Upper Schoolers Learn About Food Sustainability from U.S.-UAE Business Council Director

In the new Upper School Human Geography and Sustainable Development class, students are engaging with virtual guest speakers to explore the intersection of environmental science and civilization. Last week, Upper School Science Teacher Paul Zahller’s class hosted Mary Zuccarello ’15 who dialed in to describe her role as a director at the United States-United Arab Emirates Business Council in Washington, D.C. Zuccarello specifically focuses on food security initiatives.

« The goal of the Business Council is to deepen bilateral relations in trade and investments, » Zuccarello shared. « We’re basically supporting companies doing business in the U.S. who are from the UAE and then U.S. companies who are doing business in the UAE. » Zuccarello is in charge of the AgTech, technology, and manufacturing sectors. Overall, she guides about 25 companies in helping them navigate the UAE and sell to UAE customers. She interacts with the government in both the UAE and the U.S. to help those who want to do business in the UAE get set up properly and get connected to the right people in government so that their endeavors will be successful.

Zuccarello shared about the uniqueness of the country and its geopolicy in addition to explaining the technology and development of food production in the UAE. Students learned that the UAE is about 50 years old, located on the Persian Gulf, and follows an autocratic government. Only 15% of the population are Emirates while 85% of the population are expatriates. It’s a very affluent country due to its oil resource. Since the oil will eventually run out, the UAE is using the money from it to diversify its economy into industries like tourism, technology, space, manufacturing, finance, defense, and food security.

Regarding food security, students learned that the population in the UAE is growing, yet the country is home to one of the most arid regions of the world. Thus, they currently import 90 percent of food products. Zuccarello painted a picture of how life could have looked in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic had there not been a system of trade in place to get food. The pandemic has certainly ramped up the goal for the country to be able to produce its own sustainable sources of food.
Some of the innovations, techniques, and research efforts that Zuccarello mentioned as ways to provide food security in the UAE are:
  • Aquaculture – The farming of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, and other organisms.
  • Fish Farms – Raising fish in tanks or enclosures like fish ponds for the purpose of food.
  • AeroFarms – One of the largest indoor farming companies, Aerofarms is based in New Jersey but will open a research facility in Abu Dhabi. There, it will be home to the largest vertical farm in the world where lights are used to grow plants faster without requiring much water. Utah also has a vertical farm that focuses on food for animal feed. The UAE will test both of these types of programs.
  • Nordics – A blockchain solution that tracks cow movements on a farm to tell if a cow is healthy. This system tracks the cow from farm to table so that people can tell where their meat comes from. Essentially, this is a paper trail for food production.
  • Solar Thermal Energy – When energy from the sun is harnessed to produce the energy needed for the lights responsible for growing plants.
  • Research – There’s a lot of research to find additional food sources and possibilities.

Students also had the chance to ask questions. They learned about the UAE’s relationship with its neighbors in conflict and how there is a high level of tolerance in the country likely due to the freedom of religion and so many people from different countries living there.

« It was a vibrant session and had a high impact on my students, » said Zahller. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible experience with fellow Rams, Mary!