Dr. Nina Fedoroff [1 | 2] Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State and to the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development
In early January, we wrote about the co-existence event at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, which brought together both organic and conventional farmers to discuss how the two practices can work together to feed the world.
The Maine Biotechnology Information Bureau was on hand for the standing-room only event that addressed issues including pesticide use, food production and the environment. “We have to increase production with lower environmental costs,” said keynote speaker Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. Click here to read MBIB’s recap of the event and to hear from farmers on both sides of the issue.
Jon Olson, Executive Secretary of the Maine Farm Bureau, also provided an interesting perspective in an op-ed published in the Kennebec Journal last week. He writes, “Farmers in Maine are fed up with the controversy and are quietly talking among themselves, looking for ways to move beyond the divide. Collaboration is replacing confrontation, for the benefit of all Maine farmers.”
The University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment produced an excellent video that asks the big question “how will we feed a growing population without destroying the planet?” The video shares some sobering facts that underline the enormity of the challenges before us, but also provides solutions and ideas on ways to improve agricultural productivity.
UMN Institute on the Environment Director Jonathan Foley wrote a piece that corresponds with the video and discusses “the other” inconvenient truth: “a global crisis in land use and agriculture that could undermine the health, security and sustainability of our civilization.”
You can watch the video below and also find it on the Institute’s site. You can read Mr. Foley’s piece here.
Russ Parsons published an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times on January 6 about the realities of food and farming. He calls for “a more constructive give-and-take, the start of a true conversation” about our food production system.
Parsons lays out a few ground rules that will help us move towards a constructive conversation, which begins with the understanding that food production is a complicated issue. He reminds us that there is a shared motive on all sides of the conversation, and he is pleased to see a growing interest and awareness about the way food is grown and produced.
Dr. William H. Danforth, chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, wrote an op-ed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that outlines the challenges the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) must meet, and argues that first-rate science is critical to addressing these challenges.
He writes that America must promote innovation and science in order to increase productivity with fewer inputs, lower costs and new value added. This call to action connects to the second challenge: the 1 billion people who are undernourished worldwide. He also addresses the challenge of climate change, and stresses the importance of sustainable agriculture practices and preserving the environment for future generations.
Dr. Danforth also reflects on Dr. Norman Borlaug’s success bringing about the Green Revolution, which saved over 1 billion people from hunger and starvation, and communicates the need for similar food production advances today. Dr. Danforth writes, “An agricultural revolution to provide what’s needed on land able to produce for generations is a tough but noble goal. Our modern scientific and technological tools are allies.”
The Financial Times published an editorial calling for more agriculture and food security aid in the declaration that will be signed at next week’s World Food Summit. They write that more attention must be paid towards the 1 billion chronically undernourished people in the globe, and the challenges to the future of food production, including an increasing population and climate change.
They also write that developing countries “need investment in research on agricultural techniques” in order to significantly increase food production in the developing world.
Read more of the Financial Times’ editorial here (subscription required)
Dr. Nina Fedoroff
In early January, we wrote about the co-existence event at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, which brought together both organic and conventional farmers to discuss how the two practices can work together to feed the world.
issues including pesticide use, food production and the environment. “We have to increase production with lower environmental costs,” said keynote speaker Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. Click here to read MBIB’s recap of the event and to hear from farmers on both sides of the issue.
Maine are fed up with the controversy and are quietly talking among themselves, looking for ways to move beyond the divide. Collaboration is replacing confrontation, for the benefit of all Maine farmers.”
Russ Parsons published an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times on January 6 about the realities of food and farming. He calls for “a more constructive give-and-take, the start of a true conversation” about our food production system.
Dr. William H. Danforth, chairman of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, wrote an op-ed for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that outlines the challenges the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) must meet, and argues that first-rate science is critical to addressing these challenges.