News

Two hands holding rice.
1 May 2020

Half of UK rice breaches limits on arsenic for children, warn scientists

More than half of rice varieties sold in the UK contained levels of arsenic higher than regulations allow for babies and children under five.
An undergraduate student in a lab coat.
4 May 2020

MSc Sustainable Agricultural Technologies

How will we feed nine billion people by 2050? This course draws on our world-leading expertise in the field, training the next generation of skilled agronomy professionals to drive positive changes in agricultural practice and policy.
Woman wearing a mask in a supermarket and gloves. She is picking up an apple.
4 May 2020

Covid-19 pandemic highlights urgent need to change Europe’s food system.

Q&A with Institute for Sustainable Food director Professor Peter Jackson.

Published by the Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine
Ploughed soil in a field of crops
Ploughed soil in a field of crops
21 April 2020

Rock dust helps soils store carbon and boosts crop yields, research shows

Simple method could help mitigate the climate crisis, improve food and soil security, and cut farmers’ costs
Picture of a box of allotment produce on the ground with green plants in the background

Sheffield study highlights impact of homegrown food

The parents of the University of Sheffield's Institute for Sustainable Food academic are supporting the university’s study into people who grow their own food.

28 April 2020 | Published by the Sheffield Telegraph
Portrait photo of Dr Hannah Lambie-Mumford

Dr Hannah Lambie-Mumford awarded new Leverhulme Fellowship to research food corporations and food charity

The new research project entitled “Charity begins in the boardroom? Food corporations and food charity” begins in September 2020

27 April 2020
Professor Peter Jackson gives a speech.

Examining the sustainability of our food systems: Interview with Peter Jackson MAE

Professor Peter Jackson MAE explains why he became involved in the study of food, and his role in the publication of a major evidence review on sustainable food systems.

20 April 2020 | Published by Academia Europaea
Market (authentic bazaar) in downtown Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - stock photo

What a visit to an Indian market reveals about the danger – and importance – of food markets

For Professor Bhavani Shankar, a trip to an Indian vegetable market revealed many issues of health and safety, but also highlighted the importance of such places for global nutrition

16 April 2020 | Published by Geographical Magazine
Spraying the plants.

Business as usual ‘no longer an option’ for Europe’s food system

Evidence shows food demand will keep growing, but EU must shift to a more circular food economy, rather than simply boosting production

15 April 2020 | Published by Higher Education Plus
Picture of a girl holding a bag of apples in a food bank

Coronavirus: inspiring community attempts to stem increased hunger need government help

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed just how much we depend on easy access to food.

9 April 2020
Spraying the plants.

Business as usual ‘no longer an option’ for Europe’s food system, experts warn

A team of experts has warned the European Commission that “business as usual is no longer an option” for the EU’s food system.

9 April 2020
Overhead shot of a woman weeding raised beds in a vegetable garden with a blue handled hoe. Strawberry patch, carrots, lettuce, salad plants, beetroot, radish, onions, chive, chard and kale.

Allotment land cut by 65 per cent since mid-1900s

With waiting lists growing ever longer, this trend of declining allotment land is worrying – but our research has shown that one way councils could meet demand is by simply restoring former sites

27 March 2020
Photo of the landscape of Sheffield on a cloudy day

Urban land could grow fruit and veg for 15 percent of the population

Growing fruit and vegetables in just 10 per cent of a city’s gardens and other urban green spaces could provide 15 per cent of the local population with their ‘five a day’, according to new research.

17 March 2020
Concept for agritech showing graphic display with smart farm icons over a background of crops in a field.

Developing sensors to detect phosphates in soil

New £1.8m research project led by the University of Sheffield is supporting the development of sensors to detect phosphate in soil, to help farmers increase their crop yield and reduce fertiliser use.

26 February 2020