Food Security in a Changing Climate

Six hundred guests from the food industry were at London's Guildhall on 18th January 2011 to hear Paul Polman deliver the annual City Food Lecture: Food Security in a Changing Climate.

Guildhall panelIn his lecture, Paul reminded the audience that the global population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050, leading to an extra 3 billion mouths to feed. Production will need to increase by 70%, according to the United Nations.

Paul made four practical proposals for change within agriculture:

  • The development of more sustainable farming models to produce more food

  • A dramatic boost in investment to hit the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s target of $83 billion (€62 billion) a year to meet increasing demand

  • The ending of ‘market-distorting’ subsidies which promote, for example, the production of unsustainable first-generation biofuels

  • The freeing up of trade and the end of European Union subsidies that discriminate against poorer nations.

Download the full text of the speech

Format Title Date File size
PDF Paul Polman City Food Lecture 2011 19/01/2011 288.4Kb