Food Security for Equitable Futures along with the Lancaster University Engagement Team invited Mr Biraj Patnaik, one of our key project stakeholders based in India, to give a talk entitled ’Our Food Futures: Rising Inequality and Climate Change‘ in a Public Lecture Series at Lancaster University.

Mr Patnaik is the Executive Director of National Foundation for India (NFI), which is India’s oldest independent domestic philanthropic organisation. Prior to joining NFI, he was the South Asia Director of Amnesty International overseeing all operations in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. A well-known human rights activist, he has been part of many national and global campaigns, including the right to food campaign in India. As Mr Patnaik highlighted in his talk, the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN estimates that more than 800 million people globally are affected by hunger. Despite rapid technological progress on many fronts (including in agricultural production) this unconscionable statistic continues to haunt us. Mr Patnaik charted the journey of what a fundamental right to food entails in law and practice. He outlined the challenges of growing inequality and climate shocks that are exacerbating the food crisis in India, and globally, and looked at how countries might respond to these challenges.

The lecture gained huge popularity not only in Lancaster (where it was organized) but also attracted audience from London and Oxford. More than 100 members of public registered to attend the event.