst & Young (EY) and has over 25 years of management consulting experience working with corporations and the public sector on people, culture and organisation priorities. Andrew Ive, Founder, Big Idea Ventures Founder / GP of Big Idea Ventures, a Fund Manager focused on Solving the World's Greatest Challenges by Backing the World's Best Entrepreneurs. Building US & Asia based Funds and Businesses to dramatically improve the world. Investor, Speaker, Writer, Business Leader. Focused on investing in companies which have the potentially to have a global impact on Climate Change, Conversation, Food Waste, Plastics and Water in the Food Supply Chain, Animal Welfare and Personal Health. We need to flatten the curve of Climate Change - it's a Global Imperative. 

173: Why is food tech booming in Singapore?

When you think of plant protein you immediately think of vegan food, right? Yet plant protein is also being used to make meat products healthier and more sustainable. Producing animal protein requires considerably more resources than plant protein. Using plants to enhance the meat most people already enjoy is a great way to reduce the meat products’ carbon footprint. In this episode of Table Talk we join Paul Shapiro, CEO, The Better Meat Company, to discover how plant protein can be used effectively in meat products as well as in 100% plant-based applications. “If you contemplate that the best tasting frozen chicken nugget in America is only 50% chicken, just imagine what we could do if every chicken manufacturer in the country were utilising these products,” said Paul Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of The Better Meat Co. “We’re using a combination of plant protein, fibre, fat and flavours that when combined in proprietary ways help to seamlessly blend directly into meat and improve on taste. That’s the real key for us. We are not subtracting from taste or texture. We’re actually enhancing it.” Join us for a fascinating look at how plant protein is being used in new and innovative ways to increase sustainability on Table Talk. Paul Shapiro, CEO, The Better Meat Company Paul Shapiro is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World (published by Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books in 2018). He's also the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability. He's been interviewed by hundreds of news outlets from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson as an authority on food and agriculture sustainability. He’s also published hundreds of articles in publications ranging from daily newspapers like the Washington Post to pop-sci publications like Scientific American to magazines like FORTUNE to academic journals. 

172: Could plant protein create Better Meat?

In the latest in a series of episodes focused on Net Zero, and its impact on food industry manufacturers, producers and retailers, we join Aditi Sen, Policy Lead at Oxfam to find out whether the focus on net zero is distracting us from the priority of cutting emissions to reduce our impact on the environment. Aditi co-authored Oxfam’s ‘Tightening the Net’ report which discovered that many governments are hiding behind unreliable, unrealistic and unproven carbon removal schemes to meet their 2050 goals. Is net zero causing more of a distraction than a help as we address climate change? Join host Stefan Gates as he chats to Aditi, and discovers the detail and research that has gone into Oxfam’s report, and what can be done next to effect real change.  About Aditi Sen Aditi Sen, Policy Lead, Oxfam Working at the intersection of climate change, sustainability, and international development and advancing equity in climate solutions. Broad experience in policy analysis and advocacy, program design and management, and working with a diverse range of stakeholders. About the Tightening the Net report Oxfam’s report Tightening the Net says that too many governments and corporations are hiding behind unreliable, unproven and unrealistic ’carbon removal’ schemes in order to claim their 2050 climate change plans will be ‘net zero’.  Their sudden rush of ‘net zero’ promises are relying too much on vast swathes of land to plant trees in order to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. At the same time, they are failing to cut emissions quickly or deeply enough to avert catastrophic climate breakdown.  To limit warming below 1.5°C and prevent irreversible damage from climate change, the world collectively should be on track to reduce carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2010 levels, with the sharpest cuts being made by the biggest emitters. Countries’ current plans to cut emissions are nowhere near, totalling around 1 per cent reduction in global emissions by 2030 according to the most recent stocktake.  The climate crisis is already devastating agriculture globally. It is driving worsening humanitarian crises, hunger and migration. People living in poverty, particularly women farmers and Indigenous people, are being affected first and worst. It is undermining efforts to tackle poverty around the world.  Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB, said: “Too many companies and governments are hiding behind the smokescreen of ‘net zero’ to continue dirty business-as-usual activities.  “A prime example of the doublethink we are seeing is the oil and gas sector trying to justify its ongoing extraction of fossil fuels by promising unrealistic carbon removal schemes that require ludicrous amounts of land.  “Net zero targets are vital to tackling climate change. Some governments and companies are taking bold action to cut carbon emissions but there are currently too few to give us a realistic chance of averting climate catastrophe and the widespread hunger and devastation that come with it.  “The UK Government needs to be a credible broker for a deal that can stop the planet overheating when it hosts the COP26 climate talks in November – so it is imperative that it stops licensing new oil and gas in the North Sea, including a possible new oilfield near the Shetland Islands.”

