Borlaug Dialogue 2025 Side Event
You can attend the session by registering to the 2025 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, searching for the event in the program, and saving your seat through the official event portal.
Feeding nearly 10 billion people while meeting climate goals demands diverse protein sources. Animal proteins remain central to nutrition, livelihoods, and culture, while complementary options, plant-based, microbial, insect, blended, and cultivated, offer innovation and resilience. Both systems face sustainability and equity challenges yet are too often pitted against each other.
Hosted by FSF with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), this dialogue reframes the “conventional vs complementary” protein debate, building trust, bridging divides, and exploring how to embed information integrity in food and climate policy. Insights will inform a forthcoming multi-partner white paper, guiding evidence-based communication and collective action across diverse protein solutions.
Participants will gain:
Fresh perspectives from diverse stakeholders on how to move beyond polarized narratives;
A shared framing of how misinformation and disinformation shape narratives around protein systems, influencing public debate, delaying methane-reduction policies, and distorting investment;
Practical examples of how balanced communication can build trust and bridge divides between conventional and complementary proteins; and
Clear entry points to engage in future collaborative work and contribute to the forthcoming white paper.
Keynote Speaker
Jack Bobo- Executive Director, UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies
Moderator
Ertharin Cousin- CEO and Managing Director, Food Systems for the Future
Panelists
Divine Ntiokam- Founder and Executive Director, Climate Smart Agricultural Youth Network GlobalNicole Jenkins- Manager, Beef & Poultry Sector, Environmental Defense Fund
Paul Newnham- CEO, SDG2 Advocacy Hub
Sam Wildman- Director, Strategic Projects, Meat Institute
Closing Remarks
Appolinaire Djikeng- Director General, International Livestock Research Institute
For questions about this session, please contact: Cedric Habiyaremye at cedric@fsfinstitute.net