Aquarium Evening Course Will Examine How We Will Feed Over 2 Billion More People by 2100

September 19, 2018

A new evening course at the Aquarium this fall will examine how we can feed an additional 2 to 2.5 billion people by 2100 and reduce our human impact on the environment. The course will also examine how climate change is impacting global agriculture and productivity. In this new normal, a period known as The Anthropocene, scientists and farmers will need to identify new crops that can withstand higher temperatures, drought, and, in coastal areas flooding as a result of sea level rise. Speakers will discuss how agriculture and food systems around the world need to change over time, what agricultural innovations are being developed, the role of genetically modified organisms and gene editing technologies like CRISPR, and how farming the sea will become an increasingly important source of animal protein. With limited class size, attendees will have the opportunity to interact with speakers and learn the latest science directly from scientists and researchers studying these topics.

Speakers will include Dr. Tapan B. Pathak, specialist in climate adaptation in agriculture, University of California, Merced; AG Kawamura, chairman, Solutions for Urban Agriculture; Dr. Michael R. Carter, professor of agricultural and resource economics, UC Davis; Dr. Megan Hochstrasser, science communications manager, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco; Dr. Kent Bradford, distinguished professor, Department of Plant Sciences and director, Seed Biotechnology Center, UC Davis; Dr. Halley Froehlich, postdoctoral associate, SNAPP Sustainable Aquaculture, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, UC Santa Barbara; and Neil Anthony Sims, co-founder and CEO, Kampachi Farms, and scientific officer, Forever Oceans.

When: Wednesdays, October 10 & 17, and November 7 & 14 2018, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Info/RSVP: (562) 590-3100, Ext. 0 or event page

Cost: $40 per person and $35 per Aquarium member. CEU credit through California State University, Long Beach, is available for an additional $10. Parking will be validated.

Sponsor: JAG Molina Family Foundation and Courtyard Marriott