World Food Prize

The Green Revolution is a warning, not a blueprint for feeding a hungry planet

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm.

Key Points: 
  • Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm.
  • Floods, heat waves and other weather extremes are making agriculture increasingly precarious, especially in the Global South.
  • Those efforts centered on India and other Asian countries; today, advocates focus on sub-Saharan Africa, where the original Green Revolution regime never took hold.

A triumphal narrative

    • Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 bestseller, “The Population Bomb,” famously predicted that nothing could stop “hundreds of millions” from starving in the 1970s.
    • Borlaug received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize and is still widely credited with “saving a billion lives.” Indian agricultural scientist M.S.
    • Swaminathan, who worked with Borlaug to promote the Green Revolution, received the inaugural World Food Prize in 1987.

Debunking the legend

    • The standard legend of India’s Green Revolution centers on two propositions.
    • India was importing wheat in the 1960s because of policy decisions, not overpopulation.
    • After the nation achieved independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru prioritized developing heavy industry.
    • U.S. advisers encouraged this strategy and offered to provide India with surplus grain, which India accepted as cheap food for urban workers.
    • They switched millions of acres from rice to jute production, and by the mid-1960s India was exporting agricultural products.

The toll of ‘green’ pollution

    • Globally, only 17% of what is applied is taken up by plants and ultimately consumed as food.
    • Most of the rest washes into waterways, where it creates algae blooms and dead zones that smother aquatic life.
    • In my view, African countries where the Green Revolution has not made inroads should consider themselves lucky.
    • In my view, there are many ways to pursue less input-intensive agriculture that will be more sustainable in a world with an increasingly erratic climate.

US-CHINA AGRICULTURE ROUNDTABLE PROVIDES DIPLOMATIC FORUM

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

ST. LOUIS, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Given the mutual benefit of agricultural trade and the critical importance of U.S.-China collaboration in addressing global food security, the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA), along with co-organizers and partners from both the U.S. and China, convened the third annual U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable on April 4 at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis around the theme: Global Food Security-rise to the challenge.

Key Points: 
  • USDA Acting Deputy Under Secretary Jason Hafemeister affirmed the shared interests both countries have around agriculture.
  • Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President Emeritus of the World Food Prize, who was awarded USHCA's Bridgebuilder Award for his instrumental role in the launching of the annual U.S.-China Agriculture Roundtable, moderated the diplomatic segment.
  • They extended warm welcomes for the American attendees to visit their provinces soon to explore opportunities for future collaborations around agriculture.
  • The Agriculture Education Dialogue on April 13 focused on "How to get more youth engaged in Ag?"

ROOTS OF PEACE, A HUMANITARIAN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, ANNOUNCES THE FIRST "MINES TO VINES" PROGRAM IN UKRAINE - A HISTORIC INITIATIVE TO ERADICATE LANDMINES/UXO AND RESTORE UKRAINIAN GRAPE GROWING REGION

Retrieved on: 
Monday, December 5, 2022

"As Ukrainians and Rotarians, making Ukraine safe again and rebuilding destroyed and (military) polluted areas our main focuses now," said Tatiana Godak, President, Rotary E-Club of Ukraine.

Key Points: 
  • "As Ukrainians and Rotarians, making Ukraine safe again and rebuilding destroyed and (military) polluted areas our main focuses now," said Tatiana Godak, President, Rotary E-Club of Ukraine.
  • "The Roots of Peace Mines to Vines initiative will substantially contribute to both."
  • Today, Croatia is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, due in part to their Mines to Vines initiative.
  • This holiday season of peace, Roots of Peace calls forth generous donations from global citizens, so that we may wage peace in Ukraine.

TURNING 'MINES TO VINES'--MINEFIELDS INTO VINEYARDS--IN UKRAINE

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 1, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Roots of Peace, a humanitarian non-profit organization, is pleased to announce the first MINES TO VINES program in Ukraine—transforming minefields into vineyards on former war-torn lands. The Rotary E-Club of Ukraine will partner with Roots of Peace to remove landmines in the Mykloaiv region of Ukraine, where winemakers have cultivated vineyards for thousands of years. Today, these vineyards yield the perils of landmines due to the recent invasion in February 2022, where the land is now held hostage by lethal landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Key Points: 
  • The Rotary E-Club of Ukraine will partner with Roots of Peace to remove landmines in the Mykloaiv region of Ukraine, where winemakers have cultivated vineyards for thousands of years.
  • The announcement will be livestreamed globally on Friday December 2 @ 1pm PST, here .
  • The 2022's Festival is a celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Signing of the Ottawa Treaty to Ban Landmines.
  • Confirmed speakers include Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President Emeritus, The World Food Prize; Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim of Azerbaijan; Dmytro Kushneruk, SF Consul General of Ukraine and others.

Ukraine farmer to address global agricultural experts at World Food Prize Foundation’s Borlaug Dialogue

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A farmer in Ukraine will draw attention to the plight of Europes breadbasket at the World Food Prize Foundations International Borlaug Dialogue next week.

