URBANA, Ill. – When international aid organizations respond to hunger crises around the world, they rely on food security early warning and monitoring systems. However, assessments from those systems can lag months behind the actual situation on the ground.

More accurate and timely warnings could greatly improve the global response to food crisis and help alleviate acute problems, according to a team of agricultural economists at the University of Illinois, working in collaboration with the University of Texas, Austin.

When poor households in developing countries receive assistance in the form of livestock, they experience an infusion of assets that may bring them out of poverty in the short term. But do these effects last over time, changing the households’ likelihood of being poor in the future? 

URBANA, Ill. - Leann L. Birch, a former head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at University of Illinois, and internationally renowned pioneer in the study of children’s eating behaviors, passed away on May 26, in Durham, North Carolina. She was 72 years old.

URBANA, Ill. - Anna Ball has been named the next associate dean of academic programs in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

URBANA, Ill. – Experts often recommend that developing countries focus on high-value export crops such as fruits and vegetables. However, the effect of such practices on conflict-affected countries is not clear, and there is a risk that higher export revenue may lead to increased insurgent violence, according to a University of Illinois study.

The research focused on banana production in the Philippines and showed a correlation between higher banana prices and insurgent activity in certain areas, says U of I agricultural economist Benjamin Crost, who is a co-author of the study.

URBANA, Ill. – Nicki Engeseth has been named head of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois.

During her 23-year career at the University of Illinois, Engeseth has successfully held several administrative positions, including serving as interim head of FSHN on two occasions. She teaches courses in food chemistry, and is a highly regarded researcher with an excellent record of publications and grant acquisition.

URBANA, Ill. - “This farm has quite a story,” said Kim Kidwell, dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, speaking to a gathering of friends this past week who had come together to celebrate a family farm—a legacy farm—that has supported Illinois youth for decades.

URBANA, Ill. – The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois has acquired a work of art by renowned painter Billy Morrow Jackson.

The painting, “Windwalker,” was donated to the college by the artist’s wife of 30 years, Blanche Mary Jackson. It is currently on display in the dean’s conference room, 224 Mumford Hall.

URBANA, Ill. – Conservation organizations and foundations have invested billions to preserve natural resources and biodiversity across the globe, but the effectiveness of these investments over time is not always clear. A new multi-institutional project, led by a University of Illinois researcher and supported by a $550,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, will trace key outcomes of $655 million in the foundation’s global conservation investments made over 40 years.  

Access to healthy food is a basic human need. Yet, one out of eight people in American is at risk for hunger, and the number is even greater for children.

Food insecurity, defined as limited access to adequate food, exists everywhere in the United States. Overall, 40 million people, or 12.5% of the U.S. population, are food insecure. But there is large regional variation in this rate, says Craig Gundersen, ACES distinguished professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois.