Sustainable Food Systems: How Better Natural Resources Management Leads to Better Food Security

Increases in population and wealth are leading to ever-growing demands for food, while increasing urbanization is leading to proportionally fewer people producing food. The next few decades will require sound policy and careful management of resources in order to simultaneously provide 50 percent more food, 50 percent more energy and 30 percent more fresh water, without further degrading the natural resource base upon which our food security largely depends.  

This webinar will highlight emerging evidence and provide examples from the field on improved and more sustainable program design across the entire food system, from production to consumption. We will explore the emerging evidence and the value added of adopting a sustainable food system approach that delivers food security and nutrition in such a way that enhances and restores natural resources and sustains rural and urban livelihoods while providing access to nutrition foods for future generations that is not compromised.

During the webinar, we will hear presentations on:  

Why transforming food systems impacts food security, Dr. Sara Scherr, President and CEO, EcoAgriculture Partner
Dr. Scherr will share why food systems must be transformed over the next few decades to ensure food security and healthy nutrition to all people around the globe, while becoming major positive contributors to sustainable livelihoods, to the conservation of wild and agricultural biodiversity, healthy watersheds and water security, other ecosystem services, and adapting to and mitigating climate change.

How global weather data can influence sustainable crop growth, Dr. Faisal Hossain, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington.
Dr. Faisal will discuss how global weather models and satellite data have been used to develop technology that help farmers increase crop yield through sustainable water management in countries of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Food loss and Sustainable Development Goal 12: responsible consumption and production, Pete Pearson, Senior Director of Food Loss and Waste, World Wildlife Fund
Pearson will discuss WWF’s global Food Practice and why the world’s largest conservation non-profit is working at the intersection of agriculture and sustainable development. Pete will briefly discuss WWF’s strategic focus on sustainable food production and consumption and will go into detail on the growing global Food Loss and Waste program in support of Sustainable Development Goal 12, responsible consumption and production.