.
In the US and around the world, job creation has been and continues to be a major focal point of education policy discussions. With unemployment reaching 30-year highs during the Great Recession, this focus seems warranted. As the US and global economies have pulled out of recession and begun to soar, we must not lose sight of the driving force behind the innovation that ensures economic prosperity: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). As a planet, we will confront challenges in the coming decades that will require unprecedented innovation and we need the best and the brightest among us to take on these challenges. We need more STEM graduates to ensure a bright future for generations to come.
One of the greatest challenges we must confront is how to sustainably feed the world’s growing population. US Government population projections estimate that by 2030 there will be an additional 1 billion people on the planet. In Africa, where food insecurity still plagues hundreds of millions, the population will grow the fastest. We are constrained by resource scarcities like water and arable land. Compounding these factors with the effects climate change means that we must approach agriculture and food production with a more enhanced focus on innovation. Essentially, in order to address today and tomorrow’s hunger, we must produce more nutrient-rich food per acre and waste significantly less. Unlocking this innovation requires that the world’s best and brightest take on this challenge.
We are part of a collaborative effort to take on this mantle, the STEM Food & Ag Council. Our members represent a cross-section of stakeholders in Food and Agriculture that includes youth serving organizations, higher education institutions, professional societies and industry employers. As stakeholders in this discussion, we are sending the message that we need STEM graduates to meet the challenge of feeding the world.
Increasing the number of highly qualified innovators entering the food and agricultural industries is vital to ensure that we can feed our world’s growing population. It is important to note that the vast majority of jobs in this field are no longer on the farm, although farmers have embraced technological innovations in ways that would make it unrecognizable to a farmer from a generation ago. Jobs in agriculture and food require interdisciplinary skills that apply science and technology to increase productivity, minimize food loss and increase distributional efficacy. We need the caliber of minds that have developed the microprocessor, conceived of railroads and sent mankind into space. We need the best.
We must broaden the pool of students interested in meeting the challenge of feeding the planet. We depend on students from diverse backgrounds to bring their knowledge and experiences to serve our students, constituents and customers better. The United States’ higher education system is the envy of the world that educates professionals in almost every STEM discipline imaginable including food and agricultural sciences. Our challenge is to inspire more students to enter our high need fields like agronomy, plant biology, animal and food sciences and also to apply their STEM skills, like computer science, data analytics, engineering and others, to this field.
We must create a better understanding of food production and distribution. STEM innovation in these processes is essential, and has been for centuries. While science and technology’s critical role in overcoming world challenges is understood in fields like medicine and energy, in food and agriculture, we face major obstacles implementing new technology that can increase productivity and efficiency. We welcome evidence-based discourse on this topic.
Finally, we must make the opportunity to help nourish the world a consideration for young people as they make choices about their educational trajectory. Not only are agribusiness jobs increasingly located in cities, urban agriculture is already a significant source of production. Food & Ag jobs are already available in the most sophisticated realms of technology, from precision technologies, to “big data” and the Internet of Things. Food & Ag jobs allow students to travel the world, make a good living and, most importantly, make a difference.
Help is wanted as we endeavor to feed the planet and we must ensure that we are bringing our best and brightest to the challenge. While incredible progress has been made in the last 30 years, it is imperative that we continue to innovate as the world’s population continues to grow while our planet’s resources do not.
About the authors: Dr. Sherri Brown is Vice President at Monsanto. In her role, she brings together Monsanto’s efforts grow the pool of talented scientists, promote innovation and collaborations, and engage allies to advance sustainable agriculture and ensure a healthy and abundant food supply around the world. Ted Wells is VP/Chief Strategy Officer at STEMconnector, an organization committed to improving communication between stakeholders in STEM education.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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The Human Factor Required to Feed the World
Man with laptop on dirt road
May 12, 2015
In the US and around the world, job creation has been and continues to be a major focal point of education policy discussions. With unemployment reaching 30-year highs during the Great Recession, this focus seems warranted. As the US and global economies have pulled out of recession and begun to soar, we must not lose sight of the driving force behind the innovation that ensures economic prosperity: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). As a planet, we will confront challenges in the coming decades that will require unprecedented innovation and we need the best and the brightest among us to take on these challenges. We need more STEM graduates to ensure a bright future for generations to come.
One of the greatest challenges we must confront is how to sustainably feed the world’s growing population. US Government population projections estimate that by 2030 there will be an additional 1 billion people on the planet. In Africa, where food insecurity still plagues hundreds of millions, the population will grow the fastest. We are constrained by resource scarcities like water and arable land. Compounding these factors with the effects climate change means that we must approach agriculture and food production with a more enhanced focus on innovation. Essentially, in order to address today and tomorrow’s hunger, we must produce more nutrient-rich food per acre and waste significantly less. Unlocking this innovation requires that the world’s best and brightest take on this challenge.
We are part of a collaborative effort to take on this mantle, the STEM Food & Ag Council. Our members represent a cross-section of stakeholders in Food and Agriculture that includes youth serving organizations, higher education institutions, professional societies and industry employers. As stakeholders in this discussion, we are sending the message that we need STEM graduates to meet the challenge of feeding the world.
Increasing the number of highly qualified innovators entering the food and agricultural industries is vital to ensure that we can feed our world’s growing population. It is important to note that the vast majority of jobs in this field are no longer on the farm, although farmers have embraced technological innovations in ways that would make it unrecognizable to a farmer from a generation ago. Jobs in agriculture and food require interdisciplinary skills that apply science and technology to increase productivity, minimize food loss and increase distributional efficacy. We need the caliber of minds that have developed the microprocessor, conceived of railroads and sent mankind into space. We need the best.
We must broaden the pool of students interested in meeting the challenge of feeding the planet. We depend on students from diverse backgrounds to bring their knowledge and experiences to serve our students, constituents and customers better. The United States’ higher education system is the envy of the world that educates professionals in almost every STEM discipline imaginable including food and agricultural sciences. Our challenge is to inspire more students to enter our high need fields like agronomy, plant biology, animal and food sciences and also to apply their STEM skills, like computer science, data analytics, engineering and others, to this field.
We must create a better understanding of food production and distribution. STEM innovation in these processes is essential, and has been for centuries. While science and technology’s critical role in overcoming world challenges is understood in fields like medicine and energy, in food and agriculture, we face major obstacles implementing new technology that can increase productivity and efficiency. We welcome evidence-based discourse on this topic.
Finally, we must make the opportunity to help nourish the world a consideration for young people as they make choices about their educational trajectory. Not only are agribusiness jobs increasingly located in cities, urban agriculture is already a significant source of production. Food & Ag jobs are already available in the most sophisticated realms of technology, from precision technologies, to “big data” and the Internet of Things. Food & Ag jobs allow students to travel the world, make a good living and, most importantly, make a difference.
Help is wanted as we endeavor to feed the planet and we must ensure that we are bringing our best and brightest to the challenge. While incredible progress has been made in the last 30 years, it is imperative that we continue to innovate as the world’s population continues to grow while our planet’s resources do not.
About the authors: Dr. Sherri Brown is Vice President at Monsanto. In her role, she brings together Monsanto’s efforts grow the pool of talented scientists, promote innovation and collaborations, and engage allies to advance sustainable agriculture and ensure a healthy and abundant food supply around the world. Ted Wells is VP/Chief Strategy Officer at STEMconnector, an organization committed to improving communication between stakeholders in STEM education.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
