Food System Transformations in the Developing World: a brief economic history

Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 12:00 pm PT (3:00 pm ET)

Please register using this LINK. 

The developing world has seen dramatic transformations in food systems over the past sixty years.  These changes were driven by broader global changes in demography, economic development, food trade and globalization of food cultures. Food system change has been closely connected to nutritional transition from under-nutrition to over-nutrition and rising trends in obesity. It has also been associated with environmental change, including climate change, both as a driver and a victim of change. This talk presents four distinct food system transformations that have had profound impacts on human and environmental wellbeing. The first transformation, between 1960-80, was focused around addressing global hunger and rural poverty.  The second transformation, between 1980-2000, was around food system diversity as a consequence of income growth, urbanization and rising middle class populations. The third, post 2000 transformation led to the globalization and westernization of developing country diets. The current period is one of heightened concerns around health and environmental consequences of global diets and the quest for a sustainable food, health, and environmental nexus. Policy and technological options for better food system futures will be discussed.

Guest Speaker: Prabhu Pingali, Professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Director, Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, Cornell University

This webinar event is co-hosted with UCR CHASS, Department of Economics. 

Department Seminar Organizer: Dr. Steven Helfand, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, UCR

===================================================

The webinar series event will take place from spring 2021 and is curated by CAFÉ and several UCR departments. Each webinar includes 30-45 minutes talk and 15-30 minutes of Q&A.

Our goal is to build awareness around important topics related to agriculture, food, sustainability, and global health to foster interdisciplinary discourses, stimulate convergent multidisciplinary research efforts, and create cross-UC connections on our campus and our community. 

FALL 2021 QUARTER SCHEDULE - September 23th, 2021 to December 3rd, 2021