Climate Change and the Future of Food Programming
From September 18th to September 22nd, students participated in programming that encouraged them to think about viable business solutions to challenges within the intersections of climate change and the food system.
Christopher Brandt, WG'06, Founder & Managing Member, Audacious Capital
Christopher (Chris) Brandt is the Founder and Managing Member of Audacious Capital, a socially conscious investment platform with over $100M under management.
Prior to starting Audacious Capital, Chris founded and served as CEO of Audacious Inquiry, a leading health information technology company. Audacious Inquiry was among the fastest-growing companies in the United States for ten consecutive years. At the time of the companys March 2022 acquisition by PointClickCare, the company was enabling care coordination for more than seventy-five million patients. Chris currently serves on the boards of: ShiftMed / Homecare.com, the nations leading marketplace for credentialed clinical shift workers; The Aspen Institutes Health Innovators Fellowship; and the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical System.
Schedule a In-Person 1:1 Meeting
Register for In-Person group AMA
Christopher (Chris) Brandt is the Founder and Managing Member of Audacious Capital, a socially conscious investment platform with over $100M under management.
Prior to starting Audacious Capital, Chris founded and served as CEO of Audacious Inquiry, a leading health information technology company. Audacious Inquiry was among the fastest-growing companies in the United States for ten consecutive years. At the time of the companys March 2022 acquisition by PointClickCare, the company was enabling care coordination for more than seventy-five million patients. Chris currently serves on the boards of: ShiftMed / Homecare.com, the nations leading marketplace for credentialed clinical shift workers; The Aspen Institutes Health Innovators Fellowship; and the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical System.
Schedule a In-Person 1:1 Meeting
Register for In-Person group AMA
Marisa Sharkey is the President and Co-Founder of Birdies, the company that created a new category of footwear with stylish flats that are secretly slippers.
She is an entrepreneur and retail executive who is passionate about building brands and experiences and has more than 20 years of experience working with leading brands across the world. She led corporate strategy at Ross Stores and was a manager at Bain and Company, where she focused on growth strategy and performance improvement for Fortune 500 retailers and leading private equity firms.
Schedule a Virtual 1:1 Meeting
Register for Virtual group AMA
She is an entrepreneur and retail executive who is passionate about building brands and experiences and has more than 20 years of experience working with leading brands across the world. She led corporate strategy at Ross Stores and was a manager at Bain and Company, where she focused on growth strategy and performance improvement for Fortune 500 retailers and leading private equity firms.
Schedule a Virtual 1:1 Meeting
Register for Virtual group AMA
The Venture Lab Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and Snider Consulting held a workshop on deck revision and presentation review designed for those interested in consulting for non-profits or social impact organizations.
When Shivani Desai (W ‘25) first came to Penn as a freshman studying in the Wharton School of Business, she did not envision herself as an explorer in the entrepreneurship space.
Highlight, an in-home product testing company, raised $18 million in Series A funding to continue developing its technology already helping hundreds of brands test thousands of products.
No surprise here, but the University of Pennsylvania has produced a whole bunch of venture-backed companies.
If you’re a Penn student working on a company, you’re invited to join Venture Lab's incubator program, VIP (Venture Initiation Program). Applications for VIP-C (Community) are accepted on a rolling basis. Members receive access to co-working space (currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic), workshops, group advising, a support system of fellow student entrepreneurs, and help setting measurable goals to develop your venture.
LEARN MORE AND APPLY
LEARN MORE AND APPLY
The Ongoing Challenge:
You have the power to drive innovation and implement solutions that can transform the future of food, making it more sustainable, equitable, and resilient in the face of climate change. By acting collectively and embracing innovation, you can lead the way toward a brighter, more sustainable future for food, the global economy, and the workforce.
Biodiversity Loss
Climate change poses a dire threat to biodiversity. The ramifications are substantial, as biodiversity loss disrupts essential ecological services like pollination and soil health maintenance. In turn, this loss leaves our food supply highly susceptible to the increased risks of pests and diseases.
Diverse Employment
The food system encompasses a broad spectrum of jobs, ranging from agricultural production to food processing, transportation, retailing, restaurants, and various related services. As per capita incomes rise, the share of employment in farming tends to decline, while the share in food manufacturing and services increases. Climate change can exacerbate these challenges by increasing the frequency and severity of weather-related risks.
Water Scarcity
Climate change plays a substantial role in driving water scarcity. This scarcity has a profound impact on critical aspects of our food systems, including crop irrigation and the availability of freshwater sources for drinking. Notably, water-intensive agriculture faces heightened vulnerability in this context, emphasizing the urgency of addressing these issues for the sustainability of our food supply.
Supply Chain Disruptions
The impact of extreme weather events on food supply chains cannot be underestimated. These disruptions have led to staggering statistics – global food prices remain 25% higher than pre-Covid-19 levels since early 2020, as reported by the United Nations Food Price Index. These price increases have rippling effects, causing food wastage, shortages, and mounting pressure on consumers' wallets.
Global Food Insecurity
According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, nearly 750 million people experienced severe food insecurity in 2019. Rising global temperatures are altering weather patterns, leading to more frequent heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and droughts. These events, coupled with other factors such as rising food commodity prices, pushed approximately 30 million additional people in low-income countries toward food insecurity in 2021.
Agricultural Production
Rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and extreme events like droughts and floods are affecting agricultural productivity. Crops are failing, and livestock are struggling to thrive, leading to food shortages and increased prices.
