I had such a good time the last time I covered an event that our friends at Novus International sponsored (the Undergraduate Networking Day back in April), that I just couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for us at the World Agricultural Forum. Well, they did not disappoint as they provided those who took the bus ride over to the St. Louis Zoo a behind-the-scenes tour of the world famous St. Louis Zoo. I’ve been there a couple of times, but this time I got to see some of what goes on to make this great institution run, including a look at the penguin and puffin exhibit and a look at the zoo’s animal nutrition lab where they mix up the daily meals for the hundreds of animals that make the zoo their home.
Before we took off on our tour, I caught up with Novus CEO and President Thad Simons. While his company was sponsoring the reception and tour, it was also part of the bigger conversation at World Ag Forum of how to meet the challenges of feeding the world. He says the world’s population right now is about 6.5 billion people… and all of them are not being fed properly. He says the challenge becomes even more daunting when you consider the population is expecting to explode to more than 9 billion by the year 2050. But he believes ag technology is up to the task ahead.
“We know the technologies are there. It can be done if we can find ways to work together across the world.” That’s why he says an international forum like this is so important.
Simons adds that it is imperative that we come up with solutions to the agricultural issues facing the world today, because no agriculture means no food; no food means no hope.
Listen to all of my conversation with Thad here: ThadSimons1.mp3