Bobby Edge-Partington

Come work with us at @ifstnews.bsky.social! Great opportunity 👇

Good morning.

Word of the Day is as beautiful as it is underused. ‘Confelicity’ is finding joy in the happiness and success of others.

So... how many new faces are there since the Guardian announced they're leaving X?

@ifstnews.bsky.social is now on Bluesky! Go and follow IFST for regular updates from the world of food science and technology!

In case you missed it, the UK House of Lords published this report a few weeks ago…

I’ll be posting my thoughts on the report this week, if you don’t have time to read 180+ pages don’t worry, because I’ve read it!

If you want to read the full report: www.parliament.uk/business/lor...

Hi Tamar, wondering if you could add me to your pack? I work in the food system and will be posting about climate + sustainability + food systems + policymaking and more! Would really appreciate the boost, thanks!

Hi Nathan, would really appreciate being added to this list! I run comms for IFST - the leading professional body for people in science and technology in the food system. My background is in sustainability and policy and will be posting about a mix of these things!

These are some of my thoughts on why the food system might have had more attention in the USA election than the UK election - as someone who’s lived in both countries I found it really interesting. Reply below with your thoughts and reflections, and follow to keep up with what I’m sharing!

Media definitely plays a part in this too. In the USA, the media has given more airtime to the issue of food prices, whereas in the UK there simply isn’t much mainstream media appetite (pun intended) for stories about the food system.

But this doesn’t paint the full picture. In 🇺🇸 there’s been a more active debate on government intervention in food pricing, including in subsidies or price caps. In the UK, the food system isn’t considered as a key issue for parties - the word “food” only appeared 8 times in Labour’s manifesto

So why was this more of an issue in the USA than the UK? Part of it is campaign structure: the US campaigns focussed more on key economic issues affecting everyday Americans, whereas in the UK campaigns focussed on broader topics like the NHS, immigration, and housing

The food system is facing similar levels of price inflation in both the UK and USA - 2.3% avg price increase in 🇺🇸 vs 2.2% in 🇬🇧 - these price increase are really hitting people’s already stretched budgets and we’re all feeling it more than ever before

I run communications for one of the leading professional bodies in the food system - something I really noticed about the US election last week was how food prices were so much more of a political talking point on both sides than in the UK election earlier this year. More thoughts below 👇🏼

Tolly’s art is unbelievable! I’ve worked with her on projects before and her creativity and skill are a rare blend which make her brilliant to work with

Hello Bluesky! Feels good to be here. I’ll be posting about food systems, sustainability, climate change, politics/policymaking, probably sport-related rambling and various musings.

Really excited about the energy over here - here’s to building a great community!