171: Is Net Zero distracting us from the real work needed to tackle climate change?

Over 3,100 listeners from across the world of food, nutrition and health joined the Table Talk community in August, and in a stellar month on the podcast we unpacked some of the most important challenges for food, drink, diet, sustainability and nutrition. The top trending Table Talk episodes in August included a look at how Edlong are perfecting their plant-based cheese flavours by incorporating regional tastes and nuances, how the latest research is exploding some important myths about the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and how the food industry can come together to achieve net zero by 2040, ten years ahead of national targets. Each week Table Talk connects you to the key thinkers and change-makers from food and drink, sharing future trends and giving you a glimpse of the science-backed research that will shape how we eat. Follow on Apple, Spotify or your preferred platform to hear each new episode each week and join a community of more than 75,000 food industry professionals getting a head start on future trends with Table Talk. 

170: From perfecting plant-based flavours to achieving net zero: what's trending on Table Talk?

In the second of our Behind the Brand series, we catch up with Food Matters Live Awards Innovative natural and organic product of the year winner, Melligel, and find out how the brand behind it, Mellifera, has created a sports nutrition supplement from organic honey.  What motivated them to head down this path, and what are the potentials for organic honey within the sports nutrition sector? Join the conversation on Table Talk to find out. About MelliGEL by Mellifera Ltd. Carbohydrate is needed to fuel almost every type of activity as the amount of glycogen has a direct effect on physical and mental performance. Organic honey with its predominantly carb content is first class source used from the time of the first Olympian runners of the ancient Greece. Nowadays, there is numerous scientific documents and evidence that honey is the perfect fuel to consume before exercise in order to achieve both fast energy and endurance. MelliGEL is the first 100% organic certified energy gel, which is also certified by Informed Sport as a product suitable for professional athletes. It’s all natural and raw food based on pure honey, herbal extracts, and superfoods which deliver the flavor – Raspberry, Spirulina, GingerCherry, Matcha, Guarana, CacaoMint, or Strawberry. MelliGEL provides the much needed energy for athletes and active people without the burden of any chemicals, GMO, and artificial additives. In addition, it stimulates immunity as honey and the other ingredients are bursting with enzymes, polyphenols, minerals, antioxidants, and adaptogens. Immediately after its launch in its home country (Bulgaria) it was recognized by the Bulgarian Tennis Federation as main sport nutrition for the national teams of professional tennis players. Acknowledgment of the Official partnership can be seen on https://bgtennis.bg/. 

169: How a beekeeper launched a sports nutrition brand

What are the leading global food and agtech scenes? In this episode of Table Talk we join experts from the food and agtech investment community to shed some light on how countries are helping to support innovation and disruption and find out what is the secret to success. Joining host Stefan Gates are Christian Guba, Associate, Atlantic Foods Ivan Farneti, Co-Founder, Five Seasons Ventures and Nadav Berger, Founder & Managing Director, Peakbridge VC. Join the conversation to find out what different countries are doing to nurture food and agtech start-ups in this fascinating look at the future of food. About our panel Christian Guba, Associate, Atlantic Foods Christian is an Investor with Atlantic Food Labs, an early-stage VC Fund & Venture Studio based in Berlin. Atlantic Food Labs invests in ambitious and mission-driven startups along the entire food value chain and has backed companies such as Gorillas, Formo, Mushlabs or Infarm. Christian gained a Master in Management from HHL Leipzig and before joining Atlantic Food Labs he worked with btov Partners, BCG Digital Ventures, and Google. Ivan Farneti, Co-Founder, Five Seasons Ventures Ivan has been an active venture capital investor for the last 20 years and he is the co-founding Partner of Five Seasons Ventures, the first European venture fund fully focused on Foodtech. He is passionate about product and technology innovation aimed at solving big challenges in the food industry: from alternative sources of proteins, to functional foods, from new models of food distribution to the reduction of food waste. At Five Seasons he invested in gene editing company Tropic Biosciences, pet nutrition company Butternut Box and three more companies yet to be announced. His experience from previous venture funds in London, includes structuring venture investments, organisational and strategy development, setting up governance for growth and planning for successful exits. He was an early stage investor in Everbridge, Inc. (Nasdaq: EVBG), Tridion BV (acquired by SDL Plc), Gomez, Inc. (acquired by Compuware), Plazes AG (acquired by Nokia), among others. In his spare time he enjoys family life, cooking, fly fishing, and practicing karate and jiu jitsu with his son Adam Nadav Berger, Founder & Managing Director, Peakbridge VC Coming from a Third generation food industrialist family , Nadav has actively built many companies specialising in food applications, marketing and distribution. In 2008, Nadav co-founded the food applications lab FoodLab. The innovative developments at FoodLab lead to founding FoodLab Capital, a premier seed fund. The successful portfolio includes DouxMatok, InnovoPro, NextFerm and SimpleOrder (exited). After that Nadav co-founded and is the managing Partner of PeakBridge, a fund manager managing NEWtrition (Nick's, TasteWise, Prenexus, UKKO..)– a series A+ Global fund for FoodTech and FoodSparks® – the 1st. European seed fund with collaboration with the EIT Food. Nadav holds a B.A in economics and political science from Tel Aviv University and an EMBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. 

