AgriFood Supply Chains
We’re engaging with companies and individuals involved in food production, retail and finance.
Our researchers are investigating how to improve the efficiency of the food supply chain. They are taking into account food safety and consumer preference, and finding fresh approaches to regulatory conflicts.
The supply chains through which food reaches consumers can be incredibly complex. Food producers, processers, transporters and retailers are among the many organisations involved in making sure food reaches our plates. Some areas of the supply chain can become inefficient and producers and suppliers can fall foul of national, European or international regulations, affecting access to food.
"If food security refers to continuity of supply sufficient to meet health for all, resilience means it being able to bounce back under threat, and food capacity means having the skills, technology, planning and preparedness to do it."
Our projects
Researchers in our School of Law are working on the implications of Brexit on food supplies and the regulation of agriculture with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society Brexit Working Group.
Partners in the N8 group of universities are holding a workshop on agri-food supply chains, regulation and policy. The workshop aims to identify evidence-based policy linking agriculture, law, economics and environmental policy.
Our Centre for Law and Social Justice is working with the Centre for Business Law and Practice and our N8 partners to investigate food justice. This includes access to food, the effects of poverty and climate change.
Our collaborations
Leeds has strong partnerships with companies such as Marks & Spencer and Morrisons. We worked with Morrisons on a report investigating the reliance of the UK on food produced elsewhere in the world. The report underpinned a campaign by Morrisons to recruit more local suppliers.
International links include the Society of International Economic Law, which facilitates international collaboration and networking, and the European Council for Rural Law.
Our leading researchers
Professor Fiona Smith is an expert in international economic law, with a particular focus on regulation in international trade and investment.
Contact us
For enquiries about AgriFood Supply Chains, please email the Global Food and Environment Institute via globalfood@leeds.ac.uk.