In this Food Thinkers webinar, Jane Davidson will draw upon her experience as a former Welsh Labour politician and author of the book ‘#futuregen - Lessons from a small country’ to provide unique insights into how food features on political agendas. The talk will explain how The Wales Net Zero Challenge Group worked to accelerate climate responses in Wales. The Group’s outputs were published in autumn 2024 with the aim of influencing manifesto commitments for the Welsh General Election in May 2026. A key report focused on food [PDF]. Jane will review the underpinning academic evidence and look at the political parties' commitments as they go into the election on 7th May 2026.

Jane Davidson is on a mission to mainstream sustainability. Her knowledge and passion were forged as a Welsh Government minister, university Pro Vice-Chancellor and land restorer. She is author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country, Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), Vice-President at Garden Organic, and Patron of the Chartered Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Managers. From 2022-2024, she chaired the Wales Net Zero 2035 Group, reporting in September 2024. From 2011-2019, she led on sustainability at UWTSD. From 2000 - 2011, she was Cabinet Minister for Education, then Environment and Sustainability in Wales where she proposed legislation to put sustainability at the heart of government: the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act became law in 2015. She is a RSA Fellow and previous guest faculty on the Executive Education for Sustainability Leadership programme at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.