Speaker: Michel Wattiaux, Professor, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, UW–Madison

Humanity faces the grand challenge of reconfiguring food systems to deliver healthy diets that are accessible to all people while safeguarding planetary health. There isn’t a one-size fit all solution to this challenge as agricultural and food systems across the world are extremely diverse and highly contextual. How do we measure the sustainability of farms and the food they produce? What are the proper metrics? To what extent can sustainability be measured? Is sustainability a wicked problem?

Using the dairy sector as a case study the presentation, Wattiaux will argue for a dire need to develop holistic sustainability evaluation tools and to train a new generation of scientists capable of designing and conducting transdisciplinary research that are in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Weston Roundtable is made possible by a generous donation from Roy F. Weston, a highly accomplished UW-Madison alumnus. Designed to promote a robust understanding of sustainability science, engineering, and policy, these interactive lectures are co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Office of Sustainability.