168: What are the global hotspots for food and agtech?

In this new series we get personal with the people behind the brands, with the debut episode focusing on Beau’s Gelato. We join Co-Founder and CEO Joseph Eyre to find out how two partners with no previous experience in the food industry, one with a background in nursing the other in finance, came to start an award winning plant-based gelato brand. We discuss what made them take the plunge and start a business in an industry that was so alien to them, what fuels their passion and what comes next as they scale their brand. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About Beau’s Gelato Beau’s Gelato was born out of our shared passion for travel, discovery and – most importantly – great food. Prior to setting up Beau’s we travelled extensively, searching high and low for vegan dishes that were good enough to write home about. Along the way, we were lucky enough to meet many incredible artisans doing amazing things with vegan ingredients. Inspired, we decided we would go back and craft our own contribution to the plant-based world: a fantastic vegan ice cream that everyone could indulge in and feel great about. At the time that we made our decision, the vegan wave was still very much in its infancy. In stark contrast to all the exciting and interesting plant-based foods that we tasted on our travels, the scant options and bland fare that was available to us back in the UK left us cold. We could see that vegan food was being grossly undersold – and wanted to do something about it. With backgrounds in nursing and finance, there was a huge learning curve for us to go through before we could make a product as good as those we’d sampled abroad. Keen to learn more, we reached out to the former owner of a highly successful vegan ice cream parlour which operated in New York, who helped us to refine our initial development and recipe research, as well as providing valuable commercial advice for starting out. From all of this emerged Beau’s Gelato: an authentic Italian-style ice cream made without any animal products. In keeping with the Italian heritage we learnt in Bologna, we created many of the classic household flavours that everyone knows and loves. Beau’s Gelato were the 2021 Food Matters Live Awards Plant Based Product of the Year winner.

167: From the world of finance to award-winning gelato makers: the unusual success story behind Beau’s Gelato

Healthy soil is full of living organisms that help to generate the nutrients crops need to grow. But many conventional farming practices inadvertently degrade soil health over time, which in turn can reduce crop yields. Regenerative Agriculture aims to capture carbon in soil and aboveground biomass, reversing current global trends of atmospheric accumulation. At the same time, it offers increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health and vitality for farming and ranching communities. To explore regenerative agriculture and to find out the impact it could have on our environment, we once again, in partnership with Anglo American, join experts in the field to share their insight and experience. We speak to Ross Mitchell, Head of Agronomy and Technical Services, Anglo American Crop Nutrients and Paul Davey, seventh generation farmer and conservation agriculture contractor. Find out how we can regenerate our agriculture to improve sustainability in the future. About our panel Ross Mitchell, Head of Agronomy and Technical Services, Anglo American Crop Nutrients Ross runs a global agronomy team overseeing the development of POLY4 in support of the company’s commercial contracts. With over 30-years experience, Ross has a wide spectrum of knowledge of agricultural practices ranging from the research of nutrient and pesticide dynamics in soil to seed production. Before joining Anglo American, Ross specialised for eight years in sugar production – initially for large and smallholder farmers in China followed by large new farms in North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Paul Davey, Farmer Paul Davey is a seventh generation farmer and conservation agriculture contractor. His wife manages their wholesale distribution and retail business which specialises in food, drinks and homeware made in Lincolnshire, UK. They run a shop in Lincoln which has an online home delivery service. The farm specialises in seed production growing cereals, oilseeds, grass seeds and pulses, including vining peas for Birds Eye. A lambing flock of Lleyn ewes is run in conjunction with the arable enterprises and the farm pursues a strategy of healthy soils producing heathy plants and healthy food. Paul was a finalist in the Soil Farmer of the Year competition 2019.

166: Can regenerative agriculture fix our food system?

