Hamlish ’16 Representing U.S. at Youth Ag-Summit

Noah Hamlish ’16 is one of five delegates representing the U.S. in this year’s Youth Ag-Summit in Brussels. Organized by Crop Science, the summit is a weeklong event that connects youth leaders from 49 countries to brainstorm ideas for agricultural sustainability and tackle global food security issues.

In a feature article in Agrinews, Hamlish recounts the experiences that have spurred his interest in food challenges and farming innovation:

He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.

“I’m a city boy through and through, but when I got to college, I started to focus a lot on food science and aquatic systems,” he explained. “I am interested in fish and seafood, where they come from, how we produce them and the science that goes along with it.”

After graduating from Wesleyan, where he was actively involved with local food co-ops, Hamlish traveled to Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, Chile and Norway as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow. Having spent the past year conducting research about fish farming, he is enthusiastic to share his experiences and learn more about the future of farming:

“There’s an image presented in the supermarket of a farmer with his cows and a cornfield,” he noted. “But farming is so much more challenging, complex, and it requires so many more people than the image that reaches the city. I’ve really come to appreciate all of those complexities a lot more . . . During the past year, I’ve learned more about the perspectives of people working in aquaculture,” he said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to share some of the things I’ve learned and to also hear from people from all over the world.”

Moving forward, Hamlish is considering a career related to food science. Namely, he is interested in exploring the ways cities can be a part of the conversation:

“You don’t necessarily think of cities as places where you produce food, but there’s been a movement to create urban farms in abandoned lots and old buildings,” he noted. “There’s definitely a need for the scientific perspective, and that might be a really interesting place for me to fit into with food, science and how we relate in cities.”

You can read more about Hamlish here. For more information about this year’s Youth Ag-Summit, which is taking place in October, click here.