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The World Food Prize will host a free public event next week with Roger Thurow, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, and Alan Bjerga, of Bloomberg News
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Des Moines, Iowa (August 6, 2012) – The World Food Prize Foundation will present a public author event on Monday, Aug. 13, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. Renowned journalists and authors Roger Thurow, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, and Alan Bjerga, of Bloomberg News, will explore global food and hunger issues from their experience at the front lines, in countries around the world. Their discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session and a book signing.
“We’re pleased to host this event for the community, which kicks off an occasional speaker series on food security issues at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates,” said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize seeks to recognize and inspire great achievements in the fight against hunger, and its programs for the past 25 years have helped bring all stakeholders to the table to discuss how to feed the nearly 1 billion hungry and malnourished people on our planet.
Roger Thurow and Alan Bjerga have both covered and written about the global food system for many years, and have traveled extensively to understand improvements that have been made, the challenges we currently face in the 21st century, and how people can participate meaningfully in the battle against hunger and malnutrition.
Thurow’s latest book was released in May and is titled “The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change.” A former Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent, Thurow is now a member of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where he serves as a senior fellow for global agriculture and food policy. He is also the co-author of “Enough: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.” Thurow was honored by the United Nations for his reporting on humanitarian and development issues.
Bjerga’s book is titled “Endless Appetites: How the Commodities Casino Creates Hunger and Unrest.” He covers agriculture policy for Bloomberg News and has been recognized for his coverage on U.S. food aid and famine in Ethiopia. In addition, Bjerga served as the President of National Press Club in 2010.
The event is free and open to the public. It will take place at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates, 100 Locust Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
Press Contact: Megan Forgrave, Director of Communications, 515.245.3794 (direct), 515.229.1705 (cell), or via email.
ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE: The World Food Prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, The World Food Prize has honored outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. Laureates have been recognized from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the United States. The Prize also hosts the annual Borlaug Dialogue international symposium on global food issues and a variety of youth programs that aim to inspire the next generation to work in the fields surrounding global agriculture.