International summit on global food security is bringing together leading researchers in Linkoping

LINKOPING-SWEDEN (January 22, 2013) — The question how we will secure the world's future food supply has globally become an increasingly hot issue due to climate change and the increasing shortage of arable land. International experts in food security, urban farming and sustainable agriculture will gather in Linkoping in Sweden, at the Urban Agriculture Summit 2013, January 29-31, to discuss how we are going to feed the cities of the future.

Representatives from the UN as well as Asian and European cities are participating along with leading researchers from the US, Europe, China, Singapore and Sweden.

Food security as well as food safety are becoming big and important issues globally, and the Linkoping Summit will gather many international experts to discuss how we can handle food supply and demand in the future. Some of the keynote speakers of the Summit are: “The father of Urban Agriculture”, Professor Dickson Despommier of Columbia University; one of the world's leading researchers in sustainable agriculture, Dr. Jan De Wilt from InnovatieNetwerk; UN Advisor Dennis Pamlin from the UN Global Compact; Professor Oren R. Lyons, Chairman of Plantagon International; Environmental lecturer and former spokesperson of the Swedish Green Party, Maria Wetterstrand, and many more.

Linkoping, along with the local energy company Tekniska Verken, has for many years been at the forefront of developments regarding recycling and waste management. The good local initiatives have spread to several other municipalities, and Linköping University conducts high-level research in the field.

The innovative idea to link Linkoping’s existing energy system to a greenhouse, thus taking advantage of excess heat, carbon dioxide and other waste products is the reason that the world's first vertical greenhouse for industrial food production now is to be built in Linkoping. An international research center for urban agriculture is also planned in the greenhouse. This is also one of the reasons that this year's Urban Agriculture Summit is held in Linkoping.

As the host city of the Urban Agriculture Summit, which is the largest convention within this field, stands Linkoping City. Governor of Östergötland Elisabeth Nilsson and Chairman of the Linköping City Executive Board Paul Lindvall will inaugurate the Summit.

Networking partners of the Summit are Linköping University, Cleantech Östergötland and SymbioCity, the Swedish government's cleantech initiative. Conference partners and initiators are Plantagon, Saab, Sweco, Tekniska Verken, and others.

Link to the UAS 2012 website

For more information please contact:

Paul Lindvall, Chairman of the City Executive Board, the City of Linkoping,
tel. +46-13-20 62 96, +46-70-211 44 82

Peter Värbrand, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Linköping University
Contact: Mariethe Larsson, Director of Communications, mariethe.larsson @ liu.se, tel. +46-13-28 69 66

Stefan Jakobsson, Director of Business Development, Tekniska Verken
Contact: Marie Lorentzon, Communications Officer, marie.lorentzon @ tekniskaverken.se, tel. +46-13-20 83 06, +-46-70-339 83 06

Hans Hassle, CEO Plantagon International AB
Contact: Carin Balfe Arbman, Press Officer, carin.balfe-Arbman @ plantagon.com, tel. +46-70-633 35 08