Topic: Food and Nutrition

Timeline: American Philanthropy, Agriculture, and the Challenges of Feeding the World
From demonstration farms launched when farming was still unmechanized to confronting climate change in the twenty-first century, American philanthropy has played a key role in shaping and supporting efforts to lift rural communities out of poverty through agriculture.

The Rockefeller Foundation’s Rural Reconstruction Program in 1930s China
In the 1930s, an ambitious program to reshape China was cut short by war, but offered a model for community development.

The Birth of International Agricultural Research Institutes in the Mid-20th Century
Rockefeller Foundation agriculture programs begun in Mexico achieved global reach through four major research institutes. Building them was the result of partnership.


The Rockefeller Foundation’s Mexican Agriculture Program, 1943-1965
The Rockefeller Foundation’s first intensive agriculture endeavor is now credited with launching the global transformation known as the “Green Revolution.”

For Small Farmers and Food Security: The International Agricultural Development Service
In the 1980s, critics argued that some groups had been left behind by the Green Revolution.