Annual Report 2021
It is a great pleasure to present the Center's Annual Report 2021, summarizing highlights from our research, education, and outreach activities over the past year.
Dear Collegues, Partners, Alumni, and Friends:
Supporting and promoting exchange between scientists, stakeholders, and students is a key function of our Center. Last year, connecting, interacting, and learning together was not always easy. We were, therefore, even more happy that we were able to hold both our Summer School in August and the Food Day @ETH, our annual symposium, in November in person. We also organized various online events such as webinars and a new public lecture series on agroecology to stimulate the exchange on research from members of the Center on sustainable food systems.
We are pleased that we could launch two new programs to support cross-disciplinary and solution-oriented research addressing key food system challenges. Firstly, we initiated a research program with Nestlé focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gases in dairy farming and agriculture production for climate change mitigation. Secondly, we initiated a research program with fenaco on smart sustainable farming at the interface of agriculture, sustainable production systems, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Both programs contribute to our research aiming to reduce negative impacts of food systems on human and environmental health.
Looking forward, we intend to stimulate excellent research and teaching and further engage with society, industry, and policy. We will continue to interact in diverse forums and offer educational activities such as short courses. We want the Center and its member groups to bring a food system perspective to the respective tables.
Ten years after the public inauguration event of the Center, we want to celebrate our work carried out with the support of many different partners over the years. Therefore, we are currently working hard to create an exhibition at the Mühlerama Museum for Food Culture in Zurich. In May and June 2022, families, school classes, and the interested public can take a walk through the food system and learn about research supported by our Center and ETH Zurich. By entering different thematic rooms, visitors can experience different areas of the food system, learn what the challenges are, and how science addresses them.
We are looking forward to an exciting year, many inspiring encounters and to further contribute, together with our partners, to more sustainable food systems.
Robert Finger, Chair and Martijn Sonnevelt, Executive Director
