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"The images of the famine in Biafra are at the origin of my desire to work in the food industry; I decided to become an agronomist. Plants are the foundation of life. I launched a research program in order to improve our understanding of the photosynthesis and in order to increase the fixation of CO2 by plants. Last year, I initiated an interdisciplinary research group focusing on the balance between animal and vegetable proteins in human food. We must increase the plant part and consider waste recycling. On the other hand, we waste about 30% of agricultural production. We should therefore reintroduce the idea of circularity that minimizes losses, as well as the concept of short circuits in order to reduce the energy impact of food. Connecting consumers with producers is also important. In order to strengthen the dialogue between consumers and the different sectors of food production, I organize a conference series - Wageningen Dialogues - which brings various stakeholders together around these topics at Wageningen University.

Feeding humanity is the most beautiful thing there is! When I was working at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Italy, I discovered the gastronomic and cultural dimensions of food - beyond its quantitative and bio-chemical aspects. We must restore human pride in working the land and provide them with the socio-economic and technological means to make a living. For me, there is no separation between science, culture and the arts that are all nourished by the same desire to transform the world. In my book ‘Hamburger in Paradise’, I associate the historic dimension that has shaped our relationship to food for centuries to the scientific questions that are transforming it today. I also made a documentary on food and the environment for which I went to Japan to film monks who are still celebrating Inari kami, the goddess of rice. I am also very proud to have recently published a children's book in which a Dutch girl and an African boy explore the food chain to understand how green grass turns into white milk.”

Louise Fresco
Agricultural engineer, President of the Executive Board of Wageningen, Netherlands

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