Science Sessions Overview
Zero Hunger: Will We Get There?
Our global food system is being challenged in ways it has never been before. Already poised to undergo massive transformation, a global pandemic has accelerated our need to innovate and transform. It has also set us back on an already ambitious goal of achieving the UN’s second Sustainable Development goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.
As a global science of food and food innovation community, we have the unique opportunity to elevate and address this global challenge by bringing together our collective experts and global partners to discuss novel research, share knowledge and insights, and challenge one another to think big and bold.
Featured Speakers and Sessions
Monday, July 19
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Co-Founder Food Systems for the Future a Global Nutrition Impact investment Fund
Tuesday, July 20
Dr. Lisa Dyson, Founder and CEO of Air Protein, A World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Company
Scientific Sessions to be Explored
The Science FIRST program (transitioned from IFT’s traditional Annual Event Scientific Sessions) will explore the question “Zero Hunger: Will We Get there?” by delving into six key areas of our global food system. In service of that goal, we will engage in the following formats led by a series of guiding questions aimed to address how health and nutrition, food safety and security, consumer insights and education, environmental sustainability, technology and innovation, and supply chain transformation can all contribute to the goal of Zero Hunger.
Formats include:
- Featured Expert Panel Discussions
Join us for robust discussions with expert guest panelist highlighting key topics related to each key area. - Live Scientific Session Conversations
Attendees and invited subject matter guests will come together in an online live forum to discuss 5 guiding questions for each key area identified from IFT’s expert member community. - FIRST Cut Scientific Session Summaries
A great way to get a taste of what each on-demand session will cover, these 1-minute pre-recorded summaries will provide a high-level overview of each on-demand session. - On-demand Scientific Presentations
Access a robust library of scientific presentation covering pertinent topics related to each key area. Recording formats include Quickfire or Innovation Showcases (10 minutes), Individual Presentations (30 minutes), or Panel/Series discussions (45 minutes).
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Health and Nutrition
Featured Panel: White Space Innovation: Opportunities to Transform our Food System
Guiding questions:
Join us for robust discussions, scientific presentations, and insights exploring and addressing challenges, opportunities, and potential health and nutrition solutions to inspire new (FIRST) solutions to address global hunger.- How does nutrition policy impact nutrition equity globally?
- What new technologies are available to increase nutrient density of bioavailability?
- How do bio-manufactured ingredients nutritionally and functionally compare to naturally occurring ingredients?
- How do dietary patters in urban and rural settings influence health, e.g., microbiome?
- How can institutionalized food, such as school lunch programs, prisons, and hospitals, be adapted to ensure the public they serve is well fed?
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Food Safety
Featured Panel: The Future of Food Safety
Join us for robust discussions, scientific presentations, and insights exploring and addressing challenges, opportunities, and potential food safety and security solutions to inspire new solutions to address global hunger.
Guiding questions:- What is the future of food safety?
- How do we make food systems more secure during times of crisis?
- What role will emerging technologies play in improving food safety globally?
- How to we reduce food fraud?
- How does digital technology improve food safety?
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Consumer Insights & Education
Featured Panel: Conflicted Consumer Demands
Join us for robust discussions, presentations, and insights exploring how consumer behavior and education are critical to addressing zero hunger across the globe and how we as a collective science of food and food innovation community can work together to more effectively communicate and educate consumers.
Guiding questions:
- How have consumer perceptions and behaviors changed during and post-COVID-19?
- Can values-based purchasing (i.e., global citizenship) impact nutrition inequity globally?
- Do people care and can consumers make a difference?
- How can individuals working in the science of food help to educate consumers about high quality nutrition and/or potential solutions to global hunger?
- Is nutrition legislation and labeling effective at educating the public or influencing their food choices?
See Consumer Insights and Education Guiding Question Sessions
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Sustainability
Featured Panel: Preparing for the Unexpected Caused by Global Warming, Pollution, and Geopolitics
Join us for robust discussions, presentations, and insights exploring important issues like global warming, pollution, water, waste, and geopolitics and how we as a science of food community can come together to problem solve and ignite innovative solutions to address global hunger.
Guiding questions:
- What is the relationship between sustainability and hunger?
- How can we develop environmentally friendly packaging for developed and developing economies?
- How can business or regulation balance the need for revenue, e.g., cash crops, with traditional crops for self-sufficiency?
- How do we produce more nutritious food, while wasting less or using fewer resources?
- Climate change will drive massive migration due to drought.
- How can nations respond with compassion and equitable access to food and water?
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Technology and Innovation
Featured Panel: The Post-COVID Food System: Globally Synced and Sustainably Built
Taking the global lessons the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, join us for robust discussions, presentations, and insights exploring new technologies and innovations being developed to address challenges contributing to global hunger and food waste.
Guiding questions:
- How can COVID-19 be a catalyst for change?
- What new technologies or innovations will radically transform the future of food?
- What emerging technology solutions might assist farmers in reducing in-field spoilage and getting their crops to market?
- How can we innovate for people with very low income?
- What are the opportunities for Public-Private Partnerships that could have measurable impacts on reducing hunger?
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Supply Chain Transformation
Featured Panel: Panel to explore localized supply chain sustainability. Panel in development.
Join us for robust discussions, presentations, and insights exploring the challenges and opportunities supply change innovation provides to help address global hunger.
Guiding questions:
- How might robotics and automation improve or hamper solutions to hunger?
- What are the supply/distribution chain vulnerabilities threatening the equitable distribution of nutrition globally?
- What can we do about it?
- How will digitization of the food supply chain enable consumers to influence the food industry? How can we localize or regionalize supply chains to help local communities, especially food deserts?
- How can food be distributed more equitably? How might we address the economics of hunger?
More ways to view the Science FIRST program
In addition to accessing scientific session and discussion content via the six key areas we have also tagged the content by area of focus as well as by speaker. You can access content through additional filtered views include:
View All Scientific Sessions by Area of Focus