Change Agent

W hat are some unforeseen damages caused by air pollution? How do we solve the problems of climate change? How do we feed the billions of people suffering from chronic hunger, and do it without causing further harm to the environment? These are just some of the questions that drive Jennifer Burney. UC Global Food Initiative. Research projects conducted by Jennifer Burney align with the University of California Global Food Initiative (hashtag #globalfood) which aims to put the world on a path to sustainably and the capacity to nutritiously feed itself. By building on existing efforts and creating new collaborations among UC's 10 campuses, affiliated national laboratories and the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the initiative will develop and export solutions for food security, health and sustainability throughout California, the United States and the world. Burney, a professor at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), conducts research that focuses on simultaneously achieving global food security and mitigating climate change. "We are a world of plenty, but 800 million or so people still go to bed hungry every night," she says. "At the same time, the way we produce, distribute and cook food contributes tremendously to climate change.