This Site: ILSI All Sites People Advanced ILSI About ILSI Science and Research Events Publications Videos ILSI Nutrition Security Program Links Publications Other Resources PDF Fact sheet Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition Security How long will we be able to feed our world? The world faces an escalating challenge to produce sufficient staple food crops in the face of multiple constraints: climate change; resource scarcity; and ecosystem preservation. Although agricultural production has increased significantly, it is not keeping pace with demand. This is especially true of important staples, such as cassava and rice, where gains in yield have been comparatively lower than for commodities like maize and soy bean. Already, today, one in seven people worldwide suffer malnutrition and yet recent studies suggest crop production would need to double to keep pace with projected food demands. Population growth, increased consumption of meat, and more resources devoted to bioenergy production are all stressing our ability to adequately feed the world. ILSI’s programs in sustainable agriculture and nutrition security deal with the challenges of increased global food demand and regional impacts of climate change in an informed, collaborative, and sustainable manner. Promising New Tools... Need Improvement The emerging science of integrated modeling is being used to assess how crops and nutrition security are being threatened by climate change and increasing demand for food. However, the underlying models used in these assessments are often based on questionable assumptions and very limited or outdated information. The ILSI Research Foundation has established a new center of excellence — the Center for Integrated Modeling of Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition Security (CIMSANS) — with the immediate goal of fostering broad public-private collaborations to improve integrated modeling of agricultural production systems. In doing so, the research foundation fills a sizable unmet need, completely distinct from other multi-collaborator sustainability initiatives. CIMSANS is focusing efforts in three initial areas: opening data; improved models; and sustainable nutrition security assessments. It will: Assemble data and modeling skills sufficient to develop nutrition security assessments for key staple foods; Develop plausible future scenarios identifying the countries and vulnerable sub-populations whose nutrition security is most at risk due to climate change and resource scarcity; Design and implement prioritized adaptation strategies to help those countries predicted to have the greatest challenges in fulfilling their nutrition security needs in a sustainable manner; and Deploy rigorous monitoring & evaluation processes to check forecast accuracies, and to detect sustainability concerns & nutrition security threats in real-time. CIMSANS is calling attention to the importance of nutrition security in addition to food security – i.e., the micronutrient quality of the diet as well as the quantity of food. It has shared this perspective at major, international events on climate change: in 2012 in Italy at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s headquarters, and in 2013 at the first ever Food Security Futures Conference in Ireland; the first ever International Conference on Global Food Security in The Netherlands; and at “Navigating New Risk Landscapes & Opportunities in Global Food Systems” in Sweden. ILSI’s programs will improve integrated modeling of climate change to help the world community make better decisions about how to ensure nutrition security in truly sustainable ways. Confronting Climate Change in Asia Climate change, when coupled with population growth and increased affluence leading to changes in consumption patterns, is adding additional stress to food and water resources throughout Asia. ILSI Korea and ILSI India held events in 2013 to better understand challenges and opportunities. ILSI Korea organized a scientific session on climate change as part of the Bio Korea 2013 International Convention. Presenters described the anticipated impact of climate change on food production and related economic concerns and ultimate consequences for nutrition security. While much of the focus was on food crops derived from biotechnology, participants introduced and discussed a range of solutions that could be taken at the national level to ensure food stability in Korea. Similarly, ILSI-India and CIMSANS co-organized the “International Conference on Climate Change and Implications for Water Resources and Nutrition Security.” ILSI-India had identified the particular need to focus on the effects of climate change on water availability for crop production. As in ILSI Korea, ILSI-India’s conference led to a series of research priority recommendations that serve as a blueprint for national action. Climate Change and Pest Management A variety of traditional practices and new technologies can help improve sustainability on small and large scales: crop rotation; soil enrichment; pest management; and plant breeding, either conventional or through biotechnology. The ILSI Research Foundation’s Center for Environmental Risk Assessment (CERA) focuses on the safety of biotechnology on the environment. In 2013, CERA, the US Department of Agriculture, the Iowa State University, and Dupont Pioneer co-convened workshop on non-target organism testing of transgenic crops. The workshop provided regulatory scientists and environmental risk assessors from eight countries with an experimental learning opportunity in laboratory and field testing of non-target organisms. Participants learned how insect populations are assessed in agroecosystems, and were able to review and critique data generated typically provided to government regulators supporting applications to authorize commercial planting of insect-resistant crops. Insect resistant crops may lessen damage from an increase in invasive species caused by climate change. Farmers have always struggled to implement and maintain effective pest management strategies. Climate change, however, is raising concerns among farmers and entomologists alike about creation of conditions that may lead to an increase in invasive species. Insect resistant crops derived from biotechnology are one tool that may mitigate this. CERA’s work ensures we understand the safety of existing and potential new insect-resistant crops. Program Links ILSI Research Foundation Center for Environmental Risk Assessment (CERA) ILSI Research Foundation Center for Integrated Modeling of Sustainable Agriculture and Nutrition Security (CIMSANS) Recent Publications Mumm R (2013) “A Look at Product Development with Genetically Modified Crops: Examples from Maize.” J Agric Food Chem. 61: 8254–8259 Gustafson, DI et al. “Climate adaptation imperatives: global sustainability trends and eco-efficiency metrics in four major crops – canola, cotton, maize, and soybeans” International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability (October 2013) Other Resources CGIAR FAO Climate Change GAIN International Food Policy Research Institution World Bank "I have seen firsthand that agricultural science has enormous potential to increase the yields of small farmers and lift them out of hunger and poverty." Bill Gates Over 25 video presentations from the joint ILSI-India / CIMSANS workshop on climate change and water are available online: Climate Change & Water Back to top