Antonia Ax:son Johnson Named Honorary Doctor at SLU

2024.06.03

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has appointed six new honorary doctors for 2024, one of whom is Antonia Ax:son Johnson, founder of Axfoundation. SLU honors Antonia within the Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, highlighting her strong commitment to sustainability and close collaboration with researchers at Torsåker Farm, Axfoundation’s test and development center for future food and materials.

Antonia Ax:son Johnson is a fourth-generation business leader and founded Axfoundation in 1993. Photo: Peter Jönsson.

I am incredibly honored by this recognition, but also extremely frustrated! The sustainable transition is far too slow. Many people listen to the fantastic findings from research and express concern, but changing your, mine, and our behavior is so difficult. We have reached a point where we urgently need to change our way of living and consuming. I believe that an organization like Axfoundation and a place like Torsåker Farm can truly help make an important difference. – Antonia Ax:son Johnson

SLU’s Description of Antonia Ax:son Johnson

Antonia Ax:son Johnson led the family-owned Axel Johnson Group for many years and has been a driving force in the development of Swedish retail and grocery trade. Her strong commitment to sustainability, especially in the food sector, led her to found Axfoundation in 1993, an independent non-profit organization that today focuses on the future of food and materials. To accelerate the green transition, Axfoundation develops practical solutions to complex sustainability challenges in collaboration with researchers and practitioners.

At Axfoundation’s Torsåker Farm, concrete and sustainable solutions are developed and tested – in the fields, in the experimental garden, and in the test kitchens. For example, perennial grain crop trials are being conducted by plant breeders from SLU, with Axfoundation examining the crops’ suitability as food raw materials. Other research groups at SLU collaborate with Axfoundation on more sustainable protein feeds for fish and efforts to combat antibiotic resistance.

One of my most profound concerns is how quickly biodiversity is disappearing; how many species of insects, mammals and plants are going extinct before we collectively implement concrete measures that are significant enough to halt it? That’s why what we do and will continue to do within biodiversity is incredibly important.
– Antonia Ax:son Johnson

Honorary Doctors Appointed for 2024

Six new honorary doctors have been appointed for 2024 at three of SLU’s four faculties:

Antonia Ax:son Johnson (Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences)
CEO Kenneth Alness (Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences)
Animal Agronomist Hans Lindberg (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science)
Veterinarian Delia Grace Randolph (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science)
Professor Emeritus Tom Hobbs (Faculty of Forest Sciences)
Biologist and High School Teacher Mats Karström (Faculty of Forest Sciences)

The honorary doctors of 2024 will be conferred at the SLU doctoral promotion ceremony on October 5, 2024, in Uppsala. On October 4, they will give public lectures where the general public can gain insights from their knowledge and experiences.