Intermittent fasting has been accepted for many years as a fast and effective way to lose weight, in fact Michael Moseley has published a number of best sellers on the 5:2 diet. However, a new and recently published study looks at the effects of fasting and lower energy intake in lean people. This podcast will explore the results of the study and what this means for our understanding of the success of intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool. "Ultimately, fasting did result in weight loss in our experiment, so it is true to say that it was an effective approach in that regard," said James Betts, professor of metabolic physiology at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom and senior author of the new study. "However, we can confidently say it was not better than standard dieting in achieving that outcome and there were no other benefits specific to fasting within the context of our study." In this episode of Table Talk we speak to Professor James Betts to find out about the study, and what it means for our understanding of nutrition, weight loss and health. Join the conversation on Table Talk. About Professor James Betts James Betts, Professor of Metabolic Physiology, University of Bath, Co-Director, Centre for Nutrition, Exercise & Metabolism, Chair of the Department for Health Research Ethics Committee James is Professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Bath, where he is Co-Director of the Centre for Nutrition, Exercise & Metabolism and Chair of the Department for Health Research Ethics Committee. His research employs randomised controlled trials to study the effects of nutrition on metabolic regulation, the findings of which have been published in scientific papers in top-ranking scholarly journals. A particular focus of his work has been to examine the links between nutrient timing and human health, for which James was awarded the Nutrition Society Cuthbertson Medal at the Royal Society of Medicine for 'excellence in clinical nutrition and metabolism research'. James contributes widely within the University, having supervised many doctoral students through their research training; his integration of research into teaching was recognised by the University's Mary Tasker Award for excellence in teaching.

165: Busting the myths about intermittent fasting

The UN has described our degradation of soil being 'as important as climate change' yet soil is often overlooked when we talk about the threats to future generations. It's easy to degrade soil quickly, but not easy to repair the damage that is caused so what can be done to protect our precious resource for agriculture in the future? To find out we've assembled a panel of experts including Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF, Carl Edwards, Director of Education and Public Engagement, LEAF, and Dr Felicity Crotty, Lecturer in Soil Science, Royal Agricultural University. We'll discuss the scale of the challenge we face, what is happening now to raise awareness of the issues we're facing, and what we can do to fix our agriculture system. Join us for a fascinating and lively debate on Table Talk. About our panel Caroline Drummond, CEO, LEAF Caroline Drummond has been Chief Executive of LEAF since it started in 1991. After graduating in Agriculture she worked on farms in the UK and overseas before joining LEAF. She was awarded an MBE for services to the agricultural industry in 2009 and has a Doctor of Science honoris causa (Hon DSc) from Harper Adams University. Caroline is a CHAP Board member, a Nuffield Scholar and Honorary Fellow for the Society of the Environment. Carl Edwards – LEAF Education & Public Engagement Director Carl leads LEAF’s ambitious education and public engagement strategy that is enabling schools to enrich their curriculum and increase public understanding of our modern farming industry. Carl is ensuring that the agricultural industry listens to the voice of young people in shaping how we work with our future generation; being at the forefront of promoting an understanding of the Agricultural industry by teenagers, a long-overlooked audience. Previously, Carl was an Assistant Principal and completed his Master of Education degree at the University of Cambridge in 2014, which focused on improving literacy and attainment for Geography students at GCSE level. Carl was made a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts in 2018 in light of his commitment to sustainability and creating opportunities for greater engagement between communities, farming and the countryside. Dr Felicity Crotty, Lecturer in Soil Science, Royal Agricultural University Dr Felicity Crotty has been researching soil biology and soil health for the last twelve years. Felicity joined the Royal Agricultural University as a Lecturer in Soil Science and Ecology in 2018. She is a soil ecologist working with the aim of promoting soil health and sustainable agriculture and is particularly interested in investigating how agricultural management effects soil quality, focusing on soil biology (earthworms, springtails, mites and nematodes), physics (compaction and water infiltration) and chemistry (N, P, K and other nutrients). Through combining her expertise in all three areas of soil science she is trying to disentangle the real impact different management strategies have on soil health and farming sustainably. Felicity has current projects investigating the use of AI to identify earthworm casts, using sensors to detect earthworm movements in the field and monetising soil health. Felicity previously worked as the Soil Scientist at the Allerton Project (Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust) working on the Sustainable Intensification Research Platform (SIP), SoilCare project (EU Horizon 2020), and Soil Biology & Soil Health Partnership (AHDB). Prior to this, she was a Post-doc at Aberystwyth University working on the PROSOIL and SUREROOT projects; she spent a year as a Post-Doc in Canada at Dalhousie University (Halifax) and Saskatchewan University (Saskatoon), experimenting on the fungal feeding channel within the soil food web. She obtained her PhD at Rothamsted Research (North Wyke) investigating the passage of carbon and nitrogen through the soil food web. 

164: Why we need to talk about soil

On each episode of Table Talk we dive deeper into the unanswered questions shaping the food and drink landscape. Expect to hear from industry leaders, influencers and innovators on the ground driving the change each and every day. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter by tagging us @foodmatterslive or keep up to date with Table Talk on foodmatterslive.com.

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