when i embarked on the trip to rome, italy, where i would be participating as a delegate with planet forward in the 46th committee on world food security (cfs), i knew there was going to be plenty of opportunity for my pitch on a personal and professional level. and before i knew it, there i was, on the first night in rome with a traditional pasta dish sitting below me on the checkered table-cloth, performing my pitch, and introducing who i was. why was i there attending the conference on global food security?

it came so naturally, especially as my peer sitting across the table from me claimed climate change could be solved through technology-based solutions. this was a contradiction of everything i believed in as a student that has studied the climate crisis and how we have gotten to where we are in the world today. so, i ran with it. 

“hi, my name is lindsay, and technology scares me. i don’t believe it holds solutions, i believe it hosts destruction, and in light of development and adapting to climate change, i think it has the potential to further increase the gap between human beings and the earth. my skepticism is not only curious, but it is angry towards technology and its rapid speed. i am here to better understand its role in global development and sustainable agriculture.”  

something along those lines rolled effortlessly off my tongue.

i quickly realized that the following week at the food and agriculture organization (fao) building was going to be a challenge, especially as i held on tight to my ideas about technology. but as much as i was skeptical of technology-based solutions, i tried my best to remain open to their potential in reducing suffering, feeding the hungry, and contrary to my beliefs, actually bringing us humans closer to the earth.

oh, how privilege sits comfortably in our beliefs

on the first day of the cfs46 i found myself perched up in the comfortable blue seats of the plenary with my eyes wide, notebook crisp and ready to be filled with notes. once i figured out what the white thing was on everyone’s ears, i attached mine to my ear with the language set to english, and i was ready to listen.

nearly 1,900 attendees filled the room. each one, coming from their corner on the planet; bringing along with them their unique experiences, ideas, and perspectives. from scientists and governments to farmers and members of civil society, the cfs is a multi-stakeholder platform that reports to the united nations general assembly about the status of global food security and nutrition for all. that’s what they’re all about; having every voice at the table for creative, inclusive, and effective policy approaches towards positive change.

within the first few moments of the meeting, chairperson of the cfs, mario arvelo, gave the attendees some context and reason for being there with a moment of silence for the millions of people that have died since last year’s meeting as a result of hunger and disease stemming from malnutrition.

this single moment set the tone and motivated the attendees to address world hunger for the estimated 821 million people without access to a nutritious meal. this number loomed heavily throughout the space of the fao, and deeply contributed to my perspective.

all of my life, i have had access, adequate access — maybe even an overly adequate access — to food. it was in these heavy moments soaked in the unimaginable number of 821 million that my privilege was unveiled. i began to see the importance of accepting the potential of technology, and understanding that food cooperatives, organic farming, and things alike cannot be the only solution. throughout the week, i was beginning to realize that food insecurity is a far bigger issue than i have been able to imagine within the walls of my college classrooms, from my corner on the planet. 

in order to fulfill the u.n. sustainable development goals for the 2030 agenda, solutions need to be multifaceted with the embrace of technology on the foreground. this, at first was a hard pill to swallow, but with the 821 million people in mind, the pill went down really smoothly.

opening the door & asking the questions

my questions during my time in the fao building ultimately became, “can technological innovation and sustainable agriculture work hand-in-hand? and, can technology actually work to make the gap smaller between humans and the earth?” i carried these with me as i attended a side event called “innovation and agroecology.” it was held in the “green room” and as the diverse group of panelists filled the seats on stage, i found my seat near the front, so i wouldn’t miss a thing. the panel was complete with farmers from argentina, new mexico, italy, and nigeria, along with business owners of agrotechnology companies. when dialogue began, i felt as if my questions were being directly answered.

agroecology is a farming practice that centers on food production and aims to make the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging these resources. farmers that include agroecology in their practices seek to improve and increase yields for balanced nutrition while simultaneously strengthening the ecosystems and fair markets in place for their products. typically, agroecology is associated with a more natural and organic approach to agriculture, as its origins are deeply embedded within indigenous knowledge. needless to say, i was looking forward to what luciano loman was going to share as the executive director of metos brazil, an agrotechnology company.  

he shared about how, through the technology and services metos provides, farmers can become more in tune with their crops. for example, with the imetos® decision support system, farmers can closely monitor the soil parameters and relevant climatic conditions. the data collected through this technology directly increases the yield and decreases the input, whether that’s water, fertilizer, or even physical labor. essentially, the software speaks for the plant, letting the farmer know what they need, and exactly when they need it.

