A long-term shift toward drier conditions is reshaping landscapes and livelihoods across the globe. Known as aridification, this gradual drying trend now affects 2.3 billion people and 40% of Earth’s land, with serious implications for agriculture and water systems—especially in the U.S. From California’s Central Valley to the Great Plains, often called the world’s breadbasket, farmers are facing tough decisions about what to plant, how to irrigate, and how to adapt to a future where water is no longer guaranteed. These findings appear in the Nature Water article “Increasing aridification calls for urgent global adaptive solutions and policy action,” led by Mississippi State University Associate Vice President and Professor Narcisa Pricope in collaboration with a team of international scientists.

From the farmer’s gate to your plate—that’s the short version of what food science is. The longer version? That’s what researchers, industry leaders and policymakers gathered April 22 to discuss at Mississippi State’s “Food Science and Industry in Mississippi—Adding Value and Feeding the World” symposium.