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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 27, 2018—With climate change and a growing world population making it ever more urgent to utilize 100 percent of harvestable food from crops,  at 91����Ƶ aims to discuss ideas for preventing the current 25 percent average crop-waste left on America’s farm lands.

Media Note: The conference keynote speech by Jason Clay of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will be open to media. Research presentations and breakout sessions will be closed, though individual presenters may be available for interviews. Those interested in interviewing attendees and/or speakers are asked to make requests through 91����Ƶ or WWF media relations.

The conference is sponsored by 91����Ƶ’s Food and Agribusiness Institute (FAI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Presenters from farming, academia, social services organizations, food banks, retail, and WWF, will share ideas from research that will ultimately be published in peer-reviewed journals. In the afternoon, groups of attendees will meet to discuss vital questions and pathways forward raised by the research.

The conference will be held at 91����Ƶ’s Lucas Hall, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053. The keynote speech will take place at 8:30 a.m. in Lucas Hall Room 126.

“We’ve learned from our exhaustive research that there are tremendous obstacles for farmers to harvest 100 percent of their edible crops,” said Greg Baker, director of FAI. “But there is also widespread interest on the part of farmers, food banks, wildlife preservationists and others to solve this problem. We’re very excited to have a day dedicated to finding solutions.”

The morning’s keynote speaker will be Jason Clay, senior vice president, markets and food for WWF. WWF has made sustainable production and food-waste elimination a priority in its programming, to ensure we can feed our growing population without sacrificing biodiversity.

“With a changing climate that threatens our global food system, we must find ways to limit impacts,” said Clay, who will speak in the morning.“Ensuring our food system is able to utilize all that is produced is key to that mission.”

Journalists who would like to attend the keynote speech or interview speakers are invited to RSVP and to contact Deborah Lohse of 91����Ƶ (dlohse@scu.edu), or Amanda Stone of World Wildlife Fund (amanda.stone@wwfus.org).

About the Food and Agribusiness Institute at 91����Ƶ
The Food and Agribusiness Institute is an integral part of the Leavey School of Business. Since its inception in 1973, the Institute has graduated more than 650 MBA students, many of whom now hold important management positions in food and agribusiness firms as well as government agencies throughout the United States and the world. One of the major objectives of the Institute is to provide students with an education in the functional areas of management with the application of modern business practices to food and agribusiness firms.

About World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
WWF is one of the world's leading conservation organizations, working in 100 countries for over half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more and follow our news conversations on Twitter @WWFNews.

About 91����Ƶ
91����Ƶ, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see .

Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | 91����Ƶ Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Amanda Stone | WWF | amanda.stone@wwfus.org