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Global Food Systems Institute

Global Food Systems Institute

Global Food Systems Institute News and Events

Upcoming Events

2022 Events

  • World Food Day Event Monday, October 17, 2022, 1:30-4:30 pm, Reitz Union, Rm 2355.
  • State of hunger and food insecurity: Global to local challenges and solutions will be held in recognition of World Food Day and to inform UF students and faculty about the current reality of hunger both locally and around the world, as well as efforts to eradicate hunger. Hunger will be examined at the international and state level as well as at the local and campus level, and we will hear from several GFSI faculty about their work in this area.

2022 GFSI Connections Newsletters

2022 GFSI In the News

2019-2022 FSI News Events

Events

  • 2025 International Silage Conference

    International Silage Conference 2025

    Welcome! On behalf of the organizing committee and the University of Florida, we are excited to announce that the XX International Silage Conference (ISC) will be hosted by the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Florida. The ISC is a global platform for sharing and exchanging breakthrough research in areas of forage conservation. Since its inception, it has emphasized the pivotal role of silage in small ruminant, beef, and dairy cow rations, provided unique insights on a wide range of complementary topics including forage agronomy, optimal conservation strategies, silage feeding and nutrition, silage safety, etc.

    Over the years, the ISC has inspired new generations of silage researchers and provided an unrivalled forum for networking among silage researchers from different countries. The XX ISC in Florida will build on this rich heritage including the first ISC hosted in the USA in Madison, Wisconsin in 2009. It will feature the latest science and technology in silage making from the U.S. and other countries around the world and give attendees first-hand experience of the challenges, benefits and intricacies of tropical/subtropical silage making.

    International Silage Conference 2025 Webpage 

    Program details (tentative)

    Date: July 21-24, 2025

    Venue: The University of Florida Reitz Union Grand Ballroom, Gainesville, FL

    Accommodation Options:

    • Hotel Eleo at the University of Florida
    • University of Florida Hotel and Conference Center
    • Hilton Hotel and Conference Center 

    Organizing Committee Members

    International Silage Conference 2025 Organizing Committee Members

    Lead Organizing Institution

    The XX ISC will be hosted by the Global Food Systems Institute (GFSI), which engages in participatory research-based solutions that enhance the nutritional, health, and livelihoods, of global citizens and the environment through scientifically improved food and fiber systems. GFSI is housed in UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), which fulfills the university’s land-grant mission by working to enhance and sustain the quality of human life through research and teaching. UF/IFAS is among the top three agricultural colleges in the US, and it contributed $458 million to the Florida Economy in 2018.  UF is a top-5 public university it is one of the largest and most comprehensive U.S. universities with 16 colleges, more than 150 research centers, service centers, education centers, bureaus, and institutes offering more than 100 undergraduate majors and 200 graduate degrees to about 50,000 students.

    Gainesville, Florida

    The University is situated on a beautiful campus in Gainesville, Florida, which combines college-town vitality and protected natural beauty, making it one of a kind—a place “where nature and culture meet.” Hence, it has been voted one of the best places to live in the U.S. Gainesville is served by Gainesville Regional Airport with frequent flights to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, and Miami and it is a short two-hour drive from major international airports in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville.

    History of the International Silage Conferences

    The first International Silage Conference was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1970 with 35 participants, all from the United Kingdom. The meeting was considered a “Silage Seminar” and was focused on discussions about present and future research projects, with no submission of abstracts and presentations of research papers. Since then, the International Silage Conference has been held every two or three years in different countries and continents. Learn more about Fifty plus years of the International Silage Conferences at this link. Major contributions from the International Silage Conference series can be found in a presentation from Roger Wilkins and Mike Wilkinson: https://isfqcbrazil.com.br/proceedings/2015/major-contributions-in-45-years-of-international-silage-conferences-16.pdf

    Contacts

    Mailing Address:

    Global Food Systems Institute

    2250 Shealy Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL-32611

  • 2023 Future of Food Forum

    2023 Future of Food Forum

    Transforming food systems with artificial intellegence

    OVERVIEW

    The Future of Food Forum promises to be an exciting one-day gathering, on March 20, 2023, presented by the Global Food Systems Institute at the University of Florida. This Forum will bring together great thinkers—academics, students, business leaders, farmers, growers, and policymakers—researching and implementing innovative ways to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to transform food systems.

    Join us as we explore the power of AI to transform the agricultural and food industries locally to globally. You will gain current ideas and perspectives from some of today’s thought leaders on how AI can be implemented into improving food systems.

    THE PROGRAM

    Our speakers and panelists will discuss how alternative intelligence can be applied to agriculture to solve some of the most pressing issues of our time, with panels answering questions such as:

    • How can AI assist us in creating crisis-proof food systems?
    • How can AI assist us in creating climate-friendly food systems?
    • How can AI assist us in preserving biological diversity?
    • How can AI assist us to improve collaboration for sustainable global food systems?
    • Present the UF|IFAS International Awards for excellence in research, teaching, and outreach. 

    For more information: https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/foodforum/index.html  

  • 2022 Future of Food Forum

    2022 Future of Food Forum

    Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Food Systems presented by the Food Systems Institute at the University of Florida

    This Forum brought together great thinkers, academics, students, business leaders, farmers, growers, and policymakers who are researching and implementing innovative ways to reduce the carbon footprint of food systems. Participants and attendees learned new ideas and perspectives from some of today’s thought leaders on how to approach the carbon dioxide dilemma.

    Keynote speaker Eric Fyrwald, Chief Executive Officer of Syngenta Group, shared innovations on how to reach carbon neutral agriculture from the perspective of one of the largest global agriculture companies. 

    Details including the program, recording and posters are available at: Proceedings of the Future of Food Forum 2022

    Future of Food Forum: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Food Systems - YouTube

  • 2020 Future of Food Forum

    2020 Future of Food Forum

    Future of Food Forum Agenda and Program

    The Future of Food Forum, sponsored by the UF|IFAS Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, was an intensive and exciting one-day event at the University of Florida. It brought together leading experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators to look at the future of food with an eye toward 2050.

    The keynote speaker, Dr. Louise Fresco, President of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, focused on responsible agriculture and food consumption as crucial to world stability.

    In addition, there were four high impact sessions:

    • The Innovators – inventors and entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of food.
    • Food from the Land – panelists discussing new technologies: what will be useful, who will use them, where will they be most useful, and what the impacts will be.
    • Food from the Sea – analysts presenting the state of current seafood systems; predictions for future trends in aquaculture and fisheries.
    • Food and Human Well-Being – One Health perspectives were presented on health and food including antimicrobial resistance, foodborne disease, and nutrition.

    This event was insightful for producers to consumers; from researchers to innovators; and from business leaders to policymakers. At the forum some of the world’s changemakers gave their perspective on the future of food systems and how to address innovation and challenges of the future of food.