Key Points: 
  • Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A farmer in Ukraine will draw attention to the plight of Europes breadbasket at the World Food Prize Foundations International Borlaug Dialogue next week.
  • The war in Ukraine has sent global wheat futures spiraling amid negotiations to release stockpiles of grain from blockaded ports, leaving farmers facing prolonged uncertainty.
  • Farmers are the frontline of our food systems, which means their resilience in the face of evolving challenges will define global food security, said Barbara Stinson, President of the World Food Prize Foundation.
  • The event will also recognize this years World Food Prize Laureate, NASA climate scientist Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig and the Borlaug Field Award Recipient, Mahalingham Govindaraj .

The Immigration Gap Provides Vital Information for Immigrant Adults and Their Children

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- When we think of cultural gaps that immigrants have to contend with, we usually think of the differences between American culture and the home country that immigrants left behind. But there is another significant cultural gap that needs to be explored: that experienced by immigrants and their children and the conflicts that often arise because of generational differences and differing expectations.

Key Points: 
  • A new book, The Immigration Gap; Bridging the Divide Between Immigrant Parents and Their Children (Optimum Publishing), hopes to bring parents and offspring closer together.
  • What to say to your teenager so he or she can confidently say no to sex and drugs.
  • How children can free themselves from their parents' control over their lives without feeling guilty.
  • She is an expert in helping immigrant parents navigate the challenges of parenting and the host of the Optimum Families YouTube channel.

Extensive Research Study Examines Enhanced Soil Carbon Farming as a Climate Solution

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 25, 2022

Dr. Rattan Lal , a distinguished university professor of soil science and director of OSUs College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, will chair the study, Enhanced Soil Carbon Farming as a Climate Solution.

Key Points: 
  • Dr. Rattan Lal , a distinguished university professor of soil science and director of OSUs College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration, will chair the study, Enhanced Soil Carbon Farming as a Climate Solution.
  • Carbon farming optimizes carbon capture by implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which carbon dioxideis removed from the atmosphere and stored in plant material or soil organic matter.
  • Current knowledge on carbon farming is primarily based either on simulation modelling or on data from a limited number of field experiments.
  • Furthermore, knowledge gaps exist on how projected climate extremes will impact SOC sequestration, crop productivity, agricultural GHG emissions and soil health across diverse landscapes.

ROBB FRALEY JOINS HARPE BIOHERBICIDE SOLUTIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 29, 2022

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc., a pre-commercial stage agricultural technology company focused on providing natural and sustainable herbicide solutions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert (Robb) Fraley to its board of directors. In addition to joining the board, Dr. Fraley has personally invested in the company.

Key Points: 
  • RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc. , a pre-commercial stage agricultural technology company focused on providing natural and sustainable herbicide solutions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Robert (Robb) Fraley to its board of directors.
  • Featuring new sites and modes of action, Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions will not only take a lead role in the bioherbicide market but developed products will impact the greater $27B industry of conventional herbicides.
  • "I'm very impressed by Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions' technology and the field performance of their natural herbicide formulations," said Dr. Fraley.
  • Learn more about Harpe Bioherbicide Solutions, Inc. at harpebio.com or follow us on social media at LinkedIn or Twitter .

Sarah Evanega Announced as 2021 Borlaug CAST Communication Award Winner

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 11, 2021

b'AMES, Iowa, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) announced that the 2021 Borlaug CAST Communication Award goes to Sarah Evanega, research professor in the Department of Global Development with a joint appointment in the School of Integrative Plant Science in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University.

Key Points: 
  • b'AMES, Iowa, May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) announced that the 2021 Borlaug CAST Communication Award goes to Sarah Evanega, research professor in the Department of Global Development with a joint appointment in the School of Integrative Plant Science in the College of Agriculture at Cornell University.
  • She has been described as a pioneer, international leader, and icon of young science communication professionals.\nEvanega received her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Cornell University in 2009.
  • With her ability to communicate on a variety of issues facing science, agriculture, and technology, she is a worthy recipient of the 2021 Borlaug CAST Communication Award.\nAn award presentation will occur during World Food Prize Symposium week in October 2021.
  • The Borlaug CAST Communication Award honors the legacies of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug and Dr. Charles A.

Corteva Agriscience to Participate in 2020 Borlaug Dialogue at the World Food Prize

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 12, 2020

WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- James C. Collins, Jr., Chief Executive Officer and Neal Gutterson, Chief Technology Officer of Corteva Agriscience, will participate in two panel discussions at the virtual 2020 Borlaug International Symposium at the World Food Prize.

Key Points: 
  • WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- James C. Collins, Jr., Chief Executive Officer and Neal Gutterson, Chief Technology Officer of Corteva Agriscience, will participate in two panel discussions at the virtual 2020 Borlaug International Symposium at the World Food Prize.
  • Collins will highlight the importance of long-term investment in technology and tools to spur food security, access and quality globally.
  • This side event is open to the public; registration information is available on the World Food Prize website
    To learn more about the Borlaug Dialogue and the World Food Prize, visit http://www.worldfoodprize.org .
  • Corteva Agriscience became an independent public company on June 1, 2019 and was previously the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.