The only other World Food Prize symposium I have attended was in 2008 and I was very impressed this year with how much the event has grown in just four years. Ambassador Ken Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, was thrilled with the program and attendance this year. “We’re again at about 1400-1500 people, and that doesn’t count …
2012 World Food Prize Laureate
The 2012 World Food Prize Laureate is credited with revolutionizing food production through micro-irrigation to allow farmers to produce “more crop per drop.” Dr. Daniel Hillel is pictured here during the World Food Prize ceremony last week flanked by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Food Prize Chairman John Ruan III. An Israeli-American, Dr. Hillel began his pioneering scientific work …
Support for Plumpy’nut Increases
It was announced during the Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines in conjunction with the World Food Prize 2012 last week, that the makers of Plumpy’nut, Nutriset, will contribute an additional $5.8 million over the next two years to combat severe acute malnutrition in the developing world. The main ingredients include peanuts, vegetable oil, sugar, vitamins, minerals, cocoa, whey and maltodextrin. …
Elanco President Shares Significance of an Egg
At the closing day for the World Food Prize symposium Friday, Elanco President Jeff Simmons shared his thoughts on the significance of a single egg. “What’s in an egg?” Simmons asked during comments before a panel discussion on the importance of food productivity to meet tomorrow’s demand. “It’s the calories, the nutrients, the nutrition to totally change a kid. One …
UN Secretary-General at World Food Prize
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the big ceremony last night at the World Food Prize and stuck around to also speak at breakfast this morning for those not able (or willing) to attend the gala at the state capitol. During his brief address at breakfast, Ban talked about how making sure everyone in the world has enough to eat …
Total Factor Productivity Key Indicator of Growth
Productivity is back on the policy agenda with rising food prices, heightened concerns about resource scarcity and increase risk from climate change, according to Dr. Keith Fuglie with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the release of the 2012 GAP Report published by Global Harvest Initiative during the 2012 World Food Prize, Fuglie said it’s being realized more and more that we …
Remembering 2008 World Food Prize
This is the second time I attended the World Food Prize – the first time was in 2008 when former Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern were recognized as Laureates for their bipartisan leadership in the 1970s to reform and expand school food and nutrition programs. Sen. McGovern’s name has come up several times during this event as the 90-year-old …
USAID Issues Progress Report at WFP
U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah released the first progress report and scorecard for Feed the Future at an address to the World Food Prize on Thursday. The progress report highlights how Feed the Future is already making a difference in people’s lives in the developing world and the scorecard tracks how well we are changing our development …
General Mills “Hungry to Help” Africa
General Mills CEO Kendall Powell says his company and his employees are very simply “hungry to help” people in Africa by increasing their food supply. “We’re hungry to help the entrepreneur in Tanzania who is trying to package her products and access new markets,” Powell said during an address at the World Food Prize symposium on Thursday. “We’re hungry to …
Global Hunger Index Score Still Serious
Less people in the world are going hungry but less is still too many. The 2012 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) at the World Food Prize symposium on Thursday shows that hunger on a global scale remains “serious” and 20 countries have levels of hunger that are “alarming” or “extremely alarming.” The …