Reshaping the global food system for a sustainable future. The Margaret A. Gilliam Lecture series in Food Security
Please join us on Monday, August 29 for the Margaret A. Gilliam Lecture in Food Security. This year's guest speaker is Dr. Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), who will speak on Reshaping the global food system for a sustainable future.
The triple burden of malnutrition—the coexistence of hunger, undernutrition, and overweight and obesity globally causes enormous loss in human lives and economic opportunities. In the meantime, the global food system is increasingly vulnerable due to several pressures, including population growth, rising urbanization, land and water constraints, climate change, and persistent conflicts. . A reshaping of the global food system is needed to ensure that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as those on sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition, responsible production and consumption, and climate action, are met by 2030. This new food system must be productive and efficient, environmentally sustainable and climate-smart, inclusive, nutrition- and health-driven, and business-friendly in order to achieve multiple SDGs. In this presentation, Dr. Fan will provide an overview of the state of global food security and nutrition and discuss how to reshape the global food system to feed the world healthily and sustainably.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shenggen Fan (樊胜根) has been director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2009.
Dr Fan joined IFPRI in 1995 as a research fellow, conducting extensive research on pro-poor development strategies in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He led IFPRI’s program on public investment before becoming the director of the Institute’s Development Strategy and Governance Division in 2005.
He is one of the Champions of Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward cutting global food loss and waste. He serves as a member of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. He serves as advisor to many national governments (including China and Vietnam) on agriculture, food security and nutrition.
In 2014, Dr. Fan received the Hunger Hero Award from the World Food Programme in recognition of his commitment to and leadership in fighting hunger worldwide.
Dr Fan received a PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nanjing Agricultural University in China.