Taking place at London’s Guildhall, the invitation-only event will feature a keynote address from Professor Susan Jebb OBE, one of the UK’s most influential nutrition scientists. She will examine the health of the nation and the critical role the food and drink sector must play in shaping a healthier future.

In her lecture, Professor Jebb will reflect on the past quarter-century, setting out the stark realities of diet-related ill health, including the rise in obesity, before looking forward to the next 25 years and posing the question of how we can make the next 25 years healthier.

Professor Jebb is professor of diet and population health at the University of Oxford and is renowned for translating rigorous science into practical public-health policy. Awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to public health and a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, she is widely recognised as one of the most authoritative voices in UK food and health policy.

Following the keynote, Professor Jebb will be joined for an interactive panel discussion chaired by Charlotte Smith, presenter of BBC One’s Countryfile and BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today. The panel will bring together leading voices from across food, farming, policy and global food systems:

• Christine Tacon, non-executive director at Co-op Group. Previously chair of Red Tractor, Groceries Code Adjudicator, and CEO of Co-op’s farming business
• Ash Amirahmadi OBE, a prominent figure in the UK’s food, drink and farming sectors
• Ian Wright CBE, a highly respected leader in the UK food and drink industry with more than four decades of experience across business, policy and communications

Together, the panel will debate whether incremental change is enough or whether transformation has become an existential imperative for parts of the industry.

Professor Jebb said: “Over the last 25 years, we have seen a huge increase in the prevalence of obesity and diet-related ill-health, driven not by a collapse in personal willpower, but a change in our food system.

“Small changes and good intentions on the part of businesses are not enough to turn the tide. I want to challenge the industry to reflect honestly on the pace of change so far, and to commit to a reset of the food system to improve public health outcomes and to position their businesses as a force for good in society.”

Amirahmadi, meanwhile, emphasised that the food and drink industry “has enormous influence on how people live every day”, pointing out that this anniversary lecture is “a timely moment to ask whether the sector is ready to play a more proactive role in the future health of our country by delivering healthier, more sustainable diets, as well as supporting growth and innovation”.

Wright expressed his hope for the panel debate to be “disputatious” and “noisier than ever.” And Tacon said she was “delighted that the lecture has evolved to reach a wider audience by broadcasting online and including scholars”.

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