More than Chocolate Switzerland’s Contribution to the World Food System

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 20 November 2015

Time:

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Room:

QBP Auditorium, Level 3, Qld Bioscience Precinct

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/qaafi-science-seminars-2015

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Michelle Grant, Director of the World Food System Center, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). The world is currently facing an unprecedented challenge to feed and nourish a growing global population. There are nearly a billion hungry people on the planet today, and many more who suffer from the phenomenon of ‘hidden hunger’, resulting from a chronic lack of access to sufficient nutrients and vitamins. Meanwhile there is the paradox of high rates of overweight and obesity and the related consequences for human health. To further add to these challenges, the environmental basis for food and agricultural production is under pressure from phenomena such as climate change, resource constraints, emerging pests and pathogens, and deteriorating soil quality. In this presentation, Michelle will outline the major challenges facing global food systems and give an insight into how ETH Zurich, one of the top 10 research universities in the world, is playing a role in tacking these issues. She will put a focus on the role of interdisciplinary and systems approaches and how the World Food System Center works with partners to put these concepts into practice.