"At the dawn of the 21st century, we are faced with a set of emerging and growing challenges: The population of the world has grown at a rapid pace, turning the demand for increasing our global food production into a formidable challenge", says Professor Gebisa Ejeta (winner of the world food prize 2009) who is speaking at the International Food Security and Safety Meeting to be held in Lancaster, UK, 13 - 15th September 2010.
With real-live crises already being witnessed such as the food riots in Mozambique and increases in world wheat prices due to sudden climate extremes, scientists need to work alongside policy and ethical experts, social scientists and economists to propose integrated approaches to finding solutions to our most challenging future predicament: keeping our food supply alive.
This meeting will feature speakers from Europe, China and Africa who will bring their views to the table. Professor Jianhua Zhang, who was featured as one of five crop researchers who could change the world (Nature), will say: "We have found non-GM answers in China to improve our most vital foods (wheat and maize), such as using cross-breeding to make crops more adaptable to their environment and improving land conditions, but it is also the changing political landscape which has worked to help solve the problems of feeding China's immense population".
Professor Brian Wynne (recently awarded the prestigious JD Bernal Prize for social studies of science) will say: "Regulatory appraisal processes have been restricted to 'sound science' appraisal but there are essential social and economic dimensions of the rationale which should also influence future agricultural development".
