agriculture is a field with historic relevance leading back to the early hunter-gatherer societies of humanity. during these times, it was a cultural expectation that everyone had a role in maintaining the land. traditionally, men would embody the role of the hunter, while women maintained the agricultural land as the gatherer. although having different roles, commonality was met with the expectation that all youth would continue the tradition and become the agricultural leaders needed to ensure the survival of their society. a tradition that has since diminished in the majority of society, as generational farmers continue to exist, but their children are becoming less likely to carry-on the family legacy.

the idea that young people think that farming is not cool, the desire of youth to live in thriving cities, or that farming is hard physical work that young people today don’t desire; are some but not the main points of why youth are not interested in farming. additionally, yes, though job security and our society’s push toward medical, technological, and engineering careers are a greater cause for this generational divide; i believe that the answer to this question is rooted in a greater issue: knowledge.

with our world globalizing at a pace faster than ever before, information is at its optimal point of accessibility in today’s society. it is in this society where the media focuses on trending topics where agriculture is lost among the millions of strands of information accessible by a click of a button. without this knowledge, the mundane traditional perceptions of farming will continue to spread, as the field continues to diminish, while youth continue to believe that there is not a place for them in agriculture. however, what if i told you that this was just not true; and that in fact the agriculture field is a place of opportunity for youth and older generations alike? here are three debunked misconceptions about youth in agriculture.

1. technology is growing in agriculture. in fact, it even has its own word, agri-tech. agri-tech, is the use of technology for agriculture, aquaculture, and horticulture that is developed to improve efficiency and profitability. this includes the usage of mobile applications for agriculture focused on efforts of connecting farmers and sponsors, to the usage of drones for agriculture, focused on monitoring fields and livestock. it even includes information communication technologies (ict) like podcasts and other social media efforts (on platforms like planet forward) to bring awareness to agriculture. lastly, and what i found most impressive is that it there is even blockchain for agriculture, which allows the usage of virtual money such as bitcoin to be used in investment and sales of produce and agritech. in fact, according to forbes magazine, agri-tech is a key area of focus for investors globally. a field that continues to surprise, and actually has many career paths and even more job opportunities in agriculture technology.

2. farming can be very profitable. though sometimes becoming a farmer may have humble beginnings, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make a profit out of it. in fact, there are actually multiple financial resources available in the u.s. alone. additionally, if you’re considered to be youth, there are even more financial opportunities for you. with there being such high-demand in the agricultural field, specifically in farming, many governmental and non-profit organizations are creating financial opportunities and rewards to encourage people, specifically youth, to pursue a career in the field. after you’ve secured this funding the next part can be tricky, but with the right practices, your farm can be very profitable. this highly depends on two things: the type of crops you grow and how you choose to operate your farm. from a face-value level, the type of crops you grow can increase your potential profit greatly. just check out these two links which explain the five and 10 highly profitable farming ventures. through this method, you are essentially guaranteed a higher potential profit by growing and raising produce that is in high demand on the market. on the contrary, for someone who does not have the capabilities or environment of producing products such as this, your second option is to alter the manner in which you operate your farm. according to agweb.com, though all farms can be profitable, there are common denominators in the farms that have the biggest success. this includes things from the inclusion of more technology or using outside experts, to revamping their accounting practices to better represent their actual costs. nevertheless, if they can do it, so can you.

3. agriculture can complement your life goals. there are a multitude of agriculture jobs beyond farming. although farmers are in high-demand, the remainder of the agricultural field is vast. this includes jobs from agricultural engineering and wildlife/forest conversation to forest health specialist. this field is not only sustainable within itself, but can easily pair with your own ambitions and goals. for example, if you’re a student majoring in finance with hopes of venturing into banking, consider adding a focus in agriculture and there are jobs such as a wells fargo senior business relationship manager – agriculture available. banking isn’t your thing, but you’re really interested in working in communications? perfect. most companies or organizations focused in agriculture, aquaculture, etc., also have to maintain communication and public relations with the surrounding world. so as you’re thinking about your future, think about how agriculture might pair well with your career goals and apply to an internship or two to give it a try.

agriculture is the world around us, and just like the world around us, it is versatile and open to all. though it has had a negative perception, the agricultural field is actually a field of opportunity. so, truth be told, it’s not that there is not a place for youth in agriculture, instead, it’s that youth have the opportunity to make agriculture something that it never has been before.

the future of agriculture is technology, it’s youth, and it’s change. for the agriculture of tomorrow begins now, with you.

