IV — Food and Water for Life
This edition tackled global food security and water scarcity, exploring biotechnology, agricultural innovation, and the economics of natural resources.
Key Themes
With the global food price crisis of 2008 as backdrop, this edition confronted the interconnected challenges of feeding a growing population and managing dwindling freshwater resources. Scientists presented research on crop genetics, irrigation technology, and the economic structures that perpetuate food inequality.
The role of biotechnology in agriculture was a central topic, with speakers including Ingo Potrykus presenting Golden Rice as a model for how genetic engineering can address malnutrition. The conference also examined the environmental trade-offs of industrial agriculture, from deforestation to water pollution.
Experts in economics and development policy joined natural scientists to argue that technological innovation alone cannot solve food insecurity without parallel reforms in trade policy, land rights, and access to education in developing countries.