A Panel Discussion: The Future of Food & Its Global Impact

On November 19, 2019 a panel of BU experts discussed the Future of Food & Its Global Impact. Some of the questions discussed were:

  • What does (or could) a more sustainable food system look like?
  • What is the link between global food production and human health? In the context of climate change and changing global food systems, what are the primary challenges that need to be addressed in order to maximize human health?
  • How should government subsidies and agricultural policy evolve, as climate change hamstrings farmers and legislation like the Green New Deal is proposed to help address economic inequality and climate change?
  • What do you hope to see happen in the next five years as it relates to sustainably feeding the world’s growing population?

Watch the video of the discussion and hear the answer to these and the many great questions posed by the audience. Brief bios of the panelists are below the video.

Moderator:

  • Dr. Sarah Phillips (CAS), Associate Professor of history who combines the study of politics and public policy with histories of environmental and agricultural change.

Panelists:

  • Dr.Lindsey Locks (SPH & SAR), an expert in global health and working with NGOs. She has worked with UN agencies and global health organizations and studies nutrition, global health, epidemiology, and more.
  • Dr. Benjamin Siegel (CAS), researches modern South Asia, environmental history, agricultural history, and the history of medicine and the body.
  • Dr. Magaly Koch (CAS), a geologist and expert in groundwater resources and environmental change of arid lands. She studies the human impact in environmental changes, flash floods, and specializes in the application of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems.
  • Dr. Richard Samuel Deese (Pardee & CGS), a historian and recent author of the book Climate Change and the Future of Democracy.
  • Michael Leviton (MET), chef, educator, and early proponent of sustainable food systems and eight-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee. Michael was the former chef/owner of Lumiere in Newton, chef/partner of Area Four in Cambridge, and currently co-founder of Craigie Burger in Boston.

Supported By:

  • Institute for Sustainable Energy
  • College of Arts and Sciences
  • Sargent College
  • School of Public Health
  • Metropolitan College
  • Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies
  • College of General Studies