Today in Washington, D.C., Arizona State University, the New America Foundation and Slate magazine are tackling the sticky subject of how to feed the world as population swells and climate changes in both extreme and subtle ways to threaten vital crops around the world.
Tune in to hear the conversation and review the agenda on topics including:
"The Collision Course: Rising Demands on a Hotter Planet," "Will New Seeds Conquer the New Climate," "Where's the Beef: Your Hamburger in 2050," "The Next Green Revolution: Is There an App for That?" and "Business as Usual: Toward Global Adaptation."
In the session on "How to Avert a Food Crisis," guided by David Biello of the Scientific American, Hans Herren, 1995 World Food Prize winner and president of the Millennium Institute and USAID climate specialist Ed Carr of the University of South Carolina discuss what can be done now.
"What we don't need is more food," Herren said. "We grow enough for 2,500 calories per person now. What we do need is diversity, different varieties of food grown in more places."
"We cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it," Herren concluded. "We need more production developing countries. In places where we now have food deficits, we can easily double or triple food production and access. We just have to change our thinking."
Carr reinforced the importance of local knowledge and production of smallholder farmers.
It's erroneous to ignore local knowledge when dreaming up solutions to food scarcity, Carr said. "When you look at climate trends these farmers are already coping with tremendous variability in climate. Do not underestimate how smart these famers are and consider that they are already adjusting crops based on markets and climate while development experts debate the best way to do it."
On Twitter? Join the conversation with @FutureTenseNow at #foodfuture.
