Dr Strak has been Honorary Professor in Food Economics at the University of Nottingham since 2010. He combines his consulting (mainly now for the Asian Development Bank), with being managing editor of Whole Hog Brief (www.porkinfo.com) and retiring. He attended the Universities of Aberdeen and Manchester (BSc (Agric Econ), MA Econ, PhD) and was a lecturer at Manchester University 1980-89. As MD, he ran a start-up meat, dairy and fine foods sourcing company in the far north of Scotland for HRH The Prince of Wales’ North Highland Initiative 2006-09. He was MD of FoodEast.com from 2000-2006 (an on-line food industry training network in East Anglia delivering knowledge transfer/TNAs to farmers & food businesses). John has been a Special Advisor in Parliament on three inquiries and was Chief Economist at the International Wool Secretariat 1989-92. His consulting work for agribusiness has been in North and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, China, South and Central Asia, South East Asia, Japan, and Australasia.  

Dr Strak brings extensive national and international food chain expertise and his support includes both highlighting contemporary food chain issues and raising awareness of the Centre’s work to senior personnel in the agri-food chain.