this insight from loman highlighted the value and proved to me how beneficial adopting technologies as such can be, especially for farmers working in harsh and unpredictable climates. it was beginning to seem as if technology could actually work to make the gap smaller between humans and the earth. 

balance in skepticism

the gears in my mind were turning, but i was still feeling connected to my old beliefs, especially as i sat in on an interview between kip tom, the united states representative to the u.n. agency for food & agriculture, and frank sesno, the creator of planet forward. 

in the conversation, tom weighed heavily on the end of the technology advocate spectrum — the one that i feared the most — and in response to sesno’s question about the reality of climate change, the ambassador said, “i think one of the things that we have available to us today is (science), if we are to let science do its work, we can address some of these changes… 

“i think this is what we need to look at, the way we can use technology to better leverage our farm, each acre we farm, (and) improve the environment along the way.” 

overall, the conversation held a tone that placed technology on a pedestal, as an end-all-be-all, long-term solution. i was just not buying it and after this interview, i felt as if i had returned to square one with a returned sense of anger and distrust in technology.

but, rest assured, after sharing my skepticism and ideas with tom, he reminded me of the importance of questioning. questioning, confusion, skepticism, and sharing: each of these are catalysts for change. they are catalysts for growth. in order to effectively work toward goals such as ending world hunger, they remain extremely valuable. 

a changed mind – for the better

by no means am i now a person who will advocate for the technological solution first, or believes that it is the only solution. simply, i can see both sides much better now, and the importance of embracing the many different ideas and experiences of others. although, i will be the first to say that it wasn’t easy to make this shift. i had to poke some holes through my skeptical shield, and pieces of my identity were definitely checked at the door. this was done so with relief and solutions in mind. relief and solutions for the 821 million people whose question is not, what will we eat? rather, it is, will we eat?

as we move forward, searching for solutions in the face of a quickly changing climate, we need to remain mindful of the reality of the situation and be willing to embrace the many forms that solutions come in. whether it is through organic farming, or through embracing biotechnology and software, lucky for us, that pitch i was talking about earlier can change whenever we want. with that, i hope you challenge your perceptions and beliefs, and you’re not afraid to step outside of the box people may have put you in, or maybe even you, yourself have put you in.

the food sector is no different. the digital invasion in the agricultural industry is underway. however, these “intruders” are bringing positive changes, such as increased crop yields, while addressing the issues of global hunger and malnutrition.

as an example, a malnutrition issue colombia grappled with was alarmingly low breastfeeding rates — especially low among teenage mothers. the exclusive breastfeeding rates among children under six months was as low as 30% in most regions, according to zona cero, which lead to an increased risk of malnutrition and death as a result.

this range of health issues, sometimes conflicting – from diseases to lack of food and malnutrition – would unnerve many leaders. instead, the first lady of colombia, maría juliana ruiz sandoval, took on the challenge to address some of the pressing social issues in an innovative manner.

in a session at the food & agriculture organization headquarters in rome, sandoval said she believes that innovation is the way these issues should be addressed.

to align themselves to the digital revolution, colombia’s leaders are using technological tools in capacity-building projects, involving and educating families, and permeating the cultural barriers to explain the importance of nutrition and generate healthy habits among the local and indigenous populations of different regions. through multi-stakeholder partnerships, leaders were able to get private companies to help in designing applications for food banks. thanks to artificial intelligence (ai) technologies, these applications were able to locate and identify people who are wrestling with health issues in some form or the other.

in fact, two such initiatives by the world food programme (wfp), namely meza and scope coda, aim to effectively track the right beneficiaries and make the programs available to them.

poor data equals poor results, with data being at the bottom of improving individual nutrition.

there are a lot of information gaps in remote areas, with limited or no access to computers or the internet. such health clinics relied on paper-based data systems, where the papers were all tallied by hand and transmitted up the hierarchy in person, until it reached the ministry of health. however, with the use of meza, workers in remote clinics can now use their cellphones – provided by the meza team with the best network infrastructure – to send pictures of log-books, where the data is automatically extracted from the photos using the optical character recognition software.

“getting the right nutrition to the most vulnerable populations is most important,” lauren landis, director of nutrition at wfp, said at a session at the food and agriculture organization headquarters. that is exactly what the wfp is striving hard to achieve.

to further eliminate the paper-and-pen records, the world food programme has introduced a cloud-based innovation that gives a personalized smartcard to patients in the remotest of areas. mobile devices and patient cards allow for improved targeting of beneficiaries in the community. furthermore, the software works both online and offline to be compatible with areas with little or no connectivity or electricity.

