URBANA, Ill. — Chris Barrett, an acclaimed international agriculture economist, will present at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Feb. 26, 2024, as part of the MillerComm Lecture Series. His talk, “Developing the food system we urgently need: healthy, equitable, resilient, and sustainable,” is hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE), part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).

Sponsored by the Center for Advanced Study George A. Miller Programs Committee, Barrett’s presentation will provide a multi-faceted perspective on the realities of the current and coming global food security challenges, addressing the interlinked crises of climate change, conflict, emergent infectious diseases, air and water pollution, and poverty.

The lecture will take place at 3 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 26 at Knight Auditorium in the Spurlock Museum (600 S Gregory, Urbana). The campus and local community are invited to attend.

Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He is well known globally in the fields of agricultural economics, development economics, food security, poverty, and resource economics. He is co-editor in chief of the journal Food Policy, an Editorial Board member at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and author of more than 375 publications centering on the economics of human well-being in low-income nations and regions.

“We are thrilled at the opportunity to bring Dr. Barrett to Illinois to speak about one of the most important challenges of our time: how to feed the world,” says Dr.  Sarah Janzen, an associate professor in ACE. Dr. Janzen and her colleague Dr. Hope Michelson, also an associate professor in ACE, collaborated to bring Dr. Barrett to campus.

Barrett’s visit reflects a commitment at Illinois to address the global challenge of food insecurity, which is also a focus of Michelson and Janzen’s work in ACE. “We expect the event will enhance and energize ongoing work on campus, inspire both undergraduate and graduate students, and strengthen our commitment to reducing global hunger,” says Dr. Michelson.

“I very much look forward to returning to Illinois, one of the world’s premier sources of intellectual and practical leadership around all things food related,” Barrett adds.

The MillerComm Lecture Series is intended to be interdisciplinary and of benefit to not only the campus community, but the public at large. To support CAS and their commitment to providing resources for researchers, contact cas@cas.uiuc.edu. For more information about this event, visit the CAS website or contact Deputy Director Masumi Iriye at iriye@illinois.edu.