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The average homo sapien eats an estimated 35 tons of food in their lifetime. A 7 billion+ human civilization requires an immense amount of nutrition to survive, not to mention, thrive. Unfortunately, the Earth's soil has a limited carrying capacity to produce the agricultural yields we require, & this capacity is dwindling with time.
In envisioning a thriving future for Earth, we need to evaluate & investigate the environmental footprint of the daily food on our plate & reconsider how & where we acquire our vital nutrients from.
The advent of agriculture is seen as a turning point in human history, widely considered as the main catalyst in human evolution as well as in the emergence of civilization. What kind of new dawn will the next agricultural revolution usher in? Is it possible for us to cultivate a tomorrow where all humans have access to healthy food without depleting the Earth, & instead actually helping biodiversity proliferate? Can new technology & innovations in agriculture bring about a new paradigm in our food cultivation unlike anything we've seen before?
In the April edition of Futurists' Forum, we dive deeper into the future of agriculture & explore some of the cutting-edge approaches & advancements that are recrafting the way we procure our food. Our speakers will discuss different facets of the new agriculture revolution from urban & modern farming, lab-grown meats, regenerative practices, soil restoration, ecological data tracking, & much more.
Each month of 2019 the Peace Accelerators of NYC are organizing a Futurists' Forum - a gathering of innovative & courageous minds from across NYC dedicated to envisioning, building, & living the virtues & ethics of a healthier tomorrow. Each forum will be based around a different theme & will feature thought leaders around the particular topic from philosophers, technologists, economists, & scientists to business executives, non-profit directors, modern movement leaders, & revolutionaries.
Alina Zolo
RDN & Senior Marketing Manager of AeroFarms
A creative & passionate registered dietitian nutritionist, marketer & product developer working for one of the most innovative companies of our time, AeroFarms - the largest indoor vertical farm in the world, growing local, nutrient-dense, responsible leafy greens all year round. A natural communicator, connector, & problem-solver, she is passionate about driving transformational change & innovation in the realms of food, nutrition, public health & urbanization.
Henry Gordon-Smith
Founder & Managing Director of Agritecture
Henry Gordon-Smith is a sustainability strategist focused on urban agriculture, water issues, & emerging technologies. Henry was born in Hong Kong & has lived in Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, Spain, Austria, & the United States. Henry earned his BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, a certificate in Food Security & Urban Agriculture from Ryerson University in Toronto, & an MSc in Sustainability Management from Columbia University. Four years ago, Henry launched his company Agritecture Consulting, a boutique urban agriculture advising firm where he helps entrepreneurs with vertical farming feasibility studies, recruiting, & systems design. To date, Agritecture has already worked on more than 80 urban agriculture projects in over 20 countries.
Kate Kreuger
Research Director at New Harvest
Kate began working in cellular agriculture as an intern at Perfect Day Foods (formerly Muufri) developing strategies to make milk proteins. She has a background in protein biochemistry & cell biology, & completed her PhD in May 2017.
While in graduate school, she created & instructed at Clones to Crystals, an 8-week undergraduate laboratory course covering the basics of cloning, protein purification, & crystallization trials. She also co-founded & ran Learn to Code, a data science bootcamp for women, teaching 50+ students the basics of data science & software development in Python. Her research focused on how insects use their immune systems to fight disease, particularly the biochemistry of thioester containing proteins (TEPs), a family of insect immune proteins. She has extensive research experience in biochemistry, structural biology, & cell biology.
She holds a PhD in Cell Biology from Yale University & an AB in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College, & is a proud native of Federal Way, Washington. She is can often be found hiking or brewing hard cider.
Gregory Landua
Co-Founder & CEO of Regen Network
Gregory is co-founder & co-CEO of Regen Network. Regen Network is land ecological commons management platform & the backbone for a new approach to ecosystem service markets based on verified ecological state.
Gregory Landua, co-author of the pioneering book, Regenerative Enterprise, the Levels of Regenerative Agriculture Whitepaper, & the Regen Network Whitepaper. He is the co-founder & former CEO of Terra Genesis International. Terra Genesis International (TGI) is now lead by a dynamic global team of Permaculture & Regenerative Agriculture & Business practitioners & leaders working to support leading companies to transform their negative impact into regenerative effects, & leading cutting edge agro-forestry business planning around the world. Gregory is dedicated full time to launching Regen Network & raising his family.
Gregory has studied marine & terrestrial ecology & evolutionary biology in the Galapagos Islands, translated for Amazonian rainforest guides, fought wildfires in the wilderness of Alaska, lived in established ecovillages, founded a successful work-live cooperative, & studied the nuances of ecology & ethics. Gregory has B.S. in Environmental Science & Ethics from Oregon State University, & a M.Sc in Regenerative Entrepreneurship & Design from Gaia University.
Jonas Guenther
Co-Founder of We Are The New Farmers
Jonas Guenther studied Management of Technology & graduated from NYU's Tandon School of Engineering in 2018 after spending two years working on We Are the New Farmers. Today, he is working full-time on his startup trying to make our food healthier & more sustainable. We Are the New Farmers is the next-gen urban farm sustainably growing one of the most nutrient-dense foods our planet has to offer, Spirulina. Harvested locally in Brooklyn, NY, our Spirulina is always delivered fresh & is naturally packed with plant-based protein, essential vitamins & minerals, & immunity-boosting antioxidants.
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