DAME ELLEN MacArthur has been revealed as one of the speakers at this year's Oxford Farming Conference.

Founder of the circular economy charity the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dame Ellen will take part in a special session on 'Navigating to a Nature Positive Food System' on Friday January 7.

She is known for making history in 2005 when she became the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe and remains the UK’s most successful offshore racer ever.

Dame Ellen will be in conversation with OFC co-chair Sarah Mukherjee MBE about her journey from world-class sailor, to the establishment of the Foundation, and its mission to accelerate the transition to a circular economy designed to eliminate waste, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature.

Earlier this year the Foundation launched the Big Food Redesign which looks at how food brands and retailers can make nature-positive food the norm. It sets out how, by rethinking the ingredients they use and how they're produced, they can provide choices that are better for customers, better for farmers, and better for the climate and biodiversity

Commenting on her topic at the OFC, Dame Ellen said: “With 45% of GHG emissions and 90% of biodiversity loss coming from the way we make and use things, including food, we need solutions that can be scaled fast. The circular economy gives us a framework to redesign and transform our food system into one that is nature-positive.

Read more: 

“Food companies and retailers embracing circular design for food to rethink their ingredient selection and sourcing decisions will afford farmers the opportunity to increase yields and profitability, reduce GHGs and biodiversity loss, and create resilience against the effects of climate change.”

Ms Mukherjee shared her excitement for welcoming Dame Ellen to the conference, which will now take place online due to recently announced Covid-19 restrictions

“The OFC prides itself on delivering innovative sessions and outstanding speakers who deliver the conference’s mission to inform, challenge and inspire our delegates,” she said. “Dame Ellen MacArthur epitomises a thought-leader who is influencing change at a crucial time for agriculture and food systems, when climate, the environment and the supply chain are at the forefront of every agrifood business.

“We are delighted that she will be joining us in January to discuss the circular economy with our audience in Oxford, and that we are able to make the session accessible to individuals all across the world through our digital streaming.”