Des Moines, Iowa, USA
October 15, 2014

Magazine series investigating challenges and solutions to feeding the planet available as free iPad app: ‘The Future of Food’ — App and Companion ‘Food by the Numbers’ Video released in honor of World Food Day, Oct. 16

The National Geographic Society announces a multiyear commitment to exploring issues relating to food security and how we create sustainable food systems. The initiative grows out of an eight-month National Geographic magazine series looking at how to feed a growing world population and will touch all platforms of the nonprofit Society, including media and educational outreach. To mark this commitment, the Society is publishing a free iPad app, collecting all currently published stories from the magazine’s food coverage. A short companion video, “Food by the Numbers,” and a world diet interactive will be published online at natgeofood.com.

“We conceived of the magazine series, which launched in May 2014, as an ongoing dialogue with our print and digital audiences, designed to offer context and deeper understanding of challenges and solutions to feeding the world’s population,” said Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society. “The topic of food is relevant to all of us, and it quickly became apparent that we could have the most impact if we organized our efforts to span several years, allowing us to make investments in developing deeper layers of storytelling and engagement around the issues.”

The Future of Food iPad app features in-depth coverage from National Geographic’s magazine series, using rich storytelling, photography, video, and interactive maps and graphics to provide a multifaceted perspective on how we can feed our burgeoning population. At natgeofood.com, a short motion graphic video called “Food by the Numbers” lays out solutions to feeding the world’s population, and an interactive world diet calculator shows 40 years of food consumption changes in 22 countries. All are available from today.

Additionally this fall, the Society has produced a six-hour television series, “EAT: The Story of Food,” which will premiere over three nights, Nov. 21-23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, on the National Geographic Channel, to be followed by the DVD release on Dec. 16 via shop.nationalgeographic.com; and the National Geographic Museum will host “FOOD: Our Global Kitchen,” a traveling exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History, New York, beginning Oct. 16.  For more coverage of food issues, visit natgeofood.com. To download the app, go to natgeofoodapp.com.

Editorial coverage in 2014 has been bolstered by a collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which, along with other organizations, provided data for articles and graphics. Together, the Food and Agriculture Organization and National Geographic have participated in joint events to help educate and promote awareness about hunger and nutrition, including an exhibit this week at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa.

The app was made possible through the advertising support of Bayer CropScience, Cargill, Land O’Lakes, Inc. and United Technologies. The diet calculator was supported by a grant from Grace Communications Foundation. The 1772 Foundation, The Christensen Fund and The Rockefeller Foundation contributed grants in support of the magazine series.

National Geographic is a global nonprofit membership organization that believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world. Each year, National Geographic funds more than 300 research, conservation and exploration projects around the globe, and every month it reaches more than 600 million people through a wide range of media, including digital, print and TV. National Geographic’s grantmaking and reporting are supported by subscribers to the magazine and other members of the Society.