2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Multiple Paths to Ensuring Global Food Security

Food Security With the global population projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, increasing concern, discussion, and research are focused on how to feed this population in a sustainable manner. The sustainability of large-scale agricultural production – common in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia – has been called into question. At the same time, many experts doubt the ability of small, sustainable farms to feed the world. This symposium explores this challenging problem from a global perspective, discussing the current state of agriculture from both scientific and policy angles. This in itself presents a challenge, in part because certainty about the number of farms and their characteristics varies greatly from country to country. The symposium will explore the benefits of large- and small-scale agricultural production and the role of each in feeding the world’s population. The panel will discuss how the presentations relate to the sustainable intensification of agriculture.