Food Policy Leaders to Address Future of Food

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Durham, North Carolina - Leading food policy experts will sit down with corporate CEOs on Wednesday, April 27, at Duke University to discuss how government and business can shape solutions to complex challenges such as food safety and security, hunger and obesity.

The panel discussion in Fleishman Commons at the Sanford School of Public Policy is free and open to the public. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a light reception in the lobby. Parking is available at the Science Drive or Bryan Center visitor lots.

Kelly Brownell, dean of the Sanford School and food policy expert, will moderate. Panelists include:

  • Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute since 2009. The institute provides research-based, sustainable policy solutions to reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in 50 developing countries.
  • Betsy Holden, senior adviser at McKinsey & Co. and former CEO of Kraft Foods. She helps clients meet marketing and operations challenges from multiline brand management to global expansion, acquisitions and cost management.
  • Juergen Voegele, senior director of the World Bank's Agriculture Global Practice. Voegele’s areas of expertise include agriculture and rural development, food security, environment and sustainable development.

“We need a more coordinated approach to addressing the major issues facing our food system,” said Brownell. “Current efforts to address hunger, obesity, food safety and the relationship of agriculture and the environment are often siloed and scattered, both domestically and internationally. The result has been the creation of world food policies that miss opportunities for collaboration and in some cases work at cross-purposes.”

The forum is part of a two-day planning meeting dedicated to refining plans for a World Food Policy Center at the Sanford School. Leading experts from organizations including the World Bank, World Health Organization, Council on Foreign Relations, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Nations World Food Programme, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, Cargill, Codex Alimentarius Commission, CGIAR Consortium and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations will convene to discuss priorities for the new center.

The planning effort is supported by grants from The Duke Endowment and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.