The Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Global Food Security Symposium 2017

The Pulitzer Center is a partner of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' 2017 Global Food Security Symposium, with four journalist grantees involved in the two-day event in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 29, and Thursday, March 30.

Co-chaired by Douglas Bereuter, president emeritus of The Asia Foundation, and Dan Glickman, former secretary of the US Department of Agriculture, this year's symposium showcases  business, social, and policy innovation. The Chicago Council hopes to generate dialogue and actions to ensure strides in global food security and agricultural development.

Author Roger Thurow, a Pulitzer Center grantee journalist and senior fellow at the Chicago Council, speaks at the symposium on Thursday. Throw's most recent book, "The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children–and the World," follows four mothers and their babies in India, Uganda, Guatemala and Chicago as they attempt to provide proper nutrition to ensure their children can survive and thrive. The Pulitzer Center supported Thurow's international reporting, which also produced his reporting project, "1,000 Days: To Save Women, Children and the World."

Journalist Sharon Schmickle moderates the Building Africa's Capacity & Human Capital session, while Lisa Palmer, a journalist, author and senior fellow for the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, leads the discussion for Measuring Improvements of Diet Quality While Building Sustainable & Productive Food Systems. The panels, led by these Pulitzer Center grantees, occur concurrently on Wednesday, March 29 from 2:00 to 4:00pm and will be live-streamed.

In addition to speaking at the symposium, Thurow hosted "Food Security," a podcast showcasing work from other Pulitzer Center grantees whose projects tie into the big picture of global agriculture and food security. Thurow interviewed grantees Palmer, Karim Chrobog and Jenni Duggan in episodes that will be released leading up to the symposium. 

Chrobog's documentary film project, "Wasted," compares South Korea, the world's largest food recycler, and the United States, the largest food waster in the world. Palmer's project, "Hot, Hungry Planet," covers the threat of global environmental change with the need to feed a growing population. Palmer also wrote a blog published on the Council's site. Duggan's project, "Syrian Seeds Sow Hope for Global Food Security," covers a research center in Lebanon, who's collection of seeds is of vital importance for global food security in a changing climate.