David Barling

Professor David Barling is Director of the Centre for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Management at the University of Hertfordshire. His research focuses on food policy, food security and sustainability, and the governance of the agri-food sector. Previously, he held the position of Reader in Food Policy at City University London where he was the principal investigator on a number of externally funded research projects including EU 6th and 7th Framework projects and supervised a number of PhD students. He is co-author of Food Policy: integrating, health, environment and society (Oxford University Press 2009) and co-editor of Ethical Traceability and Communicating Food (Springer 2008). He sits on the editorial boards of the interdisciplinary and international journals Agriculture and Human Values and Food Security. He has acted as an advisor and consultant to: UNEP, European Commission DG SANCO, European Parliament, UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, the Scottish Government, and a number of other Government and public bodies. He is a trustee of Sustain the UK NGO alliance for better food and farming. 

My research interests are broadly in the areas of food policy, security of the food supply and the political economy of food and agriculture.

This work includes:

• UK national food security policy, food supply and sustainability.
• Policy boundaries and means of national food policy integration.
• The UK state and the industrial policy for agriculture and food sectors.
• EU policies on food including: food supply chains; food sustainability and the circular economy and green economy.
• Policies and adoption of methodologies to interpret the sustainable consumption and production of food.
• The international politics and global governance of policy making on agriculture and food security
• Politics and regulation of food traceability.
• Environmental regulation of food supply chains 

Selected Research Grants

GLAMUR: Global and Local food chain Assessment: a MUltidimensional peRformance-based approach (Feb 2013- Jan 2016) EU 7^th Research Framework collaborative research project under the KBBE theme, with 15 academic partners & total grant of €2.93m. Grant agreement no: 311778. Work Package co-ordinator & Principal Investigator City University London.

SENSE: HarmoniSed ENvironmental Sustainability in the European food & drink chain (Feb 2012- Jan 2015) EU 7^th Research Framework collaborative research project under the KBBE theme, with 23 partners including universities, research institutes & SMEs with a total grant of €2.89m. Grant agreement no: 288974. Work Package co-ordinator & Principal Investigator City University.

Purefood: Urban, peri-urban and regional food dynamics: toward an integrated and territorial approach to food (Dec 2010 - Nov 2014) EU Marie Curie Initial Training Network under the People work programme with a total grant of €2.8 m. Grant Agreement No: 264719. Principal Investigator City University.

Constructing a National Food Policy: policy integration and co-ordination pathways and challenges in Australia and the United Kingdom (Oct. 2012 - Sept 2016). PhD studentship: Co-funded Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Animal, Food and Health Sciences - Australia & City University Studentship. Lead supervisor.

Foodlinks: Knowledge Brokerage to promote sustainable food consumption and production: linking scientists, policymakers and civil society organizations (Jan 2011- Dec 2013) EU 7^th Research Framework collaborative research project under the environment theme with 10 partners with a total grant of  €1.5m. Grant Agreement No: 265287. Work Package co-ordinator & Principal Investigator City University.

Transparent_ Food:  Quality and Integrity in food –a challenge for chain communication and transparency research (Dec. 2009- Nov. 2011). EU 7^th Framework Research Framework Co-operation and Support Action, with 10 partners for a total grant of  €995,094. Grant Agreement No: 245003. Work Package co-ordinator & Principal Investigator City University.

Food security and UK policy (2008): Report to the Soil Association UK 2008.  Principal Investigator, City University.

National sustainable food security in the UK (2006-8) funded by the Esmee Fairburn Foundation Environment Programme. Co-investigator City University. 

European Food Systems in a changing world – Scientific Forward Look: European Science Foundation/COST. (2006-7) ESF/COST European Commission funded. Retail and consumption section: Principal investigator City University.

Ethical Traceability and informed food choice (2004-7) EU 6^th framework collaborative research project under Science and Society 4: Deepening the Understanding of Ethical Issues theme, with 7 partner institutions. Grant Contract no. SAS6-CT-2003-510235. Co-investigator City University.

Food safety norms, public health and consumers: international governance challenges(2008) report for the Steering Committee for Technology Assessment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for the Netherlands: 2008, Principal investigator City University.

Codex, the EU and Developing Countries: an analysis of developments in international food standards setting (2003) report for the Rural Livelihoods Department of the UK Department for International Development (DfID). Co-investigator City University.

Governmental bodies

• UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit’s Expert Advisory panel for Food and Food Policy Sept 2007 - July 2008.
• Scottish Government’s Expert Working Group on health and environmental sustainability on food and drink 2010.
• Invited expert to the Food Chain, Animal and Plant Health Advisory Group Assessment of SANCO Policy Impact on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), European Commission Health and Consumers Directorate General 2011.
• Department of Health (England & Wales) Improving Hospital Food Standards Project Expert Reference Group 2012-3; Expert Reference Sub-group on Sustainable Food and Catering Services 2013-2014.
• UK Conservative Party Taskforce on Public Sector procurement of Sustainable Food 2009
• UK Government Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) Organic Action Plan team for England 2002 -7
• Food Standards Agency’s National Codex Consultative Committee 2002-4.

Non Governmental Bodies

• British Standards Institute committee AW/90 Quality Systems for the Food Industry 2005-13.
• Council member of Sustain (UK food and farming alliance of @ 100 NGOs) since 2005.
• Chair of working party for Sustain’s Good Food on a Public Plate Project (public procurement of sustainable local food) 2005 - 2012. Chair of Good Food for Our Money Campaign 2009 - 2012.
• Project Steering Board for the Sustainable Food Cities Programme 2013-2016 (Esmee Fairbairn Foundation funded c. £1m)
• Associate member of the UK Health Forum.
• Joint co-ordinator of the UK Agri-food Network a joint NGO-academic seminar series funded by the Network Foundation 2003-5
• Member of Sustainable Food Supply Chain Commission: Industry and Parliament trust, Food Ethics Council & Warwick University 2013- 2014.

Academic

• Member of Core Group of UK Research Councils’ (RCUK) Global Food Security Project: Priority questions for the UK Food System 2013.
• Editorial board of the international journal Agriculture and Human Values
• Editorial board of the international journal Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food.
• External advisor to Oxford University interdisciplinary research project Emerging Forms Of Food Consumer Behaviour and Food Governance 2013 -2014 (Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, the Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity & the Said Business School).
• Advisory Board Food Research Collaboration (Esmee Fairburn Foundation funded project): 2014-17
• Political Studies Association of the UK. PSA UK specialist groups 1. Public Policy and Administration 2. Environmental Politics
• International Academic Advisory Committee for the Masters in Food Systems, Culture and Society, from the Open University of Catalonia (UNESCO Centre for e learning).
• Food and Climate Research Network

Broadcasting

Various including: BBC TV news; BBC 24 Hour news; BBC Radio 4 AM, PM, Farming Today and Moral Maze programmes; Radio 5 News; BBC World Service.