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editor’s note: this series, a zero hunger future, is generously sponsored by the un-fao. all editorial content is created independently. to discover more experiential learning opportunities, email editor@planetforward.org.

the un had just released an alarming report, which warned that 12 years from now we will be beyond the tipping point — the point-of-no-return — when the global warming trend will be irreversible.

global warming isn’t the only issue on the u.n.’s agenda. this year, delegates at the un-fao launched a mission to end world hunger by 2030. the u.n. estimates that more than 820 million people are hungry. that number has been increasing since 2014, despite the un-fao’s previous efforts to rid the world of hunger.

what are global leaders doing differently now to ensure that their end world hunger campaign works this time around?

one of their focuses is to build resilience. several weeks before the un-fao’s annual world food day conference, the fao partnered with the european union on a €77 million (approximately $80 million) project to build global resilience to food crises.

a community is considered to be in a food crisis when at least one in five households have high malnutrition, even with humanitarian aid, according to the famine early warning systems network.

“investing in resilience is key to fighting hunger today and in the future. in view of the magnitude and persistence of food crises,” josé graziano da silva, head of the fao, said in a press release. “we need to invest more in resilience interventions and create stronger alliances with all parties.”

food crises are caused by conflict, drought, flood, disease, and unstable food prices, the un-fao reports. in 2017, a total of 51 countries were affected by food crises, according to an fao report. the same reported estimated that 125 million people are food insecure as a result of food crises. these individuals equal 15% of the global hungry population.

günther hemrich, deputy director of the fao’s nutrition and food systems division, lived in mwingi, kenya—a town tormented with food crises—for three years.

hemrich said that the first crop season he witnessed in mwingi was a failure. the village survived off of humanitarian aid, which was mostly corn. the second season also failed. corn for dinner again. then so did the third. and the fourth. so, more corn was delivered to mwingi.

finally, the fifth season prospered. the rainy season allowed the crops to thrive, but it also triggered a devastating cholera outbreak.

disease is among the top causes of food crises, the un reports. hundreds of village members were affected. those who were healthy enough would carry their neighbors to health centers in wheelbarrows, hemrich said.

although kenya faces food crises, it is not a country that will receive aid from the fao and eu’s 3-year-long project. the food resilience project will focus on 12 countries: yemen, cuba, venezuela, myanmar, madagascar, ethiopia, somalia, sudan, niger, chad, mali, and nigeria.

yemen was the most hunger-stricken country on the globe last year with more than half of the population—about 17 million people—considered food insecure as a result of conflict, displacement and economic collapse.

other countries on the list, such as ethiopia and madagascar, have been affected by extreme weather. ethiopia is still facing the effects of the el nińo drought and madagascar has been impacted by cyclones.

it is not yet clear what these projects will entail or how they will build resilience, but leaders agree that the effort is necessary.

with a growing global population — which is projected to hit 10 billion by 2050 — and the effects of climate change, un leaders feel the pressure to enact monumental change.

“either we carry on doing the same thing, which is not getting us any closer to zero hunger, or we do things differently,” arvelo said.

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editor’s note: this series, a zero hunger future, is generously sponsored by the un-fao. all editorial content is created independently. to discover more experiential learning opportunities, email editor@planetforward.org.

president of the united nations food and agriculture organization (unfao),  josé graziano da silva, challenged delegates in the plenary to stay grounded in this question as they would spend the next week discussing and devising solutions to end global hunger by 2030.

interestingly enough, this was not the first time i found myself facing this powerful question. in my medical school training, we often are asked to take pause on similar questions: “did i think of every possible diagnosis?” “did i ask every relevant question?” “did i evaluate all possible outcomes?” all these questions ultimately boil down to, “did i do everything i could for this patient when there was still a chance?”

at these united nations’ meetings, the “patient” is the world and the outcomes to prepare for range from decreased crop diversity to increased strain on resources. throughout the week, delegates worked to create plans so we could do “everything” we can to keep perhaps our most important patient healthy.

medicine and health played a notable role in these meetings. the united nations 2nd sustainable development goal outlines, “a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed to nourish today’s 795 million hungry + the additional 2 billion increase in global population expected by 2050.” queen letizia of spain noted a critical element in devising solutions for this goal: “it is not just about feeding, it is about nourishing.”

throughout the week, it was highlighted that diet is the no. 1 risk factor globally for disease. as the world prepares to reshape our food systems, this statistic and the important health consequences from food cannot be ignored.

