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

February 10 - 15, 2016

Global Science to Protect Our Global Farm

Farmers and consumers around the world are connected and dependent on each other today in a way that is unprecedented in human history. The average kitchen in the developed world includes food sourced from all over the world, and even basic products contain ingredients from multiple continents. Our food is truly provided by a ‘global farm.’ This internationally-networked food system is vulnerable to new diseases, which can spread into new countries and regions in part because of climate change and cross-border trade. Growing risks to the ‘global farm’ threaten livelihoods, food chains, the environment, and human health. In response, pioneering U.S.-U.K. programs are deploying transatlantic research teams, leveraging the strengths of each nation to tackle the challenges of protecting global food security. Groups of scientists are using the latest tools and strategies to address the most pressing issues, including crop and livestock diseases, and to better understand the dynamics of infectious diseases that may impact food security. This session discusses the most recent research findings on high threat animal diseases affecting cattle, sheep, and poultry and emerging viruses threatening potato crops. It also highlights emerging risks to the modern, global food chain – from farm to fork – and the need for international science to rise to the challenge.