And the $1 million Hult Prize for the best start-up idea that secures food for undernourished slum-dwellers goes to... a group of five students from Montreal, Canada, who want to grow, process and sell edible insects.
Asked to speak on "A prosperous future for all: Gender, climate change and biodiversity in a globalized world," Zester Daily contributor Trine Hahnemann appeared recently on a United Nations panel in New York.
For you and me, it likely means that our favorite breakfast sandwich has a higher price tag. But for the world's poorest people, even the slightest price increase can force families to sell the few assets they have and pull their children out school.
Hunger is often called in the humanitarian aid world a 'silent killer.' Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and TB combined. It goes without saying that food and water are the most essential things needed to sustain life.
It is clear we also need to embrace technology to enable us to double or triple food production to meet our needs. It may not sound too tasty, but just yesterday a Dutch scientist unveiled what purports to be a hamburger grown in a test tube from bovine stem cells.
Global food prices remain high and volatile, affecting the poorest countries the most. For millions who are already vulnerable, events like the droughts in the Horn of Africa add to their hardships while continued market turmoil increases uncertainty in the global economy.
Between Anderson Cooper, Bono, and the New York Times deigning to (at least briefly) put a story about famine on the front page, it seems the world has finally taken notice of the unfolding disaster in the Horn of Africa. It is about DAMN time.
The dangers of an increasingly globalized supply chain for food and drugs are already visible. With imports and scandals rising, and government funding decreasing, the FDA will have to focus their limited resources to protect public health.