Top food policy expert named keynote speaker for Sustainability Summit

A leading expert in the field of food policy has been unveiled as the keynote speaker at The Caterer’s Sustainability Summit, sponsored by Compass, FoodOptimize Aps and Foster Refrigeration.

Professor Christina Vogel, director of the Centre for Food Policy at City St George’s, University of London, will be speaking at the Sustainability Summit on 8 September at the Line, London.

Taking place in person for the first time, the expert-led event will feature a packed morning agenda exploring some of the most pressing sustainability challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

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Speaking to The Caterer ahead of her appearance, Vogel said she will discuss how food systems should be reshaped to be healthy, sustainable, resilient and fair and that this can be done through working with advocacy hubs, such as the Chef’s Manifesto, a global network of chefs driving action for sustainable food systems, as well as highlighting the sector’s role in changing food systems and influencing food policy.

Vogel said that chefs, their teams and front of house are “key actors in food systems change. Cooking and food systems are fundamentally linked, and professional cooks and chefs play an essential role in society. Yet their contribution is often overlooked, and they are not celebrated or valued to the extent they should be”.

She added: “Cookery curricula still focus on traditional, meat- and dairy-centric cuisine, while food systems topics such as sustainability and nutrition are often taught as elective modules rather than embedded within the core curriculum.”