This event, organised by STOA and the European Research Council (ERC) will address the critical role of curiosity-driven, frontier research in solving practical challenges in sustainable food production and consumption.

ERC-funded researchers will discuss consumer behaviour, greener production processes and the impact on health, food security and trade, together with members of the European Parliament and other prominent speakers (see programme below).

The European Science-Media Hub (ESMH) of the European Parliament will be organising a workshop with journalists that will run alongside the 2-day event.

This is an in-person event and will be held in English only.

The event is open to the media, for requests please contact ERC-PRESS@ec.europa.eu

PROGRAMME

DAY 1. 10 Oct 2023

15:00 - 15:30 CEST | Opening Plenary

Speakers

• Marc Angel, EP Vice-President responsible for STOA
• Christian Ehler, STOA Chair
• Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
  
• Maria Leptin, ERC President

15:40 - 16:40 CEST | Thematic session 1: Adopting sustainable choices and consumer behaviour

Moderator

• Pierre Girard, Journalist, Arte
  

Speakers

• Janina Seubert, ERC grantee, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm
• Sander Thomaes, ERC grantee, Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Judith van de Wetering, PhD candidate, Utrecht University, Netherlands
  

16:50 - 17:50 CEST | Thematic session 2: Improved food production processes

Moderator

• Pierre Girard, Journalist, Art
  

Speakers

• Johanna Drake, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD)
• Dario Leister, ERC grantee, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich
• Juan Daniel Prades Garcia, ERC grantee, University of Barcelona

18:00 CEST | Reception (at the Info Hub)

DAY 2. 11 Oct 2023

10:00 - 11:00 CEST | Thematic session 3: The impact of food systems on health, society and the planet

Moderator

• Eleni Zika, Head of Sector, Scientific Impact and Feedback to Policy, European Research Council

Speakers

• Ivars Ijabs, 2nd Vice-Chair of STOA
• John Bell, Director at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Healthy Planet Directorate
• Rocco Macchiavello, ERC grantee, London School of Economics
• Eric Robinson, ERC grantee, University of Liverpool

11:10 - 12:00 CEST | Closing Plenary

Speakers

• Christian Ehler, STOA Chair
• Eric Lambin, Professor of Geography and Sustainability Science, Catholic University of Louvain and Stanford University; member of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors to the European Commission
• Maria Leptin, ERC President