The Director of USDA’s National Institute of Food & Agriculture Sonny Ramaswamy gave a presentation on “Setting the Table for a Hotter, Flatter, More Crowded Earth” during the opening general session at the ASTA CSS 2013 on Thursday with a focus on how public sector research and private sector support need to work together to feed our growing population.
Ramaswamy discussed what he calls the “wicked problems” – the societal challenges facing the world, ranging from population to poverty. “The reason I call them wicked problems is you may have the most fantastic technology available to you but you’re not able to deploy those technologies because mere humans become involved in this and we cannot seem to agree,” he said.
Listen to my interview for a short summary and his 50 minute presentation for more details:
Interview with Sonny Ramaswamy, USDA-NIFA
ASTA CSS presentation by Sonny Ramaswamy, USDA-NIFA