Champions are at the heart of the AFN Network+ and have played a key role in supporting our mission of identifying key research gaps that may be holding the UK food system back from transitioning towards a net zero UK by 2050.
In a series of digests, we will be sharing a little more about their work and what we have learned from them.
Champions have supported our mission by
- Drawing on their expertise and specialist knowledge of the agri-food sector
- Running engagement activities centred around their respective themes, building on existing AFN research and outputs and the work of previous AFN Champions
- Helping synthesise ideas and thinking from across the AFN and the wider stakeholder community to ensure inclusive input in defining plausible pathways to net zero, through agri-food
- Identifying the research priorities and policy innovation required to deliver a food system that is sustainable, economically viable, socially just, and secure.
If you missed them, you can find Part 1 and Part 2 on our website. In this digest, we cover the work of three Champions – Ali Morpeth, Ifeyinwa Kanu and Elta Smith.
Ali Morpeth, Year 3 Champion – Policy: Food Systems Nutrition and Health
Ali Morpeth is a registered public health nutritionist working at the intersection of health and sustainability, and policy change that delivers for people and planet. She is the co-founder of food system transition consultancy Planeatry Alliance.
Ali’s work focused on the UK policy environment relating to diets, land use and the environment, as well as drawing on existing science to help drive forward a successful food system transformation.
“Working as a policy champion for the AFN Network+ taught me that transforming the UK food system by 2050 will require systemic, coordinated change, not fragmented fixes. We must support resilient farming, deploy smarter land-use planning, and make healthy, low-carbon diets the default, accessible choice.”
As a policy champion, Ali mapped relevant policies in the UK relating to diets and land use, providing the AFN Network+ with a comprehensive oversight of the current state of play. Throughout the year, she contributed to rapid digests, quick analyses and critical thoughts on any diet-related news, such as the government’s Good Food Cycle announcement. This helped inform the AFN Network+ team on emerging areas, including weight loss drugs and the impacts of policies such as the soft drinks industry levy. Her work on the diets section of the Roadmap included a rapid evidence review of available science on healthy and sustainable diets. This was used to highlight the urgency and surface key stats, including: diet-related diseases cost the UK £268 billion a year, 20 per cent of adults are food insecure, and food production contributes over one fifth of Europe’s environmental and climate impacts.
“It has been a truly incredible experience as a nutritionist to have the opportunity to work with people across the value chain, all of whom are driven to see transformation towards a more prosperous and resilient food system in the UK.”
Through her research, she has evidenced how shifting diets toward healthier patterns not only reduces emissions and reliance on imports, but also alleviates pressure on public health systems. This highlights the powerful co-benefits of health, environment, and food security from aligning agriculture, land use and dietary shifts. Ali has been a visible ambassador for the AFN Network+, including at event such as Groundswell and London Climate Action Week. These provided an opportunity for direct engagement with policymakers, investors and businesses, in turn extending the Network’s reach in public and policy debate. Her work throughout the year has reinforced that successful transformation requires joined-up action across policy reform, support for farmers, supply chains and public sector leadership, underpinned by transparent data, long-term planning and inclusive governance.
Ifeyinwa Kanu, Year 3 Champion – Bioeconomy
Ifeyinwa has a PhD in environmental engineering with research interest in the use of Artificial Intelligence and Omics analysis to optimise anaerobic processes. She is the founder and CEO of sustainability-focused tech and innovation company IntelliDigest.
Exploring the scalability and integration of bioeconomy solutions and the role of financial mechanisms, such as salary sacrifice and public procurement, in facilitating sustainable food consumption and production for improved health outcomes and environmental restoration.
Ifeyinwa’s research focused on the bioeconomy of the food transition across two key areas: the role of a salary sacrifice scheme and food system resilience via public sector local food procurement. To do this, she spent time mapping the research landscape and found gaps in knowledge around the administrative costs, and government tax revenue, from such schemes. She ran two key engagement events, at regenerative farming event Groundswell and at the Scottish parliament, as a way of raising awareness of how salary sacrifice might work alongside food system transition goals, with engagement from policy makers, public sector caterers, researchers and farmers.
“The AFN Network+ Champion role provided a great opportunity to apply my knowledge and skill in developing policies to address food system challenges, as well as a platform that facilitates engagement with policy makers to drive positive change. The opportunities to attend various agri-food-related events and support the AFN Network+ activities and events was also very beneficial in extending my network, making it easy to reach out for collaboration.
A key outcome has been the development and promotion of the Balanced Bites Food Security Fund Scheme, which combines employee benefits, structured meal planning, and coordinated public-private procurement to drive demand for local, regenerative produce. By embedding systemic change into everyday food choices and procurement practices, the project aimed to link environmental goals with public health and economic fairness. Ifeyinwa secured cross-party engagement by working with co-conveners from the Conservative, Labour and SNP parties, and ran a survey to seek additional input from a wider audience, including public sector caterers. Elsewhere during her role as AFN Network+ Champion, Ifeyinwa contributed to the AFN+ Roadmap report, developed a strategic approach for policy engagement across the UK and supported other projects within the Network.
Elta Smith, Year 3 Champion – Policy: Impact and Synthesis
Elta Smith is an experienced independent researcher, writer and consultant, focused on the intersection of food, the environment and human health. She is a trustee of the Food Ethics Council and former director of the Innovation, Health and Science Group at RAND Europe. As lead coordinating author for the AFN Network+ Roadmap, Elta synthesised insights from across three years of AFN+ activities, including commissioned research, webinars, champion work, and scenario modelling.
“It was a real privilege to work with such an amazing group of dedicated, intelligent, and fun people all committed to food systems transformation.”
As coordinating author of AFN Network+’s flagship Roadmap and accompanying report, Elta’s work began by identifying gaps in existing research, from dietary behaviour change to just transitions frameworks, planning systems integration and under-used policy levers. She led or facilitated workshops throughout the year that directly shaped the roadmap strategy, and its key messages. An initial strategy workshop introduced the Future Food Calculator concept to AFN+ Network leadership and champions, and facilitated breakout sessions on the essential features of a future UK agri-food system to meet net zero by 2050; and the sequencing of social, economic, technical and policy steps. Her role as co-organiser at the 2025 Big Tent event was central in developing Roadmap-focused sessions, and breakout discussions, with the event attended by 200 participants from across the food system, including good representation from policy makers and government.
“I think cross-thematic working is an essential, non-negotiable requirement for genuine positive change in our food systems and it was great to have it foregrounded in the AFN Network+.”
Ahead of the Roadmap launch in October, Elta co-organised a strategic planning workshop around communication, policy narratives and report messaging that ensured that the roadmap was released around “three transformations, one resilient future: changing what we eat, what we grow, and how we use our land for a healthier, food secure UK.”. This clarity of approach was crucial in securing the widespread media coverage, including in national and broadcast media, of the Roadmap, and ensuring the successful consolidation of the three years of AFN Network+. Further work is being undertaken by Elta, in partnership with the champion for just transition, to develop a dedicated statement on the role of just transitions in the Roadmap pathways and interventions.
