Contest: BCFN Young Earth Solutions Competition

The global food system is plagued by paradox. More than 1 billion people in the world do not get enough to eat, but approximately the same amount of people—1.4 billion—consume too many calories. And often what they eat is of little nutritional value, creating a situation where malnutrition and obesity exist in the same communities and even the same families.
 

The amount of food that the world produces is more than enough to feed its 7 billion inhabitants – but more than one third of food is wasted. And ironically, the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers are the hungriest people in the world.

These problems need solutions – and the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Young Earth Solutions competition, with the patronage of the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Commission, is bringing young people together to develop sustainable solutions to nourish both people and the planet. The deadline of the BCFN YES! has been extended to August 1, 2013, so there’s plenty of time to enter submissions! Applicants can submit a project that they’re already working on for their graduate requirements, as long as the project’s concept can be made relevant to the topic of the competition.

Check out this video to watch some of the 2012 finalists present and hear their opinions on the experience of participating in BCFN YES! The theme of the competition is: Food and Sustainability: How to reduce our environmental impact, guaranteeing health and food accessibility for all. The contest is open to young researchers and university students under the age of 30. The 10 finalist projects will be presented at the 5th International Forum on Food and Nutrition in Milan this November, and BCFN will cover all travel and lodging expenses for finalists for the full duration of the conference. The team or individual with the winning idea will receive €1000.00 and the opportunity to participate in a BCFN research project in 2014. BCFN will also post the names and abstracts of each finalist project on their website.