The food system faces challenges on a global scale, including mitigating food waste, rising food supply chain and safety issues, and building the capacity to feed nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050. To ensure a more sustainable future, our next generation of leaders will need to work more collaboratively across the entire food system to drive impactful change.
This need is especially true for the next generation of food safety leaders, who can affect the health and well-being of millions by preventing contamination of our food supply. Foodborne illness outbreaks can produce devastating public health outcomes and have a sharp impact on the economy. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 48 million people—one in six Americans—contract a foodborne illness annually.1 On top of the health toll, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that foodborne illnesses cost more than $17.5 billion annually due to increased healthcare costs and decreased consumer confidence.2