Climate scientist wins top honor from World Food Prize Foundation

DES MOINES — This year’s Iowa-based World Food Prize is being awarded to a NASA climate scientist.

Cynthia Rosenzweig is a senior researcher at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. She studies the effects of climate change on food systems.

During her acceptance speech last night in Des Moines, Rosenzweig said climate change mitigation needs to address greenhouse gas emissions from food systems.

“But at the same time, food security for all cannot be provided without resilience to increasing climate extremes,” Rosenzweig says. “As we move into this crucial decade of action of climate change, food needs to be at the table.”

Rosenzweig used her speech to highlight the urgency to act against climate change.

“Food systems are emerging at the forefront of climate change action,” she says. “We now know that climate change cannot be restrained without attention to the greenhouse gas emissions coming from food systems.”

The award comes with a $250,000 prize. Rosenzweig says she’ll use that money to establish a fund for global workshops on climate change and food through the Columbia Climate School.