>>> Funding for the 2022 world food prize laureate ceremony has been provided by the Iowa PBS foundation and a grant from the trust.

It's fall in America's heartland, as leaders from across the country and around the world gather in Iowa's capital city for the presentation of the annual world whose price -- world food price.

Recognizes those who have impacted human lives through food.

Tonight, under the golden dome of the state capital, guests celebrate and honor some of the achievements and ongoing global work of hunger fighters at the 2022 world food price laureate a weird -- award ceremony.

>> There was no price available in the Nobel foundation for food or agriculture.

And so, they put me in the only window through which I could And now, we have such a prize, so that on its own merit, food across all of the links in the chain can be recognized.

>> Tonight, we honor the 2022 world food price laureate, Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig.

She has truly shaped our understanding of the relationship between climate and food systems.

And the effects that these have on each other.

And she has played an integral role in creating climate speaks.

Where New York City used to write and perform spoken word poetry, documenting the effects of climate change.

Tonight, as a special surprise for our laureate, have partnered with a local youth The Oak Ridge neighborhood have written and will perform their own poetry.

Tonight, Oak Ridge neighborhood performs and we have Emmett Phillips, who works with the organization as the young navigator with three other students.

Please join me in welcoming Emmett to perform his own poetry.

>> Thank you.

For those of you that are new to spoken word culture, I need everyone to get staffing ready.

So, this is starving for change in honor of Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig.

Hats off to Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig.

Her dad passion has open hearts and eyes.

As a poet and storyteller, I aim to amplify your message.

So it's loud and clear.

I am an artist and educator.

I am no scholar of agronomy.

I make contributions to the creative economy.

With one intention.

Catalyze critical thinking.

Casting lifelines, society seems to be sinking.

Stomachs aching, starving for change, waiting, faith waiting in the power of policymaking.

I find it heartbreaking.

But also, thought-provoking.

What can be done to deter us in this downward slope?

After all the data collected and the efforts and funds, when it comes to food security the work has only begun.

We celebrate the World Food Prize, but what have we won if we fail to feed every child under the sun?

There's more.

Families struggle with money, children go to sleep hungry, is there any hope for this country?

Crop fields are going there, pollution and land and air.

What will it take for us to care?

What feeds us when normal food won't suffice?

What nourishment truly sustains life?

I say, feed us.

>> Fetus.

>> Fetus.

>> Fetus.

>> Fetus philosophy, so words of wisdom won't wither away like wheat in wintertime.

Feed us love so we may chase the care and every carb.

Love is our daily bread.

May we spread it by the slice Feed us truth, serve it on a silver platter.

Feed us justice and acknowledge that our lives matter.

Our lives matter.

Our lives matter.

Our perspectives will not be plucked from the tree of knowledge to be consumed as click bait bearing the fruit of convenient content.

Our hopes will not be harvested like honey from the hive mind to feed on for a quick buzz.

The essence of our struggle will not be digested as entertainment for a disassociated audience that cannot stomach our stories.

For every branch on the family tree of humanity, broken before reaching maturity, we shall is all we see.

Our very points of view will be the pollen transmitted from one flowering mind to the next, bolstering the blossoming of beauty and brilliance for all human beings for generations to come.

Our appetite for an end to apathy will not be satisfied haphazardly.

Our stomachs have been aching for ages.

We are still.

We are still.

We are still starving.

For change.

Thank you.

>> And now, we officially turned to our guest of honor.

Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig Congratulations, and welcome Like Dr. Borlaug, Cynthia's commitment to justice is at the heart of her work.

As her work towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout our food systems continue, creating resilient food production that can expand extreme events is at the heart of the work.

We must also consider the lives and livelihoods of the 1 billion farmers who work in farming today.

Tonight, Cynthia is recognized for her seminal contributions to understanding and predicting the impacts of the interaction between climate and food systems.

Through designing and leading rigorous, collaborative observational and modeling research, she has provided the evidence we need, used by thousands of decision-makers in more than 90 countries to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.

In local, national, and global food systems.

>> In 1988, NASA scientist and Iowa James Hampton stood before the Congress and made a statement that would change the fundamental understanding of our planet.

The climate was changing much more than could be ascribed to natural variability.

In short, the age of climate change is upon us.

This pivotal testimony ignited national public and policy attention on climate change.

But Hansen was not done asking questions.

Or speaking out answers.

Then director of NASA's Goddard Institute for space study, Hansen turned to the only agronomist working for him at the time.

