Reaching the Next Generation to Sustain Modern Agricultural Practices
By: Kimberly Reed, Executive Director, International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation
Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa, where more than 1,400 people from 70 nations have gathered to celebrate the World Food Prize. The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing the accomplishments of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.
Leading up to tonight’s World Food Prize ceremony, leaders from around the globe, including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, high-level policymakers, NGO heads, development specialists, CEOs and private-sector executives, and scientific experts, have spent the past few days discussing topics centered around the 2012 theme: “Partnerships and Priorities: Transforming the Global Food Security Agenda.”
To build on this “partnership and priorities” theme for those not able to attend the World Food Prize in person, the Alliance to Feed the Future, which now has 107 partner organizations (and growing!), decided to take “Des Moines to Your Desktop” by hosting a live webcast on the importance of reaching the next generation to sustain modern agricultural practices.
I was delighted to moderate this panel and take thought-provoking questions from 400+ participants from around the globe. Panelists and topics discussed included:
David Schmidt, President and CEO, International Food Information Council - The Alliance to Feed the Future: An International Model for Communicating About Modern Agriculture and Food Production;
Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Agricultural Law Student, Drake University - Food in the Future...A Youthful Perspective;
Edie Fraser, Executive Director, STEMconnector - Making Food and Agriculture a Bigger Part of Our Educational Mandate; and
Moderator: Kimberly Reed, Executive Director, International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation - Food and Agricultural Education: A Global Priority?
You can watch the webcast and share it with your colleagues, stakeholders, teachers, and students by clicking here: http://event.netbriefings.com/event/ific/Archives/alliance/
I also am including some links to some IFIC Foundation educational resources, including some noted during the webcast discussion, at the end of this blog for your consideration and use.
Tonight, as leaders gather at the Iowa State Capitol for the ceremony honoring the World Food Prize’s 2012 Laureate, Dr. Daniel Hillel, we hope that you will watch it live (7 p.m. Central Time) from your computer at: www.worldfoodprize.org. Dr. Hillel has focused his career on micro-irrigation, to maximize water usage in agriculture that has positively impacted millions of people.
As I wrote in my blog post from last year’s World Food Prize ceremony: May the World Food Prize inspire our next generation of food leaders to confront challenges and make achievements so that tomorrow's world will have access to healthful, nutritious, safe, and affordable foods! The Alliance to Feed the Future is focused on helping the next generation sustain modern agricultural practices to make great future achievements for our growing planet possible.
Farm to Fork: Additional Resources for More Information
Modern Food Production Resources
Print Materials:
Expert Video Series: Expert Perspectives on Feeding the Growing Population with Dr. Bob Thompson
Expert Video Series: Expert Perspectives on Food Production w/Dr. Lowell Catlett
Expert Video Series: From Farm to Fork: Experts on Our Food Supply
Additional Videos
Biotechnology Resources
Fortification Resources
Food Insight Fortification Series:
Food Ingredient and Component Resources
Food Safety Resources