Semilla Nueva: June 11 Meeting
Speaker: John Lodal
Semilla Nueva Board Member and Rotarian
Semilla Nueva Board Member and Rotarian
Worldwide, malnutrition is the number one cause of childhood and maternal death. Those who survive face lasting consequences and are trapped in an intergenerational cycle of poverty. In much of Africa and Central America, in some of the most malnourished countries, corn is the basis of the diet, but it lacks a few of the most important nutrients children need.
In 2021, its work produced 1,271,626,336 nutritious tortillas in Guatemala and reached 12,663 farmers. Rotary has been a key collaborator and supporter of Semilla Nueva since its inception.
900 million people eat corn three times a day, and 2 billion people are expected to depend on corn in the future. Semilla Nueva fights malnutrition and poverty with better corn. It helps farmers access new corn seeds, with higher levels of the most important missing nutrients, higher yields, and resilience to climate change. The model is simple: package what children and mothers most need (better nutrition) with what farmers most want (better incomes to break the cycle of poverty).
In 2021, its work produced 1,271,626,336 nutritious tortillas in Guatemala and reached 12,663 farmers. Rotary has been a key collaborator and supporter of Semilla Nueva since its inception.
Join us on June 11 to meet John Lodal and hear about the inspiring work of Semilla Nueva. Click the "Read More" button below for a snapshot about John and his background.
In much of Africa and Central America, in some of the most malnourished countries, corn is the basis of the diet, but it lacks a few of the most important nutrients children need.
900 million people eat corn three times a day, and 2 billion people are expected to depend on corn in the future. Semilla Nueva fights malnutrition and poverty with better corn. It helps farmers access new corn seeds, with higher levels of the most important missing nutrients, higher yields, and resilience to climate change. The model is simple: package what children and mothers most need (better nutrition) with what farmers most want (better incomes to break the cycle of poverty).
In 2021, its work produced 1,271,626,336 nutritious tortillas in Guatemala and reached 12,663 farmers. Rotary has been a key collaborator and supporter of Semilla Nueva since its inception.
In 2021, its work produced 1,271,626,336 nutritious tortillas in Guatemala and reached 12,663 farmers. Rotary has been a key collaborator and supporter of Semilla Nueva since its inception.
About John
John Lodal is a member of the Semilla Nueva Board of Directors, serving in that capacity since 2015 and chairman of the board from 2016 to 2019. John is a self avowed impact junkie for the projects and organizations he chooses to support. Semilla Nueva has held a strong appeal in taking steps to effectively address long term, endemic malnutrition in Guatemala. He believes that its approach of deploying bio-fortified corn represents a true root cause solution to address chronic malnutrition while also delivering a sustainable economic development solution for thousands of farmers in Guatemala.
John is a Rotarian, a member of the Rotary Club of Boise Sunrise since 2009, and will serve as club president in 2022-2023. John has also been active in the District 5400 Youth Exchange Committee and served as its chair. His family hosted 4 inbound students and Jessica, his daughter, was an outbound student to Chile.
John is a trombonist and has played with the Boise Straight Ahead Jazz Big Band since 1997. He has 2 children and 4 grandchildren. John was widowed in October 2019 when Pam, his wife, died after a long battle with cancer. John is grateful for every day of life and seeks to live that life consistent with the 4-Way Test and with his own personal motto of seeking to leave it better than he found it.