Academic’s expertise informs policy on food sourced from animals
Edge Hill academic Dr Richard Twine is aiming to shape policy with a new briefing on reducing how much food is sourced from animals.
Sustainable diets: reducing animal-sourced food consumption summarises the link between animal agriculture and climate change, arguing for a plant-baseddiet as the lowest carbon option.
Dr Twine, senior lecturer in social sciences, has an expertise in critical animal studies and environmental sociology.
He said: “News stories come and go in the media cycle but they cannot disguise the unrelenting way in which extreme weather events impress upon us the growing impacts of climate change.
“To arrest this worsening trajectory leaders and their institutions must get serious about the issue fast. Fossils fuels are the big story but globally the food system contributes over a third of all greenhouse gases.”
He argues that to change that impact, especially in the global north, there must be a reduction in consumption of animal-sourced foods.
“This is where we can see a positive story amongst the pessimism, as evidenced by a recent Lancet report: by making such changes not only can we tackle emissions, but we can also improve human health outcomes.
“This policy brief goes into more detail and equips decision makers with the facts to make the necessary and bold decisions on this central dimension of sustainable diets.”
Find out more about studying sociology and social sciences at Edge Hill University.
Edge Hill climbs People & Planet University League with 2:1 Class Recognition
Edge Hill University has climbed the People & Planet University League, achieving recognition as a 2:1 Class University - a significant improvement on last year’s results.
The independent league table, compiled annually by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, ranks universities by their environmental and ethical performance.
Edge Hill’s rise reflects the dedication of staff and students and the innovative steps being taken to embed sustainability across the institution.
Keziah Stott, Corporate Sustainability Manager, said: “I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this achievement. We are excited to build on this momentum with new frameworks and initiatives, including those focused on environmental sustainability and biodiversity. Together, we are making Edge Hill University a more sustainable, ethical and environmentally responsible institution.”
Over the past 12 months, the Corporate Sustainability team, working in partnership with internal and external stakeholders, has delivered a range of initiatives including:
- Launching an Ethical Investment Policy
- Introducing a Sustainable Procurement Policy
- Embedding circular economy principles into a new Waste and Resource Strategy
- Hosting the annual Sustainability Fair
- Supporting student-led projects and securing funding for a new Student Sustainability Initiative Fund
- Creating an in-house toolkit for students to audit modules for sustainability-related content, supporting the rollout of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across the University
- Using PowerBI to improve data presentation and engagement
- Developing new toolkits for staff to understand and record their carbon footprint using a standardised methodology.
Edge Hill University’s progress demonstrates its commitment to embedding sustainability at every level, from governance and investment to teaching and student engagement. With new initiatives already underway, the University aims to continue its upward trajectory in future league tables.
Find out more about sustainability at Edge Hill.
Edge Hill’s archivists share Terence Davies expertise at top cultural events to discuss innovation in food production
Edge Hill University archivists have shared their expertise on award-winning director Terence Davies at a number of high-profile events.
Dan Copley and Sophie Smith were invited to speak after The University became proud caretakers of Terence’s personal archive shortly after his death.
The Archives Team curated a collection of artefacts – many of which had never been seen before, including the recently discovered short film Boogie – for a free exhibition during the BFI’s season Love, Sex, Religion, Death: The Complete Films of Terence Davies.
Dan and Sophie spoke at the Unrealised Projects event at BFI Southbank, discussing the projects and screenplays Terence wrote but which never made it to the screen.
And they joined an ‘in conversation’ panel at HOME in Manchester to discuss the archive and Terence’s films and inspirations alongside John Taylor, his manager and executive producer of Benediction and HOME’s head of film strategy Rachel Hayward.
Dan Copley said: “It has been a privilege to be able to share some of the treasures from Terence’s remarkable archive, close to what would have been his 80th birthday, with audiences and fans from across the world at major retrospectives of his films at the BFI in London and HOME in Manchester. We were also able to provide digital images of items from the archive for a retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
“It was wonderful to meet some of Terence’s fans at the events we spoke at, giving us a clear sense of how much his work means to so many people and how significant our role as custodians of the archive is.”
Read more about Terence Davies and the archive at Edge Hill University.
December 15, 2025
