On Thursday, Aug. 29, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ ninth annual Ina and Lewis Endowed Heafitz Lecture will explore agriculture and its influence on the earth’s biosphere. The event will be hosted by National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson, whose nearly half-century of work has found him ever more concentrated on agriculture and driven by the question of who will feed Planet Earth?

Agriculture has created vast civilizations, making the modern world possible. Along the way, it has altered the biosphere and helped remake Earth’s air, water and soil. Farming and grazing now use 39% of the world’s ice-free land. Human appetites demand more and better food as billions are introduced to new ways of eating. Earth already groans under the accumulated burden of feeding nearly 7.5 billion humans. Still, we face the greater challenge of growing food for 9.6 billion by the year 2050.

Feeding this population will be the largest endeavor in human history. Must we double food production in 35 years? Can our planet withstand the strain? Can we? Richardson, through a sweeping visual narrative drawing from decades of travel and experience with myriad parts of the story of food, agriculture and the soil will present a broad overview of the problem and key elements of the solution.

Having roamed the planet from the frozen Arctic to the rice plantations of Asia, the high Andes to African farm villages, and vast industrial farming monocultures to scenes of ecological devastation, Richardson has worked with key players in the world’s food supply, among them, soil scientists, seed banks, domestication researchers and farmers. Audiences of every interest will respond to Richardson’s sweeping analysis of what will be needed to sustain this most critical of human endeavors. 

Richardson, a photographer for National Geographic, is also a contributing editor to its sister publication, TRAVELER. Over the course of 35 years, Richardson has photographed in 80 countries as one of National Geographic’s most prolific and versatile photographers, named by his colleagues the “Photographer’s Photographer,” the magazine’s highest honor. He is co-founder of Eyes on Earth, an educational collaborative seeking to inspire the next generation of environmental photographers.

The Heafitz Lecture takes place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 29. This event is free for CMBG members, $25 for nonmembers (Gardens admission included). For more information or to register, visit MaineGardens.org.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is a nationally recognized public garden located in Boothbay, Maine. The mission of the Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections among people, plants and nature through horticulture, education and research. Its annual visitation includes guests from all fifty states and 65 foreign countries.