October, 2015 Speaker
Tue, October 27 2015, 11:30am
Campus Club ABC
Perspective on future World food needs
We have often heard that the growth in world population will require the production of food to double by 2050 if we are to feed the world of nine billion people an average of 3000 Calories per day. Given the foibles of forecasting anything 35 years into the future we might well be in denial of these numbers. But even if they are wrong, we know the direction is right. Increasing agricultural production to meet this prediction would require plowing up new (forest) lands and soaking up even more of our precious water supply. And, we are told that we can only accomplish this with big scale, commercial agricultural methods. To many this is a frightening scenario.
Philip G. Pardey and his colleagues around the world have been re-examining this scenario and finding a more hopeful picture. He has been a leader in analyzing the rates of return to agricultural research and the impacts of public policy on worldwide food production and consumption.
On October 27 at our UMRA Luncheon he will be sharing his perspective on the future needs for increasing the amount of food and changing the types of food that will be demanded by the world’s consumers.
Dr. Pardey’s research deals with assessing the economic impacts of research, and the economic and policy aspects of genetic resources and the biosciences. He will present the results of a new approach to assessing the production, consumption, and land-use prospects for global agriculture over the coming decades, highlighting changes in the worldwide landscape for food and agricultural research and development.
Philip G. Pardey is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and is now a professor of science and technology policy in the Department of Applied Economics. He is also the director of Global Research Strategy for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences and the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, and he directs the University’s International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (InSTePP) center. He is a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association, distinguished fellow and past president of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, and he received the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture.
He currently co-directs a Gates Foundation project, HarvestChoice (www.HarvestChoice.org), which is designed to inform and guide investments to stimulate productivity growth in African agriculture.
Pardey is author of more than 300 books, articles, and papers, including Ending Hunger in Our Lifetime: Food Security and Globalization, Agricultural R&D in the Developing World: Too Little, Too Late?
— Jean Kinsey, President
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.