Future Food Utrecht is proud to celebrate the awarding of two prestigious grants to the following winning initiatives driving innovations in sustainable and fair food systems.
Future Food Utrecht proudly celebrates two winning initiatives awarded prestigious grants for advancing sustainable and fair food systems: a Signature Grant and an Incubator Grant. These interdisciplinary initiatives, rooted in collaboration across faculties and international partners, demonstrate Future Food Utrecht鈥檚 commitment to transformative food and farming research.
Follow the Food: Leveraging Geographical Indications for Sustainability and Fairness (Signature Grant)
Led by Martijn Huysmans and his team, Follow the Food challenges the unsustainable and often unfair global agri-food system. The project focuses on Geographical Indications (GIs) like Champagne, Prosciutto di Parma, and Gouda Holland. These labels are more than marketing tools, they can promote sustainability, protect cultural and ecological heritage, and empower small farmers.
The team studies case examples from Italy (cheese), Indonesia (coffee), and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (dried fruits). They explore how GIs can support agroecological change, improve local livelihoods, and create fairer food governance based on justice and cooperation.
Scholars from Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, Leiden 木瓜福利影视, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and partners like the FAO work together. Their goal is to show how food labels and systems can benefit both people and the planet not just markets.
The Living Farm: Co-Creating a Living Lab for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 (Incubator Grant)
Led by our Future Food Ambassador Yann Hautier and his team, this incubator initiative explores how farming can become a driver of biodiversity, climate resilience, animal welfare, health, social cohesion, and economic viability all at once. The goal is to develop a multifunctional Living Lab Farm at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 that reimagines agricultural landscapes as spaces of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable productivity.
The Living Lab Farm is envisioned as a transdisciplinary testbed for innovative land management, sustainable livestock practices, legal and economic frameworks, citizen engagement, and ecosystem restoration. It will be a dynamic space where researchers, students, farmers, and community members come together for real-world experimentation, hands-on learning, and co-creation.
With contributions from all seven faculties of Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 and a wide network of partners, the Living Lab Farm aims to foster just, biodiverse, and resilient food futures.