food4future Status Seminar 2025: Shaping the Future of Food Together

25.07.2025

In July 2025, the food4future consortium gathered in Kulmbach for their annual meeting. Photo: University of Bayreuth.

On 22 and 23 July 2025, the food4future consortium met for its annual status seminar on the Kulmbach campus of the University of Bayreuth. The aim was to reflect on the current progress of the ten projects within the second funding phase and to jointly develop an outlook for the upcoming milestones. The Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), as the coordinating institute, presented key projects.

The focus was on current research findings and strategic decisions for the coming year. The participating sub-projects presented advances in the indoor (co-)cultivation of alternative food organisms – macroalgae, halophytes, jellyfish and insects – as well as new developments in the areas of consumer research, digitalisation and systems evaluation. The team led by coordinator Prof Dr Monika Schreiner presented the communication and strategy project, while Dr Anna Fricke and colleagues showcased the outcomes of the macroalgae indoor cultivation project.

Key research questions on sustainable food systems, bioeconomic evaluation, and technical scalability were discussed. An interactive session on the further development of pilot facilities and business models highlighted the consortium’s practical focus and commitment to knowledge transfer.

The seminar illustrated how interdisciplinary collaboration within the food4future project leads to concrete approaches for resilient food systems – with IGZ acting as a driving force at the interface between research and practice.

“food4future – Food for the Future” is a joint project funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the “Agricultural Systems of the Future” initiative.

More information: www.food4future.de