The Senate heard debate Tuesday on legislation proposed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) to provide a voluntary national standard for foods containing genetically modified ingredients as well as an incentive to provide more information on biotechnology to consumers. During his floor speech on the Biotechnology Labeling Solutions bill, Roberts stressed the pressing need for Congress to act …
Latest ZimmCast Features Hot Dogs & Sausages
His real title is President of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. He’s Eric Mittenthal. But, as Chuck Zimmerman notes during this week’s ZimmCast, we need a much better title for him and perhaps you could suggest one. Eric is taking over the position from the “Queen of Wien” herself, Janet Riley. Both also work for the North American …
CFI Study on Consumer Trust in Food
New research from the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) shows that improved transparency increases consumer trust in food. CFI CEO Charlie Arnot says they surveyed 2,000 people to discover which attributes are most important to consumers when it comes to trust-building transparency – policies, practices, performance or verification – and found that practices are most important. The Center for Food …
World Food Prize 2015/Borlaug 101
The 2015 World Food Prize kicked off in Des Moines, Iowa this week. Also taking place is Borlaug 101: Fundamentals of Global Food Security from October 14-15, 2015. To celebrate the 101st anniversary of founder Dr. Norman E. Borlaug (Green Revolution), and keeping in focus the unprecedented challenge the world faces to sustainably and nutritiously feed 9.7 billion by 2050, …
Vote to End Hunger Campaign Launched @WorldFoodPrize
The Iowa Hunger Summit took place today in Des Moines, Iowa heading into the kickoff tomorrow of @WorldFoodPrize. During the event, the Vote to End Hunger (VTEH) campaign was launched in an effort to urge 2016 presidential candidates to focus on ending hunger and poverty in the U.S. as well as around the world and to encourage consumers to ask …
AFIA Reaction to Food Safety Modernization Act
The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) hosted a press conference to provide their reaction to the Food Safety Modernization Act “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls for Food for Animals” final rule. The call featured staff experts Richard Sellers, senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, and Leah Wilkinson, director of ingredients, pet food and …
Minnesota @USFRA #FoodD
It was a packed house for the USFRA Food Dialogues in Minneapolis entitled “Farm to Consumer: Bridging the Gap between Consumer Concerns and Food Production and Sourcing Decisions,” co-sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council and the Nebraska Soybean Board. This event, held August 11, was moderated by Minnesota native and Bloomberg agriculture policy journalist, Alan Bjerga, and …
New Food Bio Security Facility Groundbreaking
This week Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack helped to break ground on the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. Secretaries Johnson and Vilsack were joined by a number of dignitaries on Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking, including Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran of Kansas, …
Water for Food Global Conference
Mobilizing new data gathering capabilities to improve global water and food security is the subject of the sixth annual Water for Food Global Conference, hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska in association with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Oct. 19-22 in Seattle, Wash. The event is the premier gathering of …
USDA Defends Healthier School Lunch Program
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, William S. Wallace, General, U.S. Army (Retired), James A. “Jamie” Barnett, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Retired) and School Food Service Director Donna Martin of Burke County, Ga. participated in a media call today to “discuss efforts by some Members of Congress and special interest groups to undermine childhood nutrition standards and the effect that would have …
Walmart Sustainability Expo
Kicking off a new Sustainable Product Expo this week, the CEOs from more than a dozen global companies gathered at Walmart headquarters in Arkansas this week to pledge to increase sustainability, starting with the food and agriculture sector. The first CEOs to take the stage were Greg Page of Cargill, Rick Smith with Dairy Farmers of America and Monsanto’s Hugh …
Bayer CropScience Bee Care Center Open
Bayer CropScience celebrated the grand opening of its North American Bee Care Center on April 15, 2014 at its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park. The $2.4 million center brings together significant technological, scientific and academic resources, with goals of promoting improved honey bee health, product stewardship and sustainable agriculture. Bayer CropScience Bee Care Center Grand Opening Photo Album …
Norman Borlaug Statue Comments
The State of Iowa will install a bronze statue of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug in the U.S. Capitol on March 25, which is both National Agriculture Day and the centennial anniversary date of the Father of the Green Revolution. The statue was displayed during the World Food Prize Borlaug dialogues last October, where World Food Prize president Kenneth Quinn, also …
23rd Annual IFAMA World Forum
The 23rd World Forum of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) is being held June 16-20, 2013 in Atlanta. The theme of this event, with some 450 attendees from 28 countries, is “The Road to 2050: The Talent Factor” – Meeting Future Global Needs of Food and Agriculture. IFAMA 23rd World Forum Photo Album Audio files: Monsanto Chairman …
2013 Alltech International Symposium
The Alltech 29th Annual International Symposium picked up where the 2012 Symposium concluded. And that is with the pledge for continuous innovation meeting the agricultural challenge of feeding a growing global population. Chuck and our new summer intern Maggie Seiler were there to cover it. They took lots of pictures and did some great interviews. New audio will be uploaded …