Verdant
Timing
Tuesday 29th September: 12:00 - 13:00
Chair
Deborah Doane, Co-Director, Verdant
Speakers
James Meadway, Co-Director, Verdant
John McDonnell MP
Topic
Food prices and food security: a bold new approach is needed
With British farmers warning of food shortages as this summer's extreme heat wreaks havoc with harvests, this session will make the case for new approaches to secure high quality, affordable food for all in conditions of worsening environmental and geopolitical turmoil.
About Verdant
A new kind of think tank for a just and green future.
Verdant is a think tank committed to the values of social and environmental justice, meeting the turmoil of our polycrisis. We are committed to shaping inclusive policies that don’t just analyse ideas; we build them collaboratively, bringing citizens and experts together to design the next chapter of progressive politics in the UK. We want to ensure that the people most affected by policies help to shape and refine them, strengthening their legitimacy with politicians, media and the public.Our aim is to make bold, inclusive policy the foundation of a fair, flourishing and sustainable Britain.
Speaker bios
Deborah Doane, Co-Director, Verdant
Deborah has a strong track record of pioneering institutions and projects that convene people who can bridge ideas, policy and influence, and with over 30 years’ experience is well-networked across civil society in the UK and beyond. She was founder/Director of the CORE Coalition (now Corporate Justice Coalition) that won ground-breaking changes to embed social and environmental accountability into UK Company law; As Director of the World Development Movement, she led the organisation to win new policy in Europe on commodity speculation; and as the first Director of the Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society (FICS), she helped to spearhead philanthropic investment into the enabling environment for civil society and democratic space. She is the co-founder of the RINGO Project, a global systems-change initiative to reimagine power and relationships across global civil society, influencing bilateral aid policy and the future of Aid. She has sat on the Board of the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, Fairtrade Foundation and is the current chair of Finance Uncovered. Her book, ‘the INGO Problem’, was published in 2024 by Practical Action.
James Meadway, Co-Director, Verdant
James is an economist with two decades' professional experience in the UK and internationally. His previous appointments include chief economist at New Economics Foundation, economic advisor to the Shadow Chancellor, and director of the Progressive Economy Forum, and he has worked at institutions including HM Treasury, the Royal Society and UN Trade and Development. He holds a first in economics and economic history from the LSE, a masters' with distinction and a PhD in from the University of London, and has taught and lectured at universities including SOAS, Sussex and Cambridge. He is a regular commentator on economics and economic policy for the UK and international media, including columns in the New Statesman and the Financial Times, hosts the weekly Macrodose podcast, and James' first book, on the end of economic growth and its global consequences, is due out from Penguin in 2026.