from a medical viewpoint, malnutrition is understood to be, a “dysfunction resulting from a failure to consume or to metabolize sufficient nutrients to support the body’s structural and functional integrity,” according to the sabiston textbook of surgery (2017). malnutrition can be caused by starvation, metabolic disorders, or even obesity due to intake of inappropriate and nutrient poor foods. prolonged malnutrition can impair organ systems, leading to respiratory insufficiency, delayed wound healing, skeletal muscle wasting, renal atrophy, immunosuppression, or cardiac dysfunction.

while hunger can have devastating impacts on individuals and communities, malnutrition extends beyond hunger. the meetings importantly pointed out that 8 of the 20 countries with the fastest rising obesity rates are in developing parts of africa and just under 40% of adults in the united states are obese. malnutrition is a disease of both poverty and wealth. with an increasing trend in non-communicable diseases, like cardiovascular disease or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, it is imperative to recognize how food trends are influencing the global health landscape.

given the close interplay between health and food, it is clear that policies to end malnutrition will require a close collaboration with the healthcare sector. clinicians need a seat at the table to advocate for patients around the world and to offer insight on the downstream health consequences of shifting diets. in order to “do everything we could when there was still a chance,” we need to involve everyone we can while there is still a chance. from tackling problems as far-reaching as the interplay of climate change and global food security to overcoming microscopic obstacles in a clinical setting, solutions are made stronger when diverse perspectives are involved.

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editor’s note: this series, a zero hunger future, is generously sponsored by the un-fao. all editorial content is created independently. to discover more experiential learning opportunities, email editor@planetforward.org.

the meetings concentrated on discussions concerning worldwide progress being made on global food security measures, specifically relating to the second sustainable development goal: zero hunger. the goal focuses on eliminating hunger completely by the year of 2030. currently, one in nine — 815 million people — around the globe are considered to be malnourished, with the majority of the people living in a developing country. furthermore, 45% of childhood deaths under the age of five are a result of undernourishment.

josè graziano da silva, director of the food and agriculture organization of the united nations said, “zero hunger is not just about feeding people, but nourishing people.”

achieving the goal of zero hunger must include a dynamic, collaborative solution involving public policy, the private sector, and all citizens on this planet including all countries. based on the comments stated throughout the committee on global food security meetings, hunger can be divided into two parts: obesity and starvation.

obesity

malnourishment is not solely defined by starvation, or a lack of a calorie-dense diet. obesity is also a form of malnourishment of epidemic proportion that increases peoples risks to non-communicable diseases by consuming too many calories compared to the amount of exercise the individual is performing.

there are currently 38 million children under the age of five who are overweight and one in eight adults who also struggle with obesity. this health epidemic affects both developed and developing countries. obesity is most prevalent in developed countries, most commonly found in north america. discussion around obesity at the committee for global food security meetings was related to low income budgets turning to foods that are calorie-dense and nutrient-poor including fast food and highly processed foods. these poor food choices are much cheaper and offer a high-calorie food source, which families resort to in an effort to combat their food insecurity. the delegates at the meetings promoted sourcing and creating fresh foods available to these families and also educating the youth on how to implement these fresh foods into their diets and preparing them to be tasteful.

starvation

achieving the goal of zero hunger by reducing starvation requires, perhaps surprisingly, a continued emphasis on the empowerment of women, according to the food and agriculture organization. with agriculture being the single largest employer in the world, employing more than 40% of the global population, there is a continued need for women to be included in active roles in agriculture. the female farmers of the world predominately run agricultural operations with the goal of producing enough food to feed their families, specifically in developing countries. some of the ways women are empowered to promote efficient agricultural production includes education of methodology, implementation of technology, and utilization of proper storage techniques all of which help maximize yields. finally, women need to continue to tell their stories about how they are driven to subsist and feed their families.

we heard about an example demonstrating the importance of storytelling in agriculture is a first-time farmer from sewa, zala shardaben fathesinh. zala strives to produce food for her family to live on and had to begin her operation by borrowing money, and, as a result, was trapped in a vicious cycle of trying to pay the money back to the lender, while also producing enough food for the family. zala discussed some of the challenges that she faces on a regular basis, including drought that has been worsened by climate change and a lack of technology to help optimize her operation. zala’s story exemplifies issues being discussed within the united nations to achieve the goal of zero hunger through the reduction of undernourishment.

food is a basic necessity for life. the type of food available can determine the health and opportunities available to an individual. civilization needs to strive to produce more food, on fewer resources, with more nutrients to sustain the growing population. how is this world going to be able to ecologically sustain the amount of food we need to produce to feed the entirety of the expected population of 10 billion?

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editor’s note: this series, a zero hunger future, is generously sponsored by the un-fao. all editorial content is created independently. to discover more experiential learning opportunities, email editor@planetforward.org.