Sustainable Agriculture Practices and Product Design

Symposium Organizers: Amie Norton, Research Chemist, USDA; Deanna Scheff, Scientists, USDA; Leanne Gilbertson, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh

Sustainable agriculture practices are designed to safeguard the environment and societal health.  The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) outlines three goals for sustainable agriculture: 1. Increase profitable farm income, 2. Promote environmental stewardship, and 3. Increase production for human food and fiber need. These goals become increasingly important with the expected future global population growth of 30% by 2050. As a result, demand for food production is anticipated to increase by 60-110%. One way to improve food security is by increasing efficient food production and distribution, which has inspired development of new solutions and the application of advanced methods to evaluate current agriculture practices. This symposium will focus on the application of chemical and material innovations that address current challenges in food production and distribution. Examples include development of green methods for valued added products, food processing and technology, antimicrobial resistance, chemical contamination in agriculture, sanitation and quality standards, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology in agriculture, and green technology in storage methods.