Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the Food Waste-Food Security Debate. In 2022/23, the No Time to Waste webinar explored food production and security

Our actions in the last year supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in the Annual Environmental Report.

Policy

We have introduced a new sustainable food policy. We aim to ensure that ingredients are sustainably sourced, using organic produce over conventional produce wherever possible.

In 2022/23 we achieved Green Kitchen standard.

Food waste

Food waste from our Cranfield campus catering outlets, student accommodation and office kitchens is separated from general waste and taken to an anaerobic digestion plant off site. The plant produces organic fertiliser which is used on growing crops, and methane which is converted, via a generator, into electricity for the National Grid and to power the plant. Find out more.

We are proud members of the ‘Too Good To Go’ food waste movement. Too Good To go is an app that allows unsold food from selected venues on campus a second chance at being consumed rather than going to waste, allowing staff, students and the local community to purchase ‘surprise bags’ of food at low prices.

In January 2023, our Green Team celebrated Veganuary with a wide range of vegan dishes available at Reggie's (Mitchell Hall) and elsewhere on campus. We are also promoted the 'United Nations PMRE Love student leftovers' Instagram cooking competition which includes a vegan category. We also took part in Food Waste Action Week 6-12 March – Win, Don't Bin, run by Love Food Hate Waste.

Food choices for sustainability

We are dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of our community by providing health-conscious and affordable food choices. By adhering to a range of these principles, for example, increasing consumption of vegetables, leaner meat, use of cooking oils we create an environment that supports healthy living and empowers our community to make informed decisions about their dietary preferences.

Education

The Environment and Agrifood Theme combines research groups with 50+ years of experience in contributing to societal challenges such as sustainability, enhancing natural capital and future global food systems resilience.

Research

Examples of research contributing to this SDG included:

• Eco Ready – this European-funded project with 18 partners is a surveillance and early warning system aiming to provide real-time assessments for the food system.

• Environmental and social benefits of regenerative agriculture for tropical perennial agroecosystems: Researchers at Cranfield University are co-developing a regenerative agriculture toolkit to support the development of sustainable farming practices in East Africa for tea and coffee smallholders.

• The Digital Tools to help Agroforestry meet Climate, Biodiversity and Farming Sustainability Goals: Linking Field and Cloud (DigitAF) project is promoting agroforestry in Europe by developing digital decision-guidance tools so that trees are appropriately integrated on farms to achieve profitable food production, reduced net greenhouse gas emissions, and enhanced biodiversity.

• The AGROMIX project aims to drive a transition to more resilient and efficient land use in Europe. It will do this by using participatory approaches to capitalise on the synergies found in mixed farming (crop + livestock) and agroforestry (trees + crops and/or livestock) systems and the associated value chains.

• Cranfield University contributes to research suggesting significant adjustment to frozen food temperature to increase supply chain sustainability.

• The NutriNuts project aims to mitigate the occurrence of aflatoxins in Ethiopian peanuts used in therapeutic food products to reduce malnutrition in Africa.

• The PataFEST project is committed to addressing the challenges presented by emerging potato pests and the impact of soil-borne pathogens during potato postharvest storage, with the goal of reducing food waste within the potato supply chain.

• Co-Production of Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems is a project that aims to provide citizens of socio-culturally adverse disadvantaged communities with choice over the food they consume.

Outreach

• Mysteries and Mycotoxins is a new body of artworks. The project takes the form of an artistic exploration of mycotoxins and aims to raise awareness of their significant impact on human and animal health, as well as on the food industry.
• Sustainability Network Speaker Series: How is sustainability and net zero driving innovation in the food sector?

A group of three students from Cranfield University reached the finals of the Sustainable Food Challenge 2023. The competition was part of the GreenSCENT project (funded by EU Horizon 2020), which aims to educate and empower people to change their behaviour towards the environment by fostering empathy for the planet. A key part of this is rethinking how food is produced, transported and consumed in Europe.

Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the Food Waste-Food Security Debate. Our actions in the last year supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in the Annual Environmental Report.

Policy

We have introduced a new sustainable food policy. We aim to ensure that ingredients are sustainably sourced, using organic produce over conventional produce wherever possible.

Food waste

Food waste from our Cranfield campus catering outlets, student accommodation and office kitchens is separated from general waste and taken to an anaerobic digestion plant off site. The plant produces organic fertiliser which is used on growing crops, and methane which is converted, via a generator, into electricity for the National Grid and to power the plant. Find out more on our waste and recycling page.

We are proud members of the ‘Too Good To Go’ food waste movement. Too Good To go is an app that allows unsold food from selected venues on campus a second chance at being consumed rather than going to waste, allowing staff, students and the local community to purchase ‘surprise bags’ of food at low prices.

Food choices for sustainability

We are dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of our community by providing health-conscious and affordable food choices. By adhering to a range of these principles, for example, increasing consumption of vegetables, leaner meat, use of cooking oils we create an environment that supports healthy living and empowers our community to make informed decisions about their dietary preferences.

Education

The Environment and Agrifood Theme combines research groups with 50+ years of experience in contributing to societal challenges such as sustainability, enhancing natural capital and future global food systems resilience.

Research

Examples of research contributing to this SDG included:

• Co-Production of Healthy, Sustainable Food Systems for Disadvantaged Communities
  The project aims to provide citizens of socio-culturally adverse disadvantaged communities with choice over the food they consume.
• Spray-on polymer to cut food waste and increase incomes for Kenyan smallholders
  Spraying a safe and environmentally friendly polymer onto soil surfaces can reduce the ‘soiling’ of fine beans by almost 65 per cent.
• NutriNuts
  This project aims to mitigate the occurrence of aflatoxins in Ethiopian peanuts used in therapeutic food products to reduce malnutrition in Africa.

Outreach

‘Can You Dig It?’ – the Rurban Revolution team created a public engagement space at the popular Glastonbury festival designed to share knowledge about urban food growing through a range of interactive activities.

The Horticulture and Food Loss Network aims to improve crop quantity and output whilst reducing food loss and waste. The Network is jointly led by Cranfield University and the University of Reading.

We have a range of courses related to food sustainability, listed on this page.

Cranfield is a passionate and frequent contributor to the Food Waste-Food Security Debate.

Our actions supporting a Food Waste Week, waste food recycling, food banks and sustainable sourcing are outlined in our Annual Environmental Report.

Our African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES), based in Rwanda, is helping to get food to markets quickly and efficiently. It will support farmers and fisheries in Africa to reduce the amount of food produced for human consumption which is lost due to poor post-harvest practices and handling – tackling hunger, under-nutrition, and environmental impacts, while boosting profits and creating jobs.