On April 16, 2013, Frances Seymour delivered the 2013 Norman E. Borlaug Lecture at the Hunt Library at NC State University. 
The lecture, cosponsored by the College of Natural Resources and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was part of a week of festivities celebrating Earth Day. The following is an excerpt from an article in the student newspaper.
The Giving Trees by Liz Moomey, staff writer
FORESTS MATTER TO FOOD SECURITY, GROWING ECONOMIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Frances Seymour, former director of Center for International Forestry Research, spoke about the external influences on the conditions of forests and their roles in food security snd climate change at Hunt Library Auditorium Tuesday afternoon.
Forests have a significant impact on food security, although there is not a lot of talk about it, Seymour said. “The role of forests and climate regulations is even that much more important,” Seymour said. “You would think that given all of these contributions of forests to food security and to agriculture, more generally, and local landscapes, conserving forests would be an important part of food security policy, but they are not.”
Seymour said misconceptions about forests’ roles in food security often contribute to lack of policy dealing with forestry and regulating demolition of forests. “It serves the interest of some actors to have you believe that forestry protection and food security are incompatible,” Seymour said. “There are two convenient untruths. One is that you have to sacrifice forests to feed the world, and the other poor people are the main cause of deforestation.
Read the complete article in The TechnicianOnline
Learn more about the Annual Borlaug Lecture Series @ NC State University