Joel K. Bourne, Jr.

Joel Bourne is an award-winning journalist and frequent contributor to National Geographic. As a former senior editor for the magazine, he's covered major environmental issues, including the global food crisis of 2008, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and California's recurrent water woes. With a degree in agronomy, Bourne frequently reports on the global food system. Most recently he contributed two articles to National Geographic's ground-breaking eight-part series, "The Future of Food," reporting on the agricultural land rush in Africa, as well as new sustainable methods of aquaculture being practiced around the world. His new book, The End of Plenty: the Race to Feed a Crowded World, (W.W. Norton, June 2015) is an in-depth exploration of the future of food and ways we can feed the world without destroying it.

Bourne has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including CNN's American Morning, CNN International, the National Geographic Channel and the Diane Rehm Show. Prior to his tenure at National Geographic, Bourne's work appeared in National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic Traveler, Audubon, Science, Outside and many other publications. He lives in Wilmington , North Carolina.