Superfoods, Agrobiodiversity & Food Security

Superfoods have become a healthy alternative for many in the world. The paradox is that Peru, one of the main producers of these foods, is a country that suffers from malnutrition and other diseases linked to an inadequate diet. The very foods at risk of disappearing are needed more than ever by the Peruvian people.

This event will feature a conversation around the documentary "Hatun Phaqcha, The Healing Land." It portrays the cultural inheritance of Peru to support the conservation of this valuable agrobiodiversity, focusing on its custodians and promoting a more sustainable, healthier diet and lifestyle for the world's population. "This film is a love story to our earth, the women and men who cultivate it, to our crops and to life itself," Ackerman says.

In that framework, the panelists will focus on how superfoods such as potato, quinoa and corn, originally domesticated in Peru, are at risk from climate change, and how action must be taken to protect agrodiversity.

Panelists:

Delia Ackerman (JRN'87), creator and director of the award-winning documentary "Hatun Phaqcha, The Healing Land"

María Scurrah, PhD in Plant Breeding from Cornell University, and Executive Director, Grupo Yanapai

Stef de Haan, PhD in Agrobiodiversity from Wageningen University, and Senior Scientist, Andean Food Systems & Lead Andean Initiative, International Potato Center (CIP)

José Álvarez, Master's in Renewable Natural Resources from Louisiana State University, and General Director of Biological Diversity, Environment Ministry, Government of Peru

Chair: Carol Updegrave (GSAPP'87), President, Columbia Alumni Association of Peru