>> The question from Jim was filtering down.

He's on the top floor.

that filtered down was, what will happen to food?

>> With her expertise and experience as both a farmer and scientist, Cynthia Rosensweig dove into one of inanities most complex challenges.

Understanding the nexus of climate change and agriculture.

From early childhood in New York, Cynthia found a passion for math and nature.

She was encouraged by her father a math educator.

And on to, a renowned architect.

Her fifth-grade teacher also influenced Cynthia's fascination with math.

And the natural world.

With daily math puzzles and regular nature walks that taught students about plants and birds.

Cynthia met her husband Arthur In 1969, the couple moved to Tuscany, Italy, where they started a farm and an experience that would prove formative to Cynthia's former focused career.

>> We moved to Italy, a neighbor came with a spade, a special hello to teach us how to make our garden.

That was the moment I fell in love with agriculture.

>> In 1972, Cynthia returned to the United States and settled in upstate New York, excited to continue her career.

Cynthia attended Farmingdale State College on Long Island, gaining technical agricultural experience.

She later enrolled at Rutgers University, and obtained a bachelors of science in agricultural sciences in 1980.

And a Masters of science in soils and crops in 1983.

Cynthia began working at NASA's study as a graduate student while at Rutgers.

And continued on with the Institute after her graduation.

Her first peer-reviewed journal article analyzed the effects of climate change on wheat growing crops.

>> My first peer-reviewed article, 1985 in the journal of climate change.

And it took the projections from the climate model, and it was an expert system, the model that I developed there was an expert system to give the rules for were different kinds of wheat can grow.

>> By the mid-1990s, Cynthia had made a name for herself.

Publishing dozens of articles and receiving her doctorate in plant, soil and environmental sciences from the University of Massachusetts.

During that time, she led the agriculture sectors to the EPA's first assessment of the potential effects of climate change.

It was one of the earliest such projections.

Cynthia has been the lead offer or coordinating lead for three climate change assessments for the intergovernmental panel on climate change.

This work helps provide a basis for the United Nations framework convention on climate change.

Which contributed significantly to the 2015 Paris agreement.

Her research directly supported the creation of agriculture adaptation planning for more than 20 countries.

Cynthia made a breakthrough in 2008, when she created the new standard of climate and cultural modeling.

The agricultural model into comparison and improvement project, an organization of experts working together to improve the predictions and performance of world food systems in the face of an ever- growing climate crisis.

Detailed models and data guide policymakers and stakeholders to implement former focused policies that improved global food systems amid the impact of climate change.

>> Now we are all working together.

We can nail uncertainties, understand the processes and improve the projections.

So we can develop adaptation strategies for all the different regions.

>> Her work is applied at local, national and global scale.

Covering topics from crops and soil to economics and policy.

Programs are carried out in over 20 low and middle income countries involving over 200 policymakers and practitioners.

many countries and unique contexts.

Research by Cynthia's team encouraged the government of Pakistan to update land-use planning tools and crop information for local farmers.

Cynthia led teams in sub- Saharan Africa to develop an innovative regional assessment methodology for climate change impact.

Regional integrated assessment was so comprehensive and well received, stakeholders in Ghana and Senegal called for scaling up and building capacity to apply the methodology to more regions.

Now, these research tools are being used to make farming and food systems more resilient to substantial socks --shocks such as climate and COVID-19.

Cynthia continues to push to expand the scientific boundaries of agriculture planning, research and action.

Her methods of modeling and assessment are the gold standard for fighting climate changes effects on agriculture.

Same -- things to her work and research, we are all more prepared to mitigate threats and fortify food systems against climate challenges.

Her models have helped countless countries prepare for future climate problems and understand how it will affect crops and food security.

We are proud to honor Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig as the 2022 world food prize laureate.

>> Please welcome the 2022 World Food Prize laureate from the United States, Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig.

>> Good evening.

I am thrilled and honored to receive the World Food Prize in 2022.

And to become part of the world food prize family, because that's what it really is.

It has been a joy to work with the World Food Prize foundation president, Barbara Stinson and her dedicated staff and volunteers all year.

This has enabled me to learn much more about the foundation's many programs.

That create the living legacy I am especially in awe of the tremendous outreach to thousands of young people who were so important to Dr. Borlaug and many of whom are here tonight.

I think you're sitting up there.

And, their teachers.

I met with the global guides this morning, teachers are getting involved too.

The world food prize this year is highlighting the global challenge of climate change.