“technology is the easiest way to really know and understand the problem,” sandoval said. “it engages youth… complementing their education by building skills for them.”

if the world is set out to meet the 2030 goal of zero hunger, youth engagement is paramount.

“there cannot be any progress of any of the sdgs without the involvement of youth,” said mario arvelo, chairperson of the committee on world food security. but to involve youth in agriculture, it should be viewed as an honorable trade and not a synonym for poverty.

the minister for food security of the uae, mariam bint mohammed saeed hareb al mehairi, believes that technology can spearhead development in the agriculture sector and start sustainable food supplies.

“i am not looking for the next farmer, i am looking for the next agri-technologist….,” she said at a special event at the food and agriculture organization headquarters. “we have to make it cool!”

this would help produce and market more nutritious food that minimizes greenhouse emissions and environmental impacts. it also provides easier access for young men and women to climate-resilient technologies.

greater food insecurity is one of the worst consequences of climate change. in 2018, there were 704 million people facing severe food insecurity, according to columbia university professor jeffrey sachs, ph.d., who presented a keynote on world food day at the fao. and that figure is constantly on the rise. out of that population, sachs said more than 75% of the people are based in sub-saharan africa and southern asia alone. there is a tremendous vulnerability to climate change in these two regions.

reports from fao show countries that are poor are food insecure. sachs pointed out in his keynote that “poverty and hunger are virtually the same phenomena” as the correlation between them shows a very tight fit between income per capita and food insecurity.

with about 25% of greenhouse gases emitted by the agriculture sector, zitouni ould-dada, deputy director of fao’s climate division, says “agriculture affects climate, and climate affects agriculture, which is very sensitive to climate variation.” he believes that making technology the main character, we can prevent post-harvest losses, increase agricultural yields, while also helping small farmers grow more resiliency toward climate change.

for example, large farms in china are using ai tools that use facial recognition to identify the pigs and record their movements. it tells their vital conditions and isolates the unhealthy ones from other pigs to maintain the health of the farm and other animals.

“this really saves the time and effort for human intervention, while understanding our needs better,” ould-dada said.

“but making technology accessible is not enough. you need to make it easier for people to use for them to be involved in the ag industry,” ould-dada said, while explaining how important it is for people to understand the maintenance of those technologies.

to address this digital divide and many other challenges to digitalization for sustainable development, ministers of more than 74 countries proposed the urgent need for an international digital council for food and agriculture. in agriculture, sensors, drones, and robots are examples of technologies that provide information on soil moisture, crop growth, and livestock feed levels, while reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides, feed, and water.

the internet of things that interconnects vehicles, robots, and drones makes labor-intensive tasks, such as monitoring, sowing crops, or milking cows more cost-effective. the council would advise governments and enhance the exchange of knowledge and experiences to implement these resources in place, where they are needed the most.

technology is expanding rapidly and hence, “the time could not be more right to put such a thing in place. if we do it in two years, we would miss out on a lot,” said theo de jager, president of the world farmers organization. as the agriculture minister of nicaragua, edward francisco centeno gadia said, “the best technology is not the most expensive or cheapest, but it is beneficial for family farmers and rural development.”

digitalization and innovation are tools that can help achieve the 2030 goals that seem evasive.

it was a fitting end to a week spent learning about human-environment issues from some of the world’s preeminent experts at the united nations food and agriculture organization’s 46th committee on world food security. just as pompeii experienced a catastrophic environmental event in 79 a.d., we in 2019 are facing down climate change on a global scale. the difference is that unlike the unfortunate souls of pompeii, we have advance warning and the tools to adjust how we interact with the environment – if only we can agree on how to do so.

agriculture is one of the major contributors to the processes causing climate change, and it’s also incredibly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. the ways that we’ve manipulated the land to produce food are not sustainable if we want to continue living on this planet, and many delegates to the committee on world food security seemed to acknowledge that. but at least in the sessions i attended, few speakers gave climate change the attention that it demands. the only climate change moment that stood out to me from the week was when an official from nicaragua spoke to the plenary about how his nation is one of those most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing negligible greenhouse gas emissions. it was a powerful moment, but it was fleeting.

spending a week with researchers and officials from around the world taught me so much about the issues we’re facing and what governments and institutions are doing to address them. most of my personal interests in sustainability are focused on energy and climate, so it was an amazing opportunity to learn about issues that are unfamiliar to me and gain new research interests. but i did find myself wishing climate was more central to the week’s discussions of sustainable development, and my visit to pompeii helped me realize why: none of our accomplishments in development will matter if our environment becomes inhospitable. we must address climate issues in every goal, plan, and agreement, even if the issue at hand seems far removed from climate change. if we don’t, we will be seeing more lost cities and civilizations in the future.

