The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a nonprofit scientific association committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system, has released a white paper on Building a Future-Ready Science Workforce to Address Food and Nutrition Security Challenges that explores four key competency areas: artificial intelligence, regulatory and policy literacy, systems thinking and leadership, and science communications.
Among the key needs identified across all competencies were faculty training, interdisciplinary collaboration, applied learning with real-world case studies and projects, and accessible continuing education for professionals.
The white paper is the result of a virtual roundtable discussion organized by IFT’s Food & Nutrition Security Steering Committee (FNSSC). The roundtable included more than 30 food leaders across industry, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations.
This is the fifth virtual roundtable discussion organized by FNSSC since its establishment in 2021—previous roundtables focused on climate change, biofortified crops, food loss, and processing technologies.
“A skilled and adaptable workforce is essential for achieving global food and nutrition security, but preparing the scientific workforce for the future has become increasingly challenging due to a variety of factors, including rapid technological advancement and social change,” said Brendan Niemira, PhD, IFT Chief Science and Technology Officer.
“This white paper provides a practical roadmap for preparing a workforce that can successfully navigate emerging technologies like AI, understand the increasingly complex policy landscape, communicate science effectively, and solve challenges through systems thinking.”
Earlier this year, IFT released the 2026 Compensation and Career Path Report examining career trends in the science of food including compensation, job satisfaction, and workplace challenges.
The free resource—featuring exclusive data, detailed breakouts, and actionable insights—is an invaluable tool for veteran and novice science of food professionals, HR managers in food and beverage organizations, as well as food science academia and students.
The report is based on more than 5,000 survey responses from the global food science community with the first survey IFT compensation survey dating back to 1966. The latest survey includes data on compensation and career trends across various job titles and functions in the food industry, academia, government, and nonprofits.
It also covers salary breakdowns by geographic region, job function, gender, race, and more.
