Program and Schedule

The forum will provide an important and exciting opportunity for renowned researchers, policy makers, producers, and other food system leaders to address pressing issues and discuss potential solutions for feeding the world’s population using a healthy and ecologically sustainable food supply.  This event is also intended to be a forum for lively conversation and the exchange of ideas, which will help direct future efforts across many important sectors in agriculture and natural resources, both within and outside the university.

Keynote addresses will be given by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and President, Mary Robinson Foundation — Climate Justice, and Wes Jackson, Founder and President of the Land Institute. The forum will be organized into two panels which will be moderated by Michael Specter; global issues writer for The New Yorker magazine, and award-winning author and journalist Mark Arax. The first panel will focus on the geopolitical, ethical, economic and technical challenges facing food systems from a global perspective, followed by a discussion centered on the environmental pressures that exacerbate these global challenges. The second panel will build on the discussions of the prior and question the implications, responsibilities and opportunities from a California perspective.

The university’s ability to help meet these challenges lies not only in our capacity for research and Extension, but through our ability to educate the next generation of problem solvers and leaders. The University of California will continue to play a leadership role in convening these kinds of dialogues, which will help guide the preparation of the next generation of students for careers in sustainable food production, as well as focus innovative research on finding solutions to these worldwide challenges.