Services

Area 1 - Food Access and the Right to Food

The majority of the global community has committed itself to respect the right to food under article 25 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as regional and national constitutions.

This research stream focuses on investigating state capacity to fulfil their obligations to the right to food, and provide recommendations where necessary. Services under this area aim to decrease hunger, malnutrition, and the incidence of non-communicable disease.

What we do:

• Impact Assessments on the Right to Food
• Policy evaluation/design/reform on interventions for equitable access 

Area 2 - Sustainable Agriculture, Production, and Resilience

This research stream works in particular collaboration with the Grantham Research Institute to optimise environmental resource use in food production, processing and distribution, and reduce biodiversity loss, pollution, water use, soil degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, it aims to understand constraints and opportunities facing smallholder farmers in adapting to climate change impacts or other possible shocks along the food value chain.

What we do:

• Comparative review of production methods/recommendations
• Supply chain resilience/risk assessments
• Economic and Social Impact assessments (ex-ante; ex-post)

Area 3 - Consumer Behaviour and Sustainability

This area works to understand the drivers of consumer demand for sustainably produced food and the recycling of food resources. It also aims to investigate the relationship and trust between consumers and various elements of the food system such as safety standards, technological innovations, and product certifications.

What we do:

• Understanding drivers of consumption patterns and behavioural change
• Behavioural insights research on trust and consumer attitudes
• Life cycle analysis and food sustainability metric development 
• Food fraud and market research

Area 4 - Biosecurity and Food Safety

Safety assessments at every stage of the food production life cycle are key to highlight weaknesses and identify improvements in the prevention of foodborne illness.

What we do:

• Risk Assessments/Investigations of Food borne illness risk
• Risk Assessments/Investigations of Technological Innovation
• Comparative Analysis and Regulatory Reform
• Licensing and legislative review/reform