World renowned sailor and "thought leader" Dame Ellen MacArthur to speak at virtual Oxford Farming Conference

Known for making history in 2005 when she became the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe, Dame Ellen remains the UK’s most successful ever offshore racer.

She will be in conversation on the final day, Friday, January 7, with OFC co-chair Sarah Mukherjee about her journey from world-class sailor, to the founding of the Ellen MacArthur 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, farmers, the climate and biodiversity

“With 45 per cent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 90 pe cent of biodiversity loss coming from the way we make and use things, including food, we need solutions that can be scaled fast,” Dame Ellen said.

“The circular economy gives us a framework to redesign and transform our food system into one that is nature-positive.

“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 described Dame Ellen, who is a World Economic Forum Global Agenda Trustee for Environment and Natural Resource Security and sat on the European Commission’s Resource Efficiency Platform, as a “thought leader”. “The Oxford Farming Conference prides itself on delivering innovative sessions and outstanding speakers who deliver the conference’s mission to inform, challenge and inspire our delegates,” Ms Mukherjee 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 to discuss the circular economy with our audience in Oxford, and that we are able to make the session accessible to individuals across the world through our digital streaming.”

Co-chairs of this year’s OFC announced the event, which was planned as a hybrid virtual and in person conference, would move to online only in December. Speaking at the time Ms Mukherjee and Barbara Bray said delegate safety was the primary concern.

“Whilst we are confident that the measures we had put in place to safeguard delegates were robust, the groundswell of concern nationally and internationally, combined with the lack of clarity about regulations likely in the weeks ahead, made this decision inevitable.”