Montague Burton Lecture 2025: Dr Corinna Hawkes

5pm: Doors Open

5:30pm: Welcome

6:30pm: Close

Transforming global food systems: an opportunity for a better world

The 2025 Montague Burton Lecture, delivered by Dr Corinna Hawkes, will examine contemporary transformations of global agrifood systems, and the opportunities and challenges that they pose for international cooperation. How are governments around the world responding to the multiple and sometimes conflicting demands on agrifood systems, such as sustainability, nutrition, food safety, and economy? How does the existing international system, including organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), foster cooperation and collective action around these challenges - and how might it do so better? Does the current period of geopolitical instability pose specific challenges for governance of global agrifood systems, and what implications does it have for international cooperation?

Dr Corinna Hawkes is Director of the Division of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Between 2016 and 2023 she was Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. She is also co-founder of the Next Gen(D)eration Leadership Collective. Her publications cover topics such as globalisation, links between agriculture, food systems and nutrition, urban food policies, lived experience of food environments and food policies for healthy diets.

Registration is required for this event. For any questions please contact [email protected].

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Playfair Library Hall, South Bridge, Edinburgh, United Kingdom