Line Gordon at Stockholm University selected for Curt Bergfors Professorship

Center director Line Gordon has been appointed professor in sustainable food systems by Stockholm University. This will further strengthen the center’s research on food system sustainability and resilience. The professorship is funded by the Curt Bergfors Foundation, and will focus on exploring and further developing the knowledge required to work towards a sustainable food system.

Gordon is an internationally recognized scientist in sustainability of water, food, and the biosphere. She is thrilled to be given this opportunity to continue work on how we can transform our eating habits, improving food production, and reducing food waste.

“I am deeply grateful for the generosity showed by the Curt Berfors foundation, and look forward to use this opportunity to further strengthen our capacity to push the frontier in research on the future of sustainable and resilient foodsystems to improve human and planetary health.”
Line Gordon

Closely aligned with current research

One of the research areas of the new professorship will focus on national, regional and global scenarios; i.e. to identify alternative development pathways for more resilient and sustainable food systems that help achieve national and global goals.

The subject description of the professorship is: “interdisciplinary research on sustainable development, with studies of the interactions between ecological and social systems, and in particular how the food systems affect the biosphere and human health”.

As such, the new professorship will be closely aligned with the current research efforts at the center focusing on one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to produce enough nutritious food for a growing world population while also decreasing the pressure on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.

“Only with a better understanding of our food systems and their impact can we find and support the initiatives around the world that can secure a safe and resilient food supply.”
Curt Bergfors

Truly understanding the problem is crucial for finding the right solutions

The foundation behind the professorship was established in 2019 with capital sourced from private assets of the Swedish food entrepreneur and philanthropist Curt Bergfors.

In addition to the professorship, the foundation has recently also launched the Food Planet Prize, the world’s largest prize in the food arena, which awarded four $1 million prizes in 2020.

“The professorship is a fundamental step in the foundation’s mission to advance knowledge on food systems. Deeper interdisciplinary research and innovative and cross-border solutions are needed to successfully transition to sustainable food production over the next ten years.”
Lars Peder Hedberg, Executive Board Director of the Curt Bergfors Foundation

Press images: Photos of Curt Bergfors can be found here and here. Photos of Line Gordon can be found here.

Sarah Kullin,
Brand and Communications Director, the Curt Bergfors Foundation
sarah.kullin@foodplanetprize.org
+46 73 9188618

Sturle Hauge Simonsen,
Head of communications, Stockholm Resilience Centre
sture.hauge.simonsen@su.se
+46 73 7078550