A Changing Climate: Global Food Security
A Collaboration With Silicon Valley Bank
On May 16, 2019, Asia Society Northern California and Silicon Valley Bank hosted "Global Food Security in a Changing Climate" at SVB's office in San Francisco. Speaking at the program were panelists: Nick Halla, senior vice president of international at Impossible Foods; Andrew Chung, founder and managing partner at 1955 Capital; and moderator Jaleh Daie, (Ph.D.) founder/chairman of AgFood Tech at Band of Angels, partner at Aurora Equity, and member of Asia Society Northern California Advisory Board.
Daie set the stage for the evening's discussion with a few opening slides. Daie spoke primarily about the contributing factors to food security, specifically the growing world population, the subsequent increased need for more protein and how this might compare with different countries; greenhouse gases; and AgTech, including investment trends. Halla spoke about Impossible Food's mission and expansion into Asia, but also efforts to make Impossible products accessible and affordable. Halla touched upon how the industry has really evolved over the past 10 years, including the importance of water security to food security. Chung discussed several different types of AgTech; from safe food repellents that replace pesticides to technology that can track milk back to the cow, the AgTech industry is quite expansive. Chung also touched upon how these various forms of AgTech could benefit various populations in Asia. The evening concluded with an enthusiastic question and answer portion from the audience.
Asia Society Northern California would like to thank Silicon Valley Bank for hosting the program and collaborating on content.