Dennis Dimick, executive editor at National Geographic magazine, will address attendees at the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s annual Stakeholders Summit, to be held May 6-7, 2015 in Kansas City, MO. Early registration is now available for the 2015 edition of the Alliance’s showcase event, themed “The Journey to Extraordinary.”
Dimick, who grew up on a hay and sheep farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, led the production of National Geographic’s 2014 Future of Food series. The series, produced over eight months, was a multimedia journey exploring how to feed a growing and hungry planet. Within the Future of Food, National Geographic tackled topics including hunger, the use of biotechnology, large-scale production methods and sustainability.
In addition to the Future of Food series, Dimick also guided the creation of other major projects for National Geographic, including “7 Billion”, a 2011 series on global population, and “Global Warming: Bulletins from a Warmer World”, a 2004 project on climate change. Dimick holds degrees in agriculture and agricultural journalism from Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The Future of Food series fits perfectly into this year’s Summit theme, The Journey to Extraordinary,” said Kay Johnson Smith, Alliance president and CEO. “Consumers are increasingly engaged in learning more about food production, as evidenced by National Geographic’s dedication to exploring the topic. Many of the topics covered in the series, such as sustainability and emerging technologies, will also be areas of focus at the Summit. We are very confident this spotlight on the Future of Food series will be both insightful and engaging for attendees.”
The Summit is a one-of-a-kind conference, ideal for networking across sectors of the food chain as it is attended by a diverse group of decision makers, including representatives from farms, ranches, food processors, restaurants, grocery stores, legislators, universities and government agencies. The 2015 event, set in Kansas City, Mo., will be the first edition of the Summit held outside of the Washington, DC area.
“I have the opportunity to see a lot of programs and the Summit always seems to rise to the top,” said Paul Pressley, executive vice president – industry programs of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and chairman of the Alliance board of directors. “The event is known for consistently hosting high caliber speakers addressing timely issues, and with speakers like Mr. Dimick on the agenda the high quality will surely continue in 2015.”
While the 2014 Summit focused on the millennial generation and how it is defining the demand for meat, milk and eggs, this year’s event will explore animal agriculture’s continuous efforts to embrace new technologies that will help feed a growing population while measuring sustainability, engage consumers in innovative ways to bridge the knowledge gap, and highlight initiatives that demonstrate agriculture’s commitment to transparency.