I have always walked a tightrope between the commercial system that provides us with what we need, and the science that is driving innovation and sustainability. I see the food system as the third great system to be transformed, but it has  no single silver bullet like there is with renewable energy or electric cars. The AFN Network+ helps me step into this complex world. I came across it during my horizon scanning of food system information, and it is now indispensable to me. What I like is that it bridges the gap between science and practical solutions: I read all the magazines, the blogs and the science, and I think the AFN is head and shoulders above everything else. I co-founded the Planeatry Alliance, along with AFN champion Ali Morpeth, and as a result of the Network we’ve been able to work in a more efficient way with our clients across the food system, to help them understand the enormity of the challenge and help them transform practically.

The key thing for me has been the discussions around alternative proteins because there’s lots of noise around that. It’s similar to the first dot.com bubble and subsequent bust, which led to the subsequent domination of tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon and Meta. Plant proteins have been through the same process, and actually what we’re seeing now is a new wave of innovation, with healthier and more affordable options being developed. The other thing that has stood out for me is the farmer voice. Food is a very human system and AFN is very respectful of that dimension. Those involved in the Network are very knowledgeable about the science of net zero and the food system, and it consistently draws from the very best scientific research. But it also doesn’t live in the climate tunnel. The food system pushes multiple boundaries, whether that’s nature, pollution or greenhouse gas emissions, and AFN helps brings net zero into context of that and galvanises people around one big topic. The second driver for me is scale. I love the fact that the world is swimming in micro solutions, but unless we can make these solutions accessible to the many, the world will burn.

Without AFN, I’d spend all my time in the trenches doing my own research, whereas I now take better solutions to people who want to change. We need big food to pivot and we are now able to go to companies and help them do that, based on credible evidence. It has profoundly helped our clients move towards net zero, and it has evolved our thinking about what will work best. I sense that in a very polarised world, AFN is hugely important as a  respectful community that helps create solutions that are more likely to get to scale. As a nation, we tend to drop billions of pounds on big ‘white elephant’ solutions but we’re not so good at funding these small platforms that are worth their weight in gold.