thank you, planet forward and fao, for this experience!

more than ever, after attending cfs, i have a renewed sense of passion for using the camera to shed light on injustice. for me, this revelation couldn’t have come at a more necessary time.

while i have clung onto my dream of being a journalist, amid the rigor of college, my passion for storytelling has, admittedly, taken a backseat. when people would ask me about my plans post-grad, i would hesitantly reply, “possibly, journalism… but maybe finance, or marketing, or business. i’m not sure yet.”

however, at cfs, i was reminded that journalists serve a worthy and righteous cause as the recordkeepers of history. as attacks on the free press are made around the globe, persisting to tell the truth is a responsibility that is worth the risk; even if it means stepping on the toes of corrupt bureaucracies and being considered a nuisance.

furthermore, given the complexities of environmental issues, i realized it is not enough to be able to regurgitate facts and statistics. while i have committed myself to the mastery of the production elements of journalism, as delegates from the sahara to the pacific spoke, i recognized that developing intellectual insight was an equally, if not more, important element to telling informative, powerful stories. 

as the plane lifted off of the ground from san francisco, i felt a shedding of my old self. i knew that i was in for a dramatic internal transformation, but i did not know in what ways they would come. however, as i strapped into my seat and left the city of seven hills, rome, i realized that i didn’t necessarily become a new person but rather i shed the fear, self-doubt, and uncertainty that were quieting my inner self.

i returned back to the 6th grader in me that beamed when she saw her classmates excitedly watch her documentary. i reunited with the 16-year-old version of myself that spent nights studying amanpour, winfrey, and lisa ling. most importantly, i made the declarative decision that my aspirations of being a professional journalist wasn’t going to be a mere “possibility,” but my reality.

my name is marisa umeh, i’m a planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 , and i am going to be a professional journalist.

for one week i joined planet forward at fao’s committee on world security (cfs) 46th conference in rome, italy. as i sit down to reflect on the gathering, i feel as if a million doors have opened before me. 

i’m a college student at suny’s college of environmental science and forestry, a small stem campus in syracuse, new york, studying environmental studies. that said, it often feels like a bubble, and that bubble can sometimes be blinding. in rome, we’ve met and heard from delegates, stakeholders, youth, and others from around the globe working to solve issues around world hunger and nutrition. my mind has opened to a greater understanding of what is going on on a national level, and of course, a global level. i know this will be useful information to know as i move forward in my life and career surrounding environmental and humanitarian issues. 

prior to this week, i have had an ingrained way of thinking that encompassed a relatively strong distaste for technology. i thought that the issues facing the earth, such as world hunger, and climate change could not be fixed by technology, because in my mind, these issues were caused by technology. as i moved forward through the week, i listened. i heard what the technology advocates had to say, i heard from the farmers themselves, and the people fighting for the right to food, that technology holds a great deal of space in the solution to world hunger. i don’t believe that it is the only solution, but i can now zoom out from the space i am from, and understand there are other ways to go about addressing issues of this suffering. this is just one example of the many takeaways i have received from the past week.

this all said, as a correspondent with planet forward, i viewed much of this week through the lens of a storyteller. as of late, i am in the process of creating a story highlighting the fine balance of technology in development. as my perspective and understanding transformed throughout the week, i recognized its relevance in the battle against troubling issues, such as world hunger. through a series of journal entries, tracking the days i spent in the fao building in rome, i will unravel my fear of technology in development, and refer to its power in reducing suffering and actually getting humans closer to the land; closer to the earth.

“i want to solve climate change!” i said in a jet-lagged voice, hoping to entice laughter from him.

i could not help but wonder, why would someone be interested in hearing more about solving global issues through science and technology? 

i had impatiently waited to attend the committee on world food security in rome for the past four months. little did i know that i was about to step inside a place that would dramatically change my perspective on global issues that i am so passionate about solving, and give me a new hope to address them through the lens of technology. 

as i stepped foot in the plenary hall on the first day of the conference, i felt myself being surrounded by the world. while hearing the diplomats speak on their country’s plans for action to combating global hunger, i could witness the power dynamics in the room. i realized what the former president of the general assembly, maria fernanda espinosa, meant when she explained in one of her speeches that i attended on why things don’t always work the way they are supposed to at the united nations. 

it was heartwarming to see a plethora of side events on addressing malnutrition and climate change by leveraging technological innovations. after one of these sessions, i had the amazing honor and opportunity to interact with the keynote speaker, the first lady of colombia, maría juliana ruiz sandoval, and interview her about colombia’s plans for enhancing their technical resiliency to engage more youth. it was a pleasure to see dr. jeffrey sachs present live on the sustainable development goals and hear his perspective on solving these issues. 

