With changing diets, new farming technologies and the increasing impacts of climate change, this is a pivotal time to be working in the food industry. Our panel of experts look ahead to the future of food and the burgeoning global food crisis.
We have gathered a panel of experts to discuss the current state of food and the economy – and what the future looks like for consumers, businesses, farmers and independent traders.
Lotanna Emdiegwu, Lecturer in Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University, is an expert in environmental, climate and agricultural economics. He’ll be joined by Matthew Agarwala, leader of the Bennett Institute’s Wealth Economy project at the University of Cambridge. Joining the panel will be Phil Haughton, founder of Bristol-based organic food retailer Better Food, and Julia Kirby-Smith, project lead at Better Food Traders and trustee of campaigning food charity Feedback. The panel will be chaired by BBC World Service presenter Anu Anand.
Dr Matthew Agarwala leads the Bennett Institute’s Wealth Economy project at the University of Cambridge, is a member of The Productivity Institute, and Senior Policy Fellow at Yale University’s Tobin Center for Economic Policy.
Lotanna Emediegwu is a Lecturer in Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research interests include environmental economics, climate econometrics, agricultural economics, and applied economics. He is also the co-leader of the Applied Economics Knowledge Platform.
Phil Haughton is the founder of Better Food, a Bristol-based organic, local and ethical retailer. He is the author of Food for Thought: Celebrating the Joy of Eating Well and Living Better. He is interested in soil, farming, food and social justice.
Julia Kirby-Smith is project lead at Better Food Traders, a nationwide network of retailers who sell locally-grown, planet-friendly food – including shops, markets, veg box schemes, food hubs and wholesalers. The Better Food Traders network supports and promotes these ethical food retailers so they can flourish, scale up and scale out.
Anu Anand is a BBC World Service presenter with 22 years experience in international news and current affairs. She was based in New Delhi for eight years covering the country’s epic economic and social changes.
The Festival of Economics is supported by
Pay What You Feel
This event is part of our new ticket pricing structure where we ask people to pay what they feel they can afford in accordance with their means. Read more about it here. Read on for the ticket prices for this event.
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Accessibility
- Watershed’s main entrance and Box Office are both on the ground floor which is accessible via a ramped, electronically assisted entrance door.
- There are two Blue Badge parking spaces to the rear of Watershed on Canons Road.
- Guide dogs and hearing dogs are very welcome.
- The first floor of Watershed is accessible via lift from the main entrance and includes level access to all areas, including the cinemas and event spaces.
- The cinemas and event spaces have induction loops.
- There is an accessible toilet (with baby changing facilities) near Cinema 1. Follow the signs for the Cinemas and the accessible toilet is just on your left through the double doors before Cinema 1.
- There are gender neutral toilets in the cinema corridor on the first floor.
Visit Watershed’s Access page for more information.
Festival of Economics 2023
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Festival of Economics
Festival of Economics 13-16 November 2023
Find out about this year’s programme of events.