Article Science

Thought for Food - Take it to the farmer

Dr Pete Bickerton and Ben White give us a rundown of how the Thought For Food Global Summit 2017 unfolded.

25 July 2017

The Thought For Food Global Summit 2017 was held in the vibrant Dutch city of Amsterdam, bringing together the brightest minds in food security, agriculture, technology, health and life science. On the agenda is making the world a better place by making sure people have enough food to eat for themselves and their families.

This year, one of our researchers, Ben White, went to experience this rather unconventional conference first hand - renowned for its bright lights, energetic events and passionate speakers from all across the world and all walks of life.

Pete Bickerton went along too, both a regular contributor to our science communications and an ambassador for Thought for Food himself.

We had a special reason for attending this year. Ben and his colleagues have developed an app - called PatchIt App - as part of the TFF Challenge to tackle the issue of food security.

PatchIt App looks to connect city-dwellers with growing their own food through the technology they carry around every day, the smartphone.

Ben and the team were also able to bring back the things they learned from the conference and apply it in their own research, for a truly interdisciplinary approach. Shouldn’t this be the best outcome of any conference worth it’s salt?