Professor Glenn Denning
Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia University
Glenn Denning is founding Director of the Master of Public Administration in Development Practice (MPA-DP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Prior to joining SIPA, Denning held senior management and research positions at the International Rice Research Institute, the World Agroforestry Centre, and Columbia’s Earth Institute.
Denning contributed to the design and establishment of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and served on GAFSP’s Technical Advisory Committee (2010-14). He also served on the founding board of the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute). Denning has advised the Asian Development Bank on aligning its strategy and operations to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
In 2000, Denning was recognized by the Government of Cambodia as Commander of the Royal Order of Sahametrei. In 2014, he received the Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. He won the Global Australian of the Year Award for 2023, recognizing his efforts to end global hunger and promote sustainable development. And in 2024, Denning was honoured as Alumnus of the Year by the University of Queensland.
Denning obtained his BAgrSc and MAgrSc from the University of Queensland, his PhD from the University of Reading, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Denning is the author of Universal Food Security: How to End Hunger While Protecting the Planet (Columbia University Press, 2023).
Abstract
Achieving Universal Food Security in an Adversely Changing Climate
Achieving universal food security — healthy diets for all, from sustainable food systems — will require a comprehensive investment strategy that increases food supply, enhances distribution and access, reduces food losses and waste, and improves nutrition for all, while addressing and mitigating climate change. Despite increases in agricultural productivity and a sharp reduction in the proportion of undernourished people over the past 50 years, universal food security remains elusive. About 735 million people — 9 percent of the world population — are undernourished, and three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Our food systems are vulnerable to climate change while contributing one third of greenhouse gas emissions. Conflict and trade disruptions further compound the challenge and undermine past successes. Yet, we are incongruously underinvesting in agricultural improvement and food systems transformation, beginning with woefully inadequate support for international agricultural research: the foundation for more productive and resilient food systems. Food security has emerged as a geopolitical priority across the Indo-Pacific region. Leaders of China, India, ASEAN nations, the Pacific, and beyond have raised alarms and are looking for actionable policies and investments. In this address, I will outline a set of practical actions that Australia could take to advance food security in the Indo-Pacific region. Stepped-up action and investment by Australia in support of agricultural research and development would be widely welcomed in the region. As a nation, we have exceptional expertise and well-established partnership models in agriculture and food security that, if better supported and deployed, could serve our collective desire for regional peace and prosperity.