Join us for a talk with Professor Harry West exploring the concept of terroir.Title: How 'place-based are terroir products?: reflections on scale, movement and changeAbstract: The terroir concept suggests that some food and drink products profoundly express the environments in which they are made, including the natural ecology and the 'local knowledge' of producers who have historically worked within it. The terroir idea also underpins geographical indication regimes which reserve the use of designated place names for producers working within delineated regions and following agreed-upon methods. But how far can terroir claims be extended before they unravel? In this talk I explore the limits of terroir through presentation of two bodies of research - the first with apple cide makers in Devon, England, and the second with artisan cheese makers in several European countries. I ask to what extend terroir claims hold when applied to opposide ends of a scale continuum - on the one side to micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts etc) that are essential to food and drink ecologies of production, and on the other side to macro-cultural phenomena (various forms of expressive culture, savoire-faire, and social identity) that are essential to local productive systems. I conclude that, while terroir serves a vital purpose in calling attention to the importance of place, we must not lose sight of the way that terroir products and the places in which they are made reflect movement and change.Harry G. West is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Exeter, with expertise in agrarian history and political economy, and food and cultural heritage. His research explores artisan cheesemaking and the cultural economy, including how cheesemakers have embraced and transformed the idea of terroir, and how they have adopted innovative methods while reproducing cheesemaking traditions in changing historical contexts. His publications on these themes include numerous journal articles and book chapters. He is Convener of the Masters in Food Studies, Co-Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research, and Lead of Exeter Food: A University Research Network.Register to join online or in-person.

Feeding Liverpool is entering a new chapter in its mission to tackle hunger and food insecurity across the city. We are strengthening our commitment to embedding Good Food principles in every aspect of Liverpool’s food system.We are recruiting a Policy Coordinator/Lead – a strategic and collaborative thinker who will work closely with Liverpool City Council and a wide range of partners to shape food policy and drive systemic change. This role will lead initiatives to improve food provision for children and young people, influence council policies, and secure funding to advance the goals of the Good Food Plan.We are a stable, well-funded organisation with a dynamic team, a committed Trustee board and a vibrant network of partners. Our work is rooted in the lived experience of Liverpool’s communities – from those facing food insecurity to growers, educators, businesses and community organisations. We are proud to be seen as a national exemplar for alliance-based approaches to food justice.Yet challenges remain: Liverpool continues to face high levels of food insecurity and health inequality, and the community food movement is under pressure from inflation and supply chain issues. The Policy Coordinator/Lead will play a key role in addressing these challenges by embedding Good Food principles across council departments, leading strategic initiatives and amplifying the voices of our communities.We encourage candidates who are passionate about food justice, policy innovation and community-led change to apply. You will be based in or near Liverpool, with the flexibility to work remotely 1 – 2 days per week, and will be expected to engage actively with our communities and stakeholders.We also welcome expressions of interest from organisations who may wish to explore the secondment of a member of their staff into this role. Feeding Liverpool values cross-sector collaboration and recognises the potential for shared learning and impact through secondment arrangements. If your organisation is interested in exploring this opportunity, please get in touch to discuss how we might work together.Deadline: Sunday 9th November at 11:59pmThe job description and specification for this role can be found here.Please submit applications and expressions of interest to Gentian Khan. 

 As COP30 approaches, questions about the role of food systems in global climate negotiations are more urgent than ever. Despite being responsible for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions and being especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, food systems have long remained on the margins of COP discussions, sidelined to external pavilions and parallel sessions rather than featured on the main stage.In this TABLE event, we ask our panelists to envision a gathering of world leaders and decisionmakers in the near future that adequately weighs the role of food systems in climate change and understands the measures needed to shift diets in a sustainable way and scale back food systems’ impact on the environment. We’ll explore how food systems could gain stronger recognition at COP30 and beyond. What would an ambitious, food-centered climate agenda look like? Drawing on their expertise and the most recent evidence, such as the EAT-Lancet report, our panel will discuss how rethinking food could reshape these international conversations.Confirmed Panelists:Senni Alho, Innovations Officer, Clim-EATSigrid Wertheim-Heck, Associate Professor in Global Food System Sustainability at the Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University & ResearchTamsir Sallah, Member of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences (IAAS World) and the Former Exchange Coordinator of IAAS NetherlandsJillian Student (moderator), Knowledge integrator and researcher on transdisciplinary research and education, Wageningen University & ResearchPlease note: Event starts at 17:15 CEST local time (in the Netherlands) and but is listed as 16:15 BST here for our online audience in London.

