Food Security – Global Challenges and Directions

AGENDA

Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable Meeting

October 22, 2008 (dinner) 
One Washington Circle Hotel  
The Meridian Room    
One Washington Circle, NW       
Washington, DC  20016

October 23, 2008 (meeting)
The National Academy of Sciences Building
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
The Lecture Room
Washington, DC  20037

Food security is a complex and multi-sectoral issue.  The food that we eat is part of a global system that, once promising and plentiful, has become vulnerable and over-extended.  Changing dietary and food consumption patterns, rising energy prices, use of feed crops for biofuel, a fundamental shift in commodities trading, a slowdown in economic growth, climate change, dramatic natural events like floods and storms….these and other factors are all contributing to critical food shortages and rising food prices.  These same factors may also hinder long-term food security progress. 

This meeting will provide GUIRR members with a broad-stroke overview of the issues underlying the current food security crisis.  We will consider some of the challenges related to agricultural trade and aid, review the drivers of food price increases, and touch upon the tug-of-war between ethanol plants and food.  We will also examine the role of public and private sector technology in responding to the myriad food security challenges and, in so doing, underscore the need for policies that are conducive to investment in human resource development, research, and infrastructure for achieving global food security.  Our goal through open dialogue will be to identify opportunities where the three sectors (government, academia, and industry) can further and most effectively collaborate.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008   (evening only) 

Location: One Washington Circle Hotel, One Washington Circle, NW, Washington, DC, 20037

6:00-6:30 PM Cocktails – The Circle Bistro Lounge

6:30-8:00 PM Dinner – The Meridian Room

Moderator: Lydia W. Thomas, Retired President and CEO, Noblis

BIG PICTURE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FOOD INSECURE? 
WHAT ARE THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE CURRENT FOOD CRISIS?

Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute

Thursday, October 23, 2008 

Location:  The National Academy of Sciences Building, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016 – The Lecture Room

7:30-8:00 AM Continental Breakfast

8:00-8:15 AM Welcome Remarks

Lydia Thomas, President and CEO, Retired, Noblis; GUIRR Co-Chair

> DEFINING THE CHALLENGES
  
8:15-8:40 AM WHY ARE AGRIGULTURAL COMMODITY AND FOOD PRICES RISING?

Christopher Delgado, Strategy and Policy Advisor, Agriculture and Rural Development, World Bank

8:40-9:05 AM Biphysical determinants of crop yield trends and the food vs fuel debate

Kenneth Cassman, Director, Nebraska Center for Energy Science Research and Heuermann Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

9:05-9:30 AM FOOD SECURITY AND THE ROLE OF TRADE AND AID

Charlotte Hebebrand, Chief Executive, International Food & Agricultural Trade  
Policy Council  

9:30-10:15 AM Q&A and Open Discussion

10:15-10:30 AM Break

> SEEKING SOLUTIONS THROUGH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

10:30-10:35 AM Moderator: Lydia Thomas

10:35-10:55 AM Corporate-Led Initiative A Private Sector Approach to Agricultural Biotechnology

Dusty Post, Global Corn Technology Lead, Monsanto

Dr. Post will address the role of private sector technology in responding to challenges of rising food prices, alternative energy needs, and variable weather-related issues, touching on Monsanto’s research into temperature tolerant seeds and more efficient ethanol products.  She will further describe how Monsanto balances its current streams of research, given the various food security challenges.

10:55-11:00 AM Discussion

11:00-11:20 AM Government-Led Initiative Federal Investment in Cutting-Edge Agricultural Technologies

Colien Hefferan, Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, USDA

Dr. Hefferan will discuss investments in nanoscience, engineering and technology when seeking potential solutions to the current food crisis.  She will also comment on the government’s role in spurring cutting edge technology that may or may not be of interest to the private sector.

11:20-11:25 AM Discussion

11:25-11:45 AM Government-Led Initiative nticipating Food Shortages Using Satellite Data

Molly Brown, Senior Research Scientist, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center
  
Dr. Brown will present a case study. She will further review the role of government in monitoring these environmental changes and underscore the importance of collaboration going forward.

11:45-11:50 AM Discussion

11:50 AM – University-Led Initiative

12:10 PM Transferring Agricultural Technologies from Developed to Developing Countries

Sara Boettiger, Director, Strategic Planning and Development, Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA), University of California – Davis

Dr. Boettiger will speak to improving agriculture in emerging economies by decreasing intellectual property barriers and increasing technology transfer.  PIPRA brings together intellectual property from over 40 universities, public agencies, and non-profit institutes and helps make their technologies available to innovators around the world. 

12:10-12:15 PM Discussion

12:15-1:45 PM Lunch – The Members Room

Introduction: C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., President, University of Maryland

FOOD SAFETY VERSUS FOOD SECURITY: ACHIEVING ONE WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE OTHER

Robert E. Brackett, Senior Vice President and Chief Science and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)   

1:45-2:10 PM Open Discussion – What could the Roundtable be doing on food security?

2:10-2:50 PM Updates and Discussion on Current GUIRR Projects

Moderator: Lydia W. Thomas, Retired President and CEO, Noblis; GUIRR Co-Chair 
 
- Data Overload:  Tilak Agerwala 
- Partnerships for Emerging Research Institutions:  Earnestine Psalmonds
- International Research Collaborations:  Bob Killoren
- Science and Engineering Workforce:  Kelly Sullivan
- University-Industry Demonstration Partnership:  Susan Butts
- Federal Demonstration Partnership:  Susan Wyatt Sedwick

2:50-3:00 PM Proposal of New Topics or Projects for GUIRR

3:00 PM  Adjourn