News

Picture of Rehab Osman Khalifa, Community Services Officer at Zaatari camp — Rehab Osman Khalifa, Community Services Officer at Zaatari camp

12 February 2020

Desert Garden appeal

A unique project born out of innovative Sheffield science is giving families displaced by war the opportunity to grow fresh food in the desert using the most unlikely of materials – discarded mattresses, not soil. But time is running out. Without your help, the Desert Garden project will end. Will you help secure its future?

12 February 2020

Discarded mattresses could feed millions of refugees, say scientists

Discarded mattresses that currently end up in landfill could be used to grow food for refugees in desert environments around the world, according to scientists at the University of Sheffield.

4 February 2020

University of Sheffield leads £1.2m research network to build sustainable and resilient food systems

University of Sheffield awarded £1.2 million to lead a research network creating sustainable, resilient food systems to address global food security challenges

Ariel picture of a field of crops being harvested by two tractors

17 January 2020

Agriculture Bill: here’s what it means for farming and the environment after Brexit

The UK’s new Agriculture Bill has been called “one of the most significant pieces of legislation for farmers in England for over 70 years”

Immigrants’ food practices in their adopted countries: the case of Ghanaians in the UK

“You are what you eat”, as the phrase goes, can also be said for ethnicity. West African migrants living in Europe have high prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes as compared to their compatriots in Africa, yet research on the food practices of this population is still in its infancy.

4 February 2020 | Published by The Conversation

The Vertical Farming Conundrum; Will this solution ever ascend?

For years, the answer to food production for an ever-increasing population has been height but the uptake has been slow and nowhere near as widespread as thought. Jacob Nickles shares his thoughts from the N8 AgriFood Urban Agriculture Cluster.

14 January 2020 | Published by N8 AgrFood

Picture of a cow close up with grass in it's mouth

Apocalypse Cow: Our thoughts

Jacob Nickles discusses Channel 4 documentary Apocalypse Cow, in which environmental campaigner George Monbiot argues that the biggest problem driving us towards global disaster is how we farm – and particularly how we farm animals.

10 January 2020

Leading expertise in Urban Agriculture with new cluster initiative

Institute knowledge exchange Fellow Jacob Nickles announced as the new N8 AgriFood urban agriculture cluster lead

10 January 2020 | Published by N8 AgrFood

Overuse of herbicides costing UK economy £400 million per year

The resistance of a major agricultural weed to herbicides costs the UK economy £400 million per year, according to scientists from the University of Sheffield and conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

23 December 2019

High-carbon footprint households identified by sweets and restaurant meals – not higher meat consumption

Families with higher carbon footprints are likely to consume more confectionary, alcohol and restaurant food, according to a new study published in One Earth.

20 December 2019

Professor Bhavani Shankar joins the Institute for Sustainable Food

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Bhavani Shankar as a Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Food

13 December 2019

seed and planting concept with Male hand watering young tree over green background

Blue Urea: A fertiliser with reduced environmental impact

Scientists and engineers from the Institute for Sustainable Food and the Energy Institute have created a fertiliser with reduced environmental impact called Blue Urea.

11 December 2019

Soil degradation and why it matters

On UN World Soil Day we talked to Dr Anna Krzywoszynska about soil degradation and why it matters.

5 December 2019

Join our team of world-leading academics

The Institute for Sustainable Food is inviting applications from exceptional candidates to join our team of talented researchers.

5 December 2019