Global Conversations DIGITAL: Food Security and Foreign Affairs

It is often said that foreign policy is about connecting means with ends. With perhaps a few exceptions, most agree that the ultimate end of U.S. foreign policy should be a more prosperous, sustainable, and secure world. Yet today, food security around the globe remains a pressing challenge, especially in low-income, conflict-prone, and climate-affected areas.

Following decades of decline in hunger, the number of hungry people globally is once again rising – this trend made all the worse by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patching up vulnerabilities in food systems remains paramount in ending hunger around the world and such trends pose challenges – some new, some old – to U.S. foreign policy.

Hear from a panel of experts as they explore U.S. food security and current gaps in policy, particularly as they relate to the effects of COVID-19.

Panelists

• Asma Lateef, Director, Bread for the World Institute
• Rob Paarlberg, Associate at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Adjunct Professor at Harvard Kennedy School
• Abigail Rockwell, Director, Office of Global Food Security, U.S. Department of State
• Caitlin Welsh, Director, Global Food Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Moderator: Tina May, Chief of Staff to Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford