How Will We Feed 9 Billion People in 2050?

By Lauren Ingeno

By the year 2050, experts predict the world population will rise to 9 billion.

To meet the needs of that many people, humans will have to produce as much food in the next 40 years as they have in the last 8,000, says Jason Clay, senior vice president of market transformation for the World Wildlife Fund. Currently, more than 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat.

And as the world population surges, the Earth’s health is declining. Humans are destroying forests, draining rivers and building factory farms to increase food production. Meanwhile, climate change is impacting all elements of food security—availability, access, utilization and stability.

So how will we feed the world without destroying the planet? And what role will consumers, farmers, policymakers and scientists play in addressing these challenges?

These were two of the big questions tackled at the day-long Feeding the Planet Summit held in the George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium on Wednesday.

“Feeding the Planet: Sustainable Innovations in Food Security” was launched by GW Planet Forward—a project created in 2009 by GW School of Media and Public Affairs Director Frank Sesno and based at SMPA’s Center for Innovative Media. Planet Forward is an online community where “experts and engaged citizens come together” to find solutions in the areas of energy, climate and sustainability.

School of Media and Public Affairs Director Frank Sesno is the creator of Planet Forward'an online community where 'experts and engaged citizens come together' to find solutions in the areas of energy, climate and sustainability.

Dennis Dimick, executive environment editor at National Geographic Magazine, gives a sneak peak of the magazine's 'Year of Food' series, which will run from May to December 2014 and lay out the challenges for all of us as we consider answers to the question of how to feed 9 billion people in 2050.

Most of the environmental damage to the planet has come from our quest for energy,' said Dennis Dimick, executive environment editor at National Geographic Magazine. 'There is a price to plenty.'

Dan Glickman, JD '69, former U.S. secretary of agriculture, speaks at the Feeding the Planet Summit.

World-renowned Spanish chef Jos' Andr's, who teaches 'The World on a Plate: How Food Shapes Civilization' at GW, discusses making small, personal choices to solve the issue of feeding the planet, so the 'big picture won't be so daunting.'

(From left) Jos' Andr's joins BET Networks news producer Marie Nelson, International Food Policy Research Institute Director General Shenggen Fan and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden to discuss how the future of food and policy can impact practice.

More than 350 people attended the Feeding the Planet Summit held in the Jack Morton Auditorium.

Atlantic Senior Editor Corby Kummer (center) leads a panel discussion about Genetically Modified Organisms with New York Times correspondent Amy Harmon, the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Greg Jaffe, Union of Concerned Scientist Senior Scientist Margaret Mellon, and Monsanto Vice President of Global Regulatory Phil Miller.

Students from Iowa State, Middlebury, Roger Williams, the University of Oregon and Purdue, among others attended the summit.

The summit was streamed over a live webcast. People from around the country could tune in and engage in the discussion through Twitter.

SMPA Director Frank Sesno chats with USAID administrator Rajiv Shah backstage at the Feed the Planet Summit.

USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, the summit's keynote speaker, shows the audience a tool used for urea deep placement, a technique that increases yield percentages while reducing fertilizer costs for farmers. The technique is one of the 'the five most innovative things the U.S. is doing to feed the planet,' Shah said.

Rajiv Shah answers Twitter questions from audience members and those who watched the summit's live webcast.

Harman Johar, a 2013 graduate of the University of Georgia, founded World Entomophagy' an edible insect supplier.

Spike Mendelsohn, chef and popular restaurant owner, interviews young people who have developed innovations in sustainable food production and security.

An audience member asks a question to the panel of young food innovators.

Harman Johar shares a cricket.

Harman Johar and his World Entomophagy team sell organically-grown insects. Audience members at Friday's summit ate crickets onstage.

Students studying agriculture from universities around the country speak about sustainable innovations in food security.

George Washington President Steven Knapp highlighted the many efforts of the university related to food and sustainability. 'Our students are at the forefront of leading our efforts,' he said. 'They are committed to ending world hunger, and they are the ones who are really going to carry this whole cause forward.'

President and CEO of World Food Program USA moderates a discussion about how corporations, NGOs and governments are partnering to feed the world with Land O' Lakes, Inc. President and CEO Chris Policinski, CARE USA President and CEO Helene Gayle, Bayer CropScience LP's David Hollinrake and Elanco President Jeff Simmons.