i could not have been more astonished by the humility and the willingness to engage in discussions of all the leaders, diplomats, and presenters i had the chance to interact with. i connected with people that are currently using data science and ai to solve climate change and fight global hunger. to save a life. 

most importantly, i had the great pleasure of spending the week with an incredible team of individuals from across the united states. answering frank’s curiosity every evening at dinner made me think about topics that i had never given enough thought to. sharing my love for pop music and taylor swift with marisa was a heartfelt moment. walking the streets of rome with lindsay and matilda made the experience only more memorable. going into a bar and ordering “chocolate-flavored” milk with “my man” dan was a moment i’m sure both of us will share with our grandchildren. running into my biggest celebrity crush, alexandra daddario, on the streets of rome and talking about her for the rest of the night to kim, ahdi, and edona. 

at the end of it all, i finally realized that “rome wasn’t built in a day” and “all roads [do] lead to rome.” all i know is, if given a chance, i would come back to this place in a heartbeat.

sadly, we also heard figures that batter the soul: 820 million people around the world who are hungry. two billion who live on the edge amid “food insecurity.” war, political instability, drought, climate change, corruption, economic collapse that deprive too many of their right to sustenance and security. the crises have multiplied in the past few years as instability has grown.

we heard debate and controversy, too. the urgency to innovate and modernize. the contribution the rich, developed world should make. the role of science and technology. the potential for gmo and biotech to revolutionize productivity. 

on one thing everyone agreed: if the world is to achieve the u.n.’s sustainable development goal to eliminate hunger by 2030, there is massive work to be done. 

student reflections

• hear reflections on the experience from our student travelers: 
• rohan agrawal
• lindsay eberhart
• matilda kreider
• marisa umeh

the 46th committee on world food security conference in rome, hosted by the food and agriculture organization of the u.n., with 111 countries in attendance was a crash course in food diplomacy for planet forward and four amazing students who had written winning stories to join us. the students, who were sponsored by the fao liaison office of north america, came from universities across the united states: matilda kreider from the george washington university, the home of planet forward; marisa umeh from uc-berkeley; rohan agrawal from the university of mississippi; and lindsay eberhart from suny’s college of environmental science and forestry. 

each student brought a different major and a distinct life experience to rome. all have dedicated themselves to the future, wanting to find answers to hunger, climate change, inequality. each wants to leverage that commitment through storytelling to engage others and catalyze informed, solution-oriented action to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .

the students attended plenary sessions and side-events. they listened and they interviewed. they had access to global diplomats and local activists. they heard david beasley, executive director of the world food program, the biggest humanitarian organization on the planet, call on countries to end hunger by ending war, embracing education and technology, and empowering women. 

“we understand the impact on the world when women get the same access to credit and finance as men,” he said. “that can lift 150 million people out of poverty.” 

they heard aishatu ali from cameroon, a country on central africa’s west coast, talk about her work as an advocate for women, girls, and land rights. an advocate and a stirring role model, she is the agenda and women promotion program coordinator for the mbororo social cultural development association. in her pastoral community, women do not own cattle and have little access to capital. ali’s mother never even went to school. but ali did, and she told us eloquently that things are starting to change. women still don’t own cows, but they’re starting to own sheep. and they’re asserting their rights 

the students met with ambassador kip tom, a seventh-generation american farmer who is now the united states permanent representative to the united nations agencies for food and agriculture in rome. he said it’s unlikely hunger will be eliminated by 2030. but there can be dramatic progress. he’s worked the land and he knows how dramatically agriculture has changed. he says farmers should have access to seeds that resist pests, be able to grow where drought is increasingly common, take advantage of productivity on farms large and small. he calls for a greater acceptance of science, biotechnology, and the farming know-how that can bring life-saving productivity to farmers from southern asia to sub-saharan africa where heat and drought, worsened by climate change, climate threaten entire communities.

for all of us, this was a sobering trip. but a hopeful one, too, because we heard about solutions and breakthroughs. we met incredible, committed people — a lot of them — who have dedicated their lives to helping others grow nutritious food, protect their land, drink their water, assert their rights. we met inventors and investors, leaders from business and nonprofits, activists and advocates, and brave pioneers of change.

it is my belief that the students who traveled with us to rome will be motivated, now and throughout their lives, to add to stories that educate, inform, and inspire change. watch for their stories. watch what they will do. they are part of a generation that must rise to unprecedented challenge to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .