The dual problems of biodiversity loss and world hunger have traditionally been envisioned as belonging to separate and largely independent domains. Recent years, spurred by the actions of grassroots organizations in the Global South, these two problems have come to be seen as two sides of the same coin. This lecture will explore some of the ecological issues that bind these two domains.
John Vandermeer is the Asa Gray Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan. He has been involved in research in Latin America for the past 30 years, focusing on the ecology of agroecosystems. He has published extensively on food and agriculture and conservation. His most recent books are “Population Ecology: First Principles” co-authored with Deborah Goldberg, and the forthcoming “Wake up and Smell the Coffee,” co-authored with Ivette Perfecto, a popular summary of the past 20 years of research in the coffee agroecosystem.