In November 2025, the UK’s leading scientists and experts briefed Westminster on what the climate and nature crisis means for food, health, national security and the economy. The People’s Emergency Briefing is the film made from that briefing. It is now being screened across the UK, and this month we are adding our own screening to the series.
Paul Behrens presented the evidence on food security at Westminster. After the film he will join us to discuss what the evidence means for the UK food system, what has changed since November, and where the response needs to go next.
What does the briefing tell us about the risks to UK food supply? What would an emergency-level response look like for food? And what can organisations working on food resilience do now?
Programme: 11.00 Welcome | 11.05 Film: The People’s Emergency Briefing (approx. 50 minutes) | 11.55 Discussion and Q&A with Paul Behrens, chaired by Sarah Bridle | 12.30 Close
The film is recommended for ages 16 and over.
About Paul:
Paul Behrens is a British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. Paul’s research focuses on the implications of rapid food system transformations in a rapidly changing world. Paul is working on integrated models to assess the environmental and social impacts of such transitions on both consumers and producers. His research and writing on climate, energy, and food, has appeared in scientific journals and media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Thomson Reuters, Politico, Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, PNAS, Nature Food, and Nature Communications. Paul’s popular science book, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science describes humanity’s current trajectory and possible futures in paired chapters of pessimism and hope, on topics including the economy, energy, land and population.
About Sarah (chair):
Sarah Bridle is Co-founder and Director at Root and Reason, and Professor of Food, Climate and Society at the University of York. Her research covers the environmental impact of food and the vulnerability of the UK food system to climate and other shocks. Sarah was Food and Land Use System Fellow in the Chief Scientific Adviser’s Office at DEFRA in 2021 and co-led the UKRI Agri-Food for Net Zero Network+. Sarah is the author of Food and Climate Change – Without the Hot Air, which sets out the climate impacts of different dietary choices.