Food systems are emerging at the forefront.

We now know that climate change cannot be restrained without attention to the greenhouse gas emissions coming from food systems.

But at the same time, food security for all cannot be provided without resilience to increasing climate extremes.

As we move into this crucial decade of action of climate change, food needs to be at the table.

The world food prize is doing a tremendous service making sure that food is indeed prominent in global gatherings such as the 27th conference of the parties next month in Egypt.

I'm now going to share, briefly, the pantheon of people who have helped me in many different ways.

First, thank you to the colleagues who developed the nomination.

Dr. Schmidt, I think he may be here.

Who is the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for space studies.

-- She was in the video that you just saw, she is the corporate communications coordinator for aura, creating the graphics in part for the James Webb telescope.

She created the beautiful graphics.

Dr. Carolyn, the former and her intern at the time now a climate change researcher at ICS outside of Washington, D.C. Next, a very special thank you to Eric, I think Eric is here.

Eric has contributed tirelessly to every talk, interview, and event since I learned that I received the prize.

He helped me on a daily basis as the world food prize indeed changed my life.

Eric is the program coordinator of AgMIP.

I also want to give a special thank you to everyone in the climate impact group.

Our group at NASA Goddard Institute for space studies.

Because we survived and thrived over two years of the COVID Our group leader and science coordinator, Alex, are you here?

He's the physical science -- scientist at NASA, he plays a huge part in all we do.

Turning now to AgMIP.

I salute the researchers all over the world.

You just saw many of them.

And AgMIP stands for agricultural model into comparison and improvement project.

I salute the members of this network for their tireless work helping their own and other countries to approve --achieve food security now and in the future under changing conditions.

I can't think the more than 1000 members of AgMIP my name, otherwise we'd be here all night.

But I think the more collectively and fervently.

AgMIP research needed to solve the challenge of climate change imposes on our world food system.

I will do only two special AgMIP shadows.

One of whom is here tonight.

Dr. Molly Johns.

While she was at USDA in 2010, she got AgMIP we came into her office and we said this is what we want to do.

She got it right away.

And she jumpstarted the funding that got it going.

So thank you, Molly.

The second shot up -- shout out is to Jack, our program manager at NASA.

He couldn't be here tonight but he is also a big part of AgMIP.

Now, more broadly, I think my career mentors.

The 2012 World Food Prize laureate for showing me how to be a passionate scientist.

I think Dr. Joe Ritchie of Michigan State University, he is the father of -- in the United States.

Dr. Jim Jones from the University of Florida, one of the early coleaders at the beginning.

And finally, Dr. David rind, senior research scientist emeritus.

David basically taught me everything I need to know about climate change.

He is a climate scientist.

Finally, last but not least in my pantheon, I am deeply grateful to my family.

I am truly here tonight because of their love and devotion.

I honor my parents, you heard a little bit about my father.

And I send love to my siblings.

Alice in Australia, George and Martha, who is here tonight as well.

Now, the best of the best.

My husband, Arthur Rosenzweig right there.

Our children and their partners, Hannah and her partner David, Jacob and his partner Hannah and Jacob are here this evening.

And our grandchildren.

Livia is here tonight representing the next generation.

Not just of our family but the children of the world.

We need to do everything we can to ensure food security and a livable planet for them.

Since the announcement was made at the State Department last April, a frequently asked question has been, what will you do with the award?

So I want to end by sharing with the award is going to go for.

I am very pleased to share with you this evening that the award will go to the Columbia climate school.

The first in the United States, like a medical school but it's for climate.

And, food for humanity initiatives.

The award will establish the AgMIP World Food Prize fund and it will be used to convene AgMIP global workshops over the next five years that will bring scientists and decision- makers together to jumpstart what I am describing as a moonshot enterprise.

energy, radical collaboration, the nucleus of doing things.

The innovation to solve the challenges of climate change and food.

At the global workshops, we will codesign the tools that can move science into scaled up action.

Simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating millions in a developing and developed countries.

I hope you will all join us at the AgMIP world food prize global workshops.

One last thought, we are calling them workshops, not conferences.

At AgMIP workshops, we roll up our sleeves and we get to work.

So that together we can co- create the moonshot science needed to ensure healthy food for all and a healthy planet.

Thank you so much.

[applause ] >> Funding for the 2022 World Food Prize laureate award ceremony has been provided by friends, the Iowa PBS foundation.

And a grant from the WT and Edna Dall trust.