(September 28, 2020) – Two prominent voices in the U.S. food and agriculture sectors have come on board as senior advisors as Solutions from the Land (SfL) broadens its mission to combat the interconnected threats the world now faces, ranging from food and nutrition security, sustainable livelihoods, and climate change to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The newest members of the SfL Senior Advisors team are Dr. Hannah Gosnell, a professor of Geography in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University; and Dr. Lonnie King, dean emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Academy Professor at The Ohio State University.
Gosnell studies agricultural landscape change, rural sustainability, human dimensions of climate change, and environmental governance from a social-ecological systems perspective. Her past research has focused on collaborative conservation and the role rangeland managers can play in various “payments for ecosystem services” schemes, including voluntary and compliance carbon markets in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Her current research explores the social, cultural, and psychological aspects of ranchers’ experiences transitioning from conventional to “climate smart” regenerative agriculture; and the implications for their capacity to adapt to social, economic and environmental change.
King (DVM, MS, MPA, ACVP) has served as dean for three colleges over 17 years. Most recently (2016-17), he was the interim dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State and was also the VP for Agriculture. He was also dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State from 2009 – 2015. At Ohio State, King held the Ruth Stanton Endowed Chair and served as the Executive Dean for the seven health science colleges at the university. Before becoming dean at OSU, he was the first Director of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has served as administrator for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and was the country’s chief veterinary officer for five years.
SfL is a national, farmer-led not-for-profit that works to place farmers at the forefront of resolving global challenges.
The two thought leaders are joining a special initiative that seeks to enable farmers to be valued and rewarded for delivering solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals collectively call for action by all countries – developed and developing – to work together and create strategies to end hunger, improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, all while tackling climate change and protecting ecosystems.
The initiative is being led by the SfL Board of Directors, with A.G. Kawamura, an urban farmer and produce shipper in California; Thomas Lovejoy, a professor and former Biodiversity Chair at George Mason University; and Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro, a senior fellow in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, all serving as co-chairs of the initaitive.
Aiding that panel with input will be a broad team of SDG senior advisors, which now includes Gosnell and King.
The two join a wide array of nationally and globally renowned farmers, scientists, climate and clean energy authorities, conservation and environmental specialists, food systems and supply chain partners, economists, government agency officials, and other experts who are being charged by SfL with outlining a vision for a 21st-century “Agricultural Renaissance.” They will offer strategic pathways that enable all forms and scales of agriculture to innovate, sustain productivity, enhance resilience to climate change and other shocks, and move the world towards achieving global sustainable development goals.
For additional information, contact SfL President Ernie Shea at 410-952-0123, or Eshea@SfLDialogue.net.
############
Solutions from the Land (SfL) builds and facilitates state, national and global initiatives and alliances through which farmers, ranchers, foresters and collaborating partners showcase examples of innovation and proactively advocate for policies, partnerships, investments and research that will enable agricultural landscapes to deliver near-term, cost-effective, integrated solutions to global mega-challenges: food and energy security; sustainable economic development; climate change and environmental improvement.
For more on Solutions from the Land, click HERE.
