Pelican to sponsor The City Food Lecture

Leading food industry PR and marketing firm Pelican Communications, has become a sponsor of The City Food Lecture, one of the most prestigious events in the food industry calendar.

This year’s lecture will be given by Professor Chris Elliott, professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast, and founder of the Institute for Global Food Security.

The professor, who led the Elliott Review into the integrity and assurance of food supply networks following the horsemeat scandal, will discuss the question: ‘Does it matter where our food comes from?’

In his address, Professor Elliott will highlight his concerns about the growing ‘disconnect’ between people and their knowledge of where their food comes from. He will say that the causes are complex and that the government, food industry and educators have responsibilities to address the major societal problem.

Taking place at London’s Guildhall on 21 February 2017, The City Food Lecture is an annual, invitation-only event, which is a fixture in the City of London and international food industry calendars.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Pelican’s managing director, Michael Bennett said: “Professor Elliott will highlight many of the challenges facing food and agriculture and discuss how the sector could respond. It promises to be a fascinating and stimulating evening.

“As a leading food industry PR and marketing agency, we’ve been attending the lecture for several years and so we are pleased to develop our relationship further with this sponsorship.”

The City Food Lecture is organised by seven City of London livery companies whose roots are in the food industry – namely the Worshipful Companies of Bakers, Butchers, Cooks, Farmers, Fishmongers, Fruiterers and Poulters.

Previous keynote speakers at the City Food Lecture include Christophe Jouan, chief executive of The Future Foundation, Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King, Unilever chief executive Paul Polman, former Cadbury Schweppes chairman, John Sunderland, and former Tesco chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy.

As well as Pelican, other sponsors include Premium sponsor, Rathbones, ABP Food Group, Roythornes, Arthur J Gallagher, Compass Group UK & Ireland and Fresh Produce Journal.

Pelican Communications are specialists in the environment, food and drink, outdoor and leisure and packaging sectors and offer a range of services such as media relations, brand management, event management and people development. Contact us for marketing and communications expertise.