The World Food Prize conference addresses issues facing agriculture globally, ranging from food security to distribution to safety. Dr. Derek Yach, SVP, Global Health Policy, provides perspective on why PepsiCo was present at this year’s event: “The reason we are here is this is the premiere venue where the issues of global hunger are addressed, particularly from an agricultural perspective. As a company with a set of very deep roots in farming around the world, we believe we should be both listening and more importantly, contributing to the debate.” Hear Derek’s thoughts below on what PepsiCo learned from participating in the World Food Prize and also, what the company contributed to the discussion. Read more

Des Moines is home to the World Food Prize-a celebration of the achievements of Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug for his 60 year contribution to advancing the scientific basis of actions that have reduced hunger. Each year leaders from the worlds of agriculture and nutrition gather to discuss ways of advancing Borlaug’s vision; a world free from hunger. This year was especially poignant given his death at 95 just weeks before the event. Without being there it is difficult to appreciate the extraordinary depths of love and appreciation for Borlaug that permeates the events. As a son of Iowa it was impressive to witness the Governor, the US Secretary of Agriculture and senior representatives from the State Department, Senators and leading politicians, leaders of corporations linked to agriculture including Archer Daniel Midlands, John Deere and Monsanto, academic heads of agriculture from the state and beyond open... Read more

When I left the World Health Organization in 2005 for Yale School of Public Health, I thought that I would not have to return to WHO/FAO technical report 916 except to teach aspiring public health students about it. I was so wrong. The report took two years to complete. Its bland number and boring cover hide the power of its simple messages and the complexity and broad based partnerships it will take to implement them. It set out to document the optimal diets and level of physical activity populations required to minimize their lifelong risks for a range of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. This required bringing together experts from around the world to sift through the cumulative wisdom of many and distill their ideas into a set of science-based nutrient and activity specific conclusions about what we should eat more or less... Read more

One billion people in the world are hungry. That’s right, 1,000,000,000.   For most, the figure is so large it simply numbs the mind. It appears vague and inaccurate. It strikes them as sensationalism or blatant propaganda. For most, the figure is often and easily dismissed. For those one billion individuals however, the consequences of dismissal are enormous and range from diminished intellectual development of children to reduced economic productivity of communities and nations. Those most affected are very young, often rural, very often women and typically marginalized in society.  They lack the energy to organize for themselves. They lack the voice to call for change or the power to mandate it. Here’s the hard truth — one billion hungry people are relying on people like you and me to reach out and support efforts to address their most basic need for food. I for one am eager to help. I’m passionate about the issue... Read more

The evidence is now clear. Weight gain leading to obesity and through this, to diabetes and heart disease, represents a relatively new and global threat to health at exactly the same time that infectious disease and tobacco control strategies are having an impact. Calls for action have been issued by governments from all parts of the world. And non-governmental organizations urge tougher controls on marketing of certain foods to kids. I have had the opportunity to sit through debates on the best way forward led by WHO, academics, companies and NGOs. Each believes in their solution. Each gives priority to factors often not under their control. Few have tried to formally map out with clarity what is likely to work and who is best placed to implement effective actions. An important exception was the work of the United Kingdom’s Foresight team (http://www.foresight.gov.uk/OurWork/ActiveProjects/Obesity/Obesity.asp). They avoided a tendency to... Read more