News

Photo of the landscape of Sheffield on a cloudy day

17 March 2020

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.

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.

27 March 2020

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

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.

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

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

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.

12 February 2020

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

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

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”

17 January 2020

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