Madison Bernier’s “Our Future Food Demand” won first place in the World of 7 Billion student video contest. She chose to connect population to the global challenge: “Most of the earth’s suitable farmland is already under cultivation.”

Madison’s video gets a jump start with some startling facts – the earth’s population is expected to grow by 2.5 billion and 40% of earth’s land mass is already devoted to agriculture – and she asks us “how do we feed the future population without expanding our agricultural footprint?” What really leaves a mark on viewers is Madison’s explanation of possible solutions. She discusses modifying current farming practices through the use of natural pest controllers and vertical farming, and changing personal habits by reducing how much food we waste and moving towards plant-based diets. The final tag line “shift the strategy; feed the future population” is a powerful and positive message for a hopeful future.

A sophomore at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, VA, Madison was aware of the impacts of population growth even before creating her video. During the population unit of her AP Human Geography class, she recalled that she and her peers learned about how the amount of people per land area affects how crops will be grown. As a first time filmmaker, it was the editing of her video’s content that was the most difficult part of the creation process – especially how to choose succinct wording that tied all of her points together in just one minute.

Want to see the other top videos on this topic?
Second Place – “Save Land, Save Humanity” by Dylan Kroft
Honorable Mention – “Beef Up Sustainable Farming” by Cynthia Zhou
Honorable Mention – “Choices” by Tim Eddy

Want to participate in a future contest?
Interested in staying informed about next year’s contest? Visit the contest website today and download our free lesson plan to guide you.