 The first United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP1) was held in 1995 in Berlin, thirty years ago. Since then, the scale and attention paid to this annual conference has expanded, along with goals for, and expectations of it. The conference has seen many landmark negotiations and agreements, and, as evidence about the drivers and impact of climate change has grown, the discussions in this space have evolved.But has this evolution progressed in an effective direction? And what about food? How have food systems been integrated (or excluded) from these climate-focused discussions over time?In this TABLE event, we will look back on what has been achieved in advancing sustainable food systems over the last thirty years, and what role COP discussions have played here, in raising food’s profile or in incentivising actual progress.As for the present and the future, what needs to be achieved this year at COP30? And where do we hope we will be in 30 years’ time? How might we get there, and what can future COPs do to help make this happen?Join our panel of thinkers and doers at this TABLE event, who bring their expertise and reflections to bear on the history, present and future of these international climate negotiations and the evolving food system landscape.Confirmed panelists:Jess Fanzo (Food for Humanity Initiative, Columbia University)Oliver Camp (GAIN)Matheus Alves Zanella (Global Alliance for the Future of Food)

This Food Thinker’s webinar will focus on the political stakes of food industry campaigns that treat public concerns about processed food as rooted in misinformation. It will illustrate how industry uses scientific authority to counter public worries and undermines policy action. Drawing upon the content of her recently published book ‘Real Food, Real Facts: Processed Food and the Politics of Knowledge’, Professor Charlotte Biltekoff will explore the assumptions behind industry-led communication campaigns and highlight how attempts to educate the public with scientific facts have resulted in an anti-political discourse. Consequently, the deeper societal issues surrounding food and health are overlooked and left unaddressed.The talk will be followed by an online Q&A session.Charlotte Biltekoff is Professor of American Studies and Food Science & Technology and Darrell Corti Endowed Professor in Food, Wine and Culture at the University of California, Davis, where she builds bridges between scientific and cultural approaches to questions about food and health. Her expertise centres on understanding where ideas about “good” and “bad” food come from and the social and cultural role they play. She is author of Real Food, Real Facts: Processed Food and the Politics of Knowledge (2024) and Eating Right in America: The Cultural Politics of Food and Health (2014). She was recently a Co-PI on the UC AFTeR Project, a multidisciplinary research project examining the Bay Area Agri-Food Tech sector.  Her research is interdisciplinary, and she frequently collaborates and communicates across disciplinary differences.  Learn more at www.charlottebiltekoff.com

