Stanford Food Speaker Series
The Stanford Food Speaker Series engages, informs, and connects the Stanford community with innovations, policies, and insights shaping the future of food and agriculture. This interdisciplinary series brings together researchers, students, and practitioners from across campus around a shared vision for a sustainable, nutritious, and abundant food system. Each month, a leading expert will share their work and ideas through interactive and engaging discussions.
Current sponsoring partners include: Bio-X, Stanford Food (nourished by Bio-X), the Center on Food Security and the Environment, the Center for Ocean Solutions, the Center for Human and Planetary Health, the School of Medicine Nutrition Studies Research Group, and the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator.
For more information, reach out to sustainability_accelerator@stanford.edu
2025-2026 Speaker Series Schedule
A.J. Kumar of Indigo Ag.
October 8th, 2025 | 12:00pm-1:30pm
Hidden Connections: Regenerative Agriculture and Data Centers
AI has incredible potential to reshape sustainable agriculture, but the increasing demand for energy-intensive data centers raises questions about its land, water, and carbon footprint. At the same time, regenerative agriculture offers scalable, measurable pathways to carbon sequestration, soil health, and rural resilience. In this talk, A.J. Kumar (Stanford ’07), VP of Sustainability Sciences at Indigo Ag, will discuss how advances in AI can improve agricultural outcomes, possibilities to mitigate the environmental costs of data infrastructure, and how corporate investment in regenerative agriculture can create verifiable climate benefits while strengthening rural economies.
Mike Grunwald
November 5th, 2025 | 3:00pm-6:00pm
A Conversation with New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Grunwald
As part of the Stanford Food Speaker Series, Professor David Lobell will be in conversation with journalist and author Michael Grunwald (We Are Eating the Earth) to explore the powerful connection between what we eat and the future of our planet. Together, they’ll discuss the climate impacts of the global food system—and the bold solutions already taking shape.
David Kessler
December 1st, 2025 | 3:30pm-5:30pm
Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: A Conversation with Dr. David Kessler
As part of the Stanford Food Speaker Series, Dr. David Kessler, former FDA Commissioner, will join us for a timely conversation exploring how our brains, bodies, and food environments shape our eating behaviors.
Drawing on insights from his latest New York Times bestselling book, "Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: The New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight," Dr. Kessler will discuss emerging science around the brain-body feedback loop, the challenges of our modern food landscape, and new possibilities for improving public health.
David Kaplan of Tufts University
February 26th, 2026
The Future of Food – Cellular Agriculture
The future of food refers to innovative and sustainable food products and ingredients developed through biotechnology and advanced processing technologies. A revolution in food production is underway – via the use of plants, microbes and animal cells in a biotechnology-related strategy to generate foods of the future. These foods are designed to address the most pressing challenges faced by the food industry and the planet today, including human, animal and environmental health. Cellular agriculture (cultivated meat, cellular farming), is a tissue-engineering approach to grow protein-rich foods with the potential to address these challenges. Progress in this field will be discussed to highlight the positive impacts, and the challenges ahead, to achieve impact with this emerging technology. This interdisciplinary field has the potential to alter society from our most basic needs – food – in ways that are now within our grasp as we enter a critical era in the transition towards more sustainable, efficient, and ethical food systems.
March
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April
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May
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Sponsoring Partners
