"The steaks are high: evaluating different approaches to reduce meat consumption"
Dr Emma Garnett, Health Behaviours Team (Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences), University of Oxford

The Planetary Health diet recommends approximately 20kg of meat per person per year for a healthy and sustainable diet for 10 billion people. In the UK, average meat supply is four times this level at 80kg. Shifting to more plant-based diets is key to mitigating climate change and improving population health, but not many studies have long-term data on which strategies could effectively lower meat consumption.

I have run long-term observational and experimental studies in five University of Cambridge college cafeterias to test different approaches to increase sales of vegetarian meals over several years. Data from 1142 mealtimes and 213,627 meals selections have produced some expected and unexpected results, which I will discuss.

I will also cover the difficulties in estimating how meat consumption is changing in the UK and the conflicting results from different datasets; the potential and pitfalls of carbon footprint labels to shift retailer and citizen behaviour; and the backlash the University of Cambridge Catering Service received when it was announced beef and lamb had been taken off the menu a few years previously.

"The obesity crisis and the food environment: probably the cause, but unlikely to be the cure"
Eric Robinson, Professor of Psychology and Public Health, University of Liverpool

Obesity is a significant public health challenge and there has been little or no progress in reducing population level obesity. In this talk I will discuss research from our laboratory examining how the food environment is a likely cause of the obesity problem and how at a population level obesity could be reduced in a way that benefits people irrespective of socio-demographic background. Recently there has been a shift in how obesity is talked about as a public health problem. The role of genetics and the environment are now popular explanations of the obesity problem, which raises questions over what role personal responsibility has in solving the obesity problem. With this in mind, I will share my thoughts on how the obesity problem could be solved and what role the food environment will have in this.

Professor Eric Robinson is an internationally awarded and recognised academic expert in obesity. Based at the University of Liverpool, his research team and collaborators study the psychology of eating, obesity and public health. His work has been featured on TV (including appearances on BBC and Channel4), in international press and at international science events