By Noah Fritzhand

On October 7, 2025, the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) in partnership with Kansas State University (K-State) hosted a day-long conference as part of CCS’ Feeding Resilience program, a multi-year effort focused on the nexus of climate change, food and agriculture, and global security and stability. Feeding Resilience is deepening its analysis and broadening policy engagement to Europe and multilateral institutions, having previously developed The Feeding Resilience Plan, a set of actionable policy recommendations for the US government, endorsed by 30+ retired generals, admirals, ambassadors, intelligence officials, and former heads of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The event garnered a large in-person audience from across disciplines at K-State as well as an online audience from countries around the world. K-State President Dr. Richard Linton offered recorded remarks on the importance of these topics for global stability and the ways that K-State is leading the way as a premier agricultural institution for research, teaching, and engagement. His remarks were followed by a virtual keynote address from inaugural Commander of US Africa Command General William “Kip” Ward (US Army, Ret.), who drew on his experience from a 40-year military career to underscore the importance of food security for global stability.

“Nefarious actors using food as a weapon is not the only driver of food insecurity. Climate change and unpredictable weather patterns have deleterious effects on food security and thus also a negative impact on stability.”

– General William “Kip” Ward (US Army, Ret.)

You can find the full recording of Dr. Linton and General Ward’s remarks below:

Food, Water, and Security Challenges

The first panel featured:

• Ms. Dena Bunnel (moderator), Associate Director for Research & International Initiatives, College of Agriculture, K-State
• Lt. General John Castellaw (USMC, Ret.), Center for Climate and Security Advisory Board, CEO, Farmspace Systems LLC
• Ms. Kira Everhart-Valentin, Alliance Manager, Cowpea, Gates Agricultural Innovations
• Dr. Daran Rudnick, Professor and Director of Sustainable Irrigation, K-State

Food, water, and security challenges are deeply interconnected. Specifically, panelists highlighted that vulnerabilities or fragility of agricultural and water systems can lead to humanitarian crises or conflict. Key themes  from the panel include:

• Development actors, including governments, should address the issues caused by ageing or lack of key food and water infrastructure. These infrastructure challenges are often one of the root causes of food and water insecurity.
• Development policy decisions should not just be based on the markets or political landscape, but also on the physical constraints of the environmental system. Unfortunately, not all locations have access to the robust and accurate data that is needed to make these multifaceted decisions. Governments and other data-providers should work together to make sure the data gets to those places where there are current gaps.
• Value chain and financial constraints are key barriers to building resilient infrastructure. This means both the capital investment upfront but also maintenance costs. In Kansas, the TAPS Program, a multi-state program that offers farmers a low-risk environment to experiment with a diverse array of sustainable strategies and technologies, was highlighted as an innovative model to connect farmers with the latest agricultural research.
• Education and training gaps exist in sharing what climate-smart agricultural innovations are available to farmers and communities. More time should be invested by leading agricultural innovators to make sure farmers and other end-users understand what type of tools exist and provide them with the knowledge to integrate the tools into their workflow. With better knowledge of the landscape of new technologies, this can empower communities to make informed decisions about what they do with their resources and increase long-term uptake of the tools.

“Climate, conflict, and economic fragility is a common daily barrier for [farmers overseas] to grow food, and they are already operating under disadvantages… It is to our advantage, as it has been for 90 years since World War II, to share our knowledge, to share our support, to share our treasure because we get it back 10 times. We get it back in things that’s hard to measure and the lack of having to commit the greatest treasure we have, which is the blood of the men and women who serve in the military. So when we retreat from that kind of support, it’s not just the people that lose it. It is us that has to pay a larger bill.”

– Lt. General John Castellaw (USMC, Ret.)

You can find the full recording of Panel 1 below:

Agricultural Trade and Security

The second panel featured:

• Mr. Tom Ellison (moderator), Deputy Director, Center for Climate and Security 
• Dr. Antonina Broyaka, Extension Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, K-State, Senior Associate, Global Food and Water Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Ms. Anna Nelson, Executive Director, Food Security Leadership Council, former Deputy Special Envoy for Global Food Security, US Department of State
• Mr. Dalton Henry, Vice President of Policy and Communications, U.S. Wheat Associates

More than 700 million people go to bed hungry every night, more than 2 billion people face food insecurity, and nearly 1 in 4 children are stunted due to malnourishment. This is where we are starting from in 2025, and the path forward to address these global challenges is increasingly uncertain due to ongoing funding cuts. At the same time, there are more global conflicts in 2025 than since World War II, and in particular, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused significant trade disruptions and worsening food security around the world. Low-income and other vulnerable countries are particularly hurt by Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports, direct attacks on Ukraine’s agricultural production, and the driving up of food prices. This panel discusses these topics and lays out a few key points:

• Global food security needs to be recognized as a strategic imperative by the United States, the European Union, and governments around the world, including as a hedge against instability, humanitarian crisis, trade shocks, and Russian hybrid warfare, as Europe builds its defense capacity. 
• Key areas to alleviate food and climate-related security risks include investments in public research and development, data collection and early warning, and import diversification (especially for countries in Eastern Europe still heavily dependent on Russian wheat).
• Food security is a long-term problem, and it’s important to discuss solutions with this timeframe in mind, not only quick wins or “low-hanging fruit.”
• Metrics on domestic food production levels are not always accurate indicators of the state of food security. Food affordability for consumers and even distribution across the country are just as important.

You can find the full recording of Panel 2 below:

Lightning Talk: Workforce Development

• Ms. Caroline Baxter, Director, Converging Risks Lab, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training

Tackling complex, systemic security risks like food insecurity and climate change requires workforces with literacy, relationships, and timely and relevant information. In this short presentation, Baxter draws lessons for researchers, students, and practitioners based on her work leading climate literacy in the Pentagon. Baxter highlights a few takeaways from her work:

• When you have threats as systemic as climate change and food insecurity, it is important that educational programs, whether through government agencies or elsewhere, make the topics relevant for the people who need to know about them. The way this knowledge is presented or disseminated will look different for different groups.
• There are still major gaps in the translation of science into policy, and there needs to be better bridges built between these disciplines to make science readily usable for policymakers.
• The lexicon by which different groups communicate can be a barrier to action even when shared goals exist. Leaders and educational materials should be wary about alienating people by using highly specialized jargon or terms without clearly defining them.

You can find the full recording of the lightning talk below:

Conclusion and Way Forward

During a wrap-up panel, CCS and K-State moderators facilitated an audience discussion on ways forward and next steps. The state of global food security is in a precarious position, with the funds for development and humanitarian aid drying up around the world at the same time as conflicts and climate impacts are only increasing. There was much conversation throughout the day about what this path forward might look like, including the opportunities for unconventional public-private-international partnerships, innovative finance mechanisms, increased science diplomacy at academic institutions, and how the global food system might be able to learn from indigenous/traditional knowledge systems. As EU and NATO member states balance between domestic affordability challenges, defense spending buildup, pressure to fill the gap left by the US, and climate commitments, it will be important to highlight win-wins for these priorities to maximize the impact of the resources.

You can find the full recording of the wrap-up panel below:

Keep an eye out for more events and research as part of the Feeding Resilience project. This will include additional public and private events, and additional climate, food, and security deep-dives in partnership with the Woodwell Climate Research Center. The first one is on Ethiopia.