SOAS University of London is the leading Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East.  SOAS University of London is positioned to play a leading role in reimagining higher education globally, with a new strategic plan in place as the basis for the renewal and revitalisation of the School which commits SOAS to both student responsiveness and research intensity. SOAS is moving towards a new model of international partnerships which is responsive to the transnational character of our global challenges.About the Role:The Critical Research on Industrial Livestock Systems (CRILS) Network aims to connect academics with practitioners (a broad term for non-academic collaborators - civil society and NGOs, activists and artists, investigative journalists, food systems workers, legal scholars, policymakers etc) to develop a critique of the drivers and negative externalities of industrial animal agriculture.The CRILS Network Post Doctoral Research Fellow will deliver online and in-person workshops, convene thematic Working Groups (WG) to advance methodological approaches, and strengthen local networks with the overarching intention of facilitating challenging discussions, sharing research resources (data, expertise, analysis, theories), and building an interdisciplinary evidence base. The job holder will oversee all CRILS activities and communications, apply for further funding, and launch and participate in the CRILS Working Groups.The position offers you the opportunity to develop their own research portfolio in line with CRILS research agenda while working with leading experts in industrial livestock systems. Research could focus on topics such as, but not limited to, the mechanisms of corporate concentration and financialisation of livestock production, labour movements in globalised industrial animal value chains, the political economy and/or ecology of the expansion of industrial animal agriculture in Global South contexts.Over a two-year period, the research fellow will:Lead the delivery of two in-person workshops (spring 2026 and 2027)Facilitate collaborators to deliver online workshops annually (see www.crils.org for example of such workshops)Manage and participate in two Working Groups under supervision of the WG expert leads, including submission of research outputs to a peer review journal and other platformsConduct ongoing network research into prominent academics and practitioners engaged in a critique of industrial animal agricultureManage CRILS communications (written, online, in-person, and website)Attend relevant events, conferences and workshops to represent the CRILS NetworkApply for grant funding to continue CRILS activitiesThis is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious and creative early career researcher to develop research expertise in political economy, political ecology, human geography, critical public health or similar disciplines, as well as project management skills.About the Department:You will work under the supervision of Dr Mehroosh Tak and will be based in the Economics department at SOAS and will benefit from exposure to the wealth of economics, agrarian change and food systems expertise held at the SOAS.About you:The role is a mix of academic research - for which the post holder will be expected to conduct interdisciplinary research as part of an international and multi-sectoral team - and network and events organisation - for which you will be expected to deliver online and in-person events to a high standard and motivate a diverse network of actors to contribute to and participate in CRILS activities.  Experience in writing and translating research for a wide audience is essential, as is knowledge of critical food systems literature and agricultural policy or political economy, especially of the global South. A core focus of CRILS is sharing research in a constructive and discursive setting to ensure that research is relevant, useful and responsive to the situation on the ground, so while this is an academic post, it suits someone with an interest in or experience of policy, campaigns, and public engagement. The researcher should be enthusiastic, proactive and highly motivated, with excellent organisational and interpersonal skills.Informal inquiries are encouraged. Please email Yannis Dafermos yd6@soas.ac.ukTo learn more about the project please visit https://www.crils.org.      You can find further information on the key criteria for the role in the Job Description and Person Specification, along with a full list of duties and responsibilities, which can be found on the SOAS websiteHow to Apply:Please complete the online application form and upload your CV and a supporting statement.Closing date: 29th October 2025 at 11:59 p.m.                                      Interviews to be held: 14th November 2025

We are looking for an enthusiastic researcher to join the HESTIA farm trials team, working on practical solutions to help farmers improve sustainability and contribute to global climate and environmental goals. In this role, you’ll be part of a collaborative team designing useful advice and tools for farmers, managing and analysing agricultural data, and leading your own areas of research. You will be part of a team working on the environmental sustainability of farming, working directly with farmers to collect and understand data, and helping turn research into real-world change. You’ll have experience working in behaviour change, experimental design, farm advice or with data on the environmental impacts of farming. You’ll also write up findings for publications, share results at meetings, and present the team’s work to others.About youYou will hold, or be close to completion, of a PhD/DPhil, together with relevant experience. You should have knowledge and practical experience in farm sustainability and feel confident working with large datasets and work with other members of the team to develop tools or advice for farmers. Experience managing your own research projects, carrying out life cycle assessments - especially in agriculture - and working directly with farmers would be valuable. Knowledge of European farming systems is valuable, as are strong communication skills for writing, presenting, and collaborating.This is a great opportunity to work on meaningful research that supports farmers and contributes to a more sustainable future.

The Ecology, Evolution, Environment & Society (EEES) graduate program at Dartmouth College (New Hampshire, United States) seeks applicants for fully-funded PhD study within the program’s Environment and Society research cluster, beginning in September 2026.  Candidates interested in pursuing critical qualitative research on topics related to restoration, sustainability, food, agriculture, and/or water are especially welcome to apply. Candidates should have a demonstrated capacity for independent, original inquiry and a commitment to interdisciplinary analytical frameworks, such as political ecology and Science and Technology Studies (STS).A Bachelor's or Master's degree in one of the environmental social sciences (e.g., geography, environmental studies, anthropology, or environmental/rural sociology) is preferable; some previous coursework, research, or professional experience in agri-food or water governance would also be helpful. To initiate an application, please email a brief statement of interest and a CV to Professor Susanne Freidberg (susanne.e.freidberg@dartmouth.edu) and Professor Chris Sneddon (christopher.s.sneddon@dartmouth.edu). Review of applications will begin December 1, 2025. Only completed applications will be reviewed, and applications will not be accepted after January 15, 2026. To learn more about the program please visit theEEES homepage and to submit an application, please see the Dartmouth School of Graduate and Advanced Studies site.