Structure

Going Against the Grain: Sustainable Agriculture and the Global Food Economy
LEAD International Session on Future Food Security
Imperial College London, Wye, Kent, United Kingdom
1-6 April and 15-20 April 2004

Structure

LEAD Sessions will last one week and will have several distinctive elements.

The first two days will center on the main theme of Sustainable Agriculture within the Global Food Economy and related issues. The topic will be introduced from a global perspective, making use of prominent national and international speakers on food issues. Associates will examine different perspectives on agricultural sustainability and food security, including those of international agencies, national and local governments, NGOs, and civil society in both the North and South.

Several key areas will be explored in a series of panel discussions. The following four themes will be addressed in panel discussions:

The Myth of Scarcity: Increased Production and Food Security
This panel discussion will examine issues around food production, access to food, and food security and insecurity. These issues arise from comparison of changes in food production and food insecurity over the last 40 years, and from consideration of possible scenarios regarding population growth and food production.

Genetically Modified Foods and Food Security
Genetic engineering in agriculture is being promoted as the panacea to food insecurity in the South, amidst much public debate here in the UK as well as internationally. This panel will discuss the role and contribution of biotechnology not only in alleviating food insecurity, but also in the areas of enhancing food quality and food safety.

Growing the Market: Trade Liberalisation and Agricultural Subsidies
The panel will explore debates relating to the potential for trade liberalisation to reduce the current impacts of northern countries agricultural and trade policies both on their own societies and on developing countries.

Modern Supply Chains: threats and opportunities to North & South, Producers & Consumers
This panel session is concerned with the battle for supremacy in a food industry in which competition is played on a global field, with fewer, larger, global players battling for market share.
In order to strengthen the experiential component of the learning process, Associates will visit a number of organisations engaged in different food production, importation, and distribution activities in the UK. The focus will be to gain exposure to several elements of the food chain. These site visits will provide concrete cases for consideration of issues raised in plenary sessions and panel discussions. Working groups will report on these issues in group presentations at the end of the session.

Following these site visits, Associates will be engaged in Leadership skill training. This will include a skills module that will focus on ethical decision-making for sustainable development. Associates will also have the opportunity to meet and discuss sustainable development and the challenges it poses for leadership with prominent individuals during a Leadership Panel.

Before their arrival from over 45 countries, Associates will have completed individual assignments to become familiar with food security and sustainability issues, internationally and in their own regions, with assistance from material prepared by LEAD International and Imperial College staff.

LEAD International International Session Official Information