Russ Parsons published an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times on January 6 about the realities of food and farming. He calls for “a more constructive give-and-take, the start of a true conversation” about our food production system.
Parsons lays out a few ground rules that will help us move towards a constructive conversation, which begins with the understanding that food production is a complicated issue. He reminds us that there is a shared motive on all sides of the conversation, and he is pleased to see a growing interest and awareness about the way food is grown and produced.
You can read the full article here
Hilary Benn, Britain’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced Britain’s new food strategy in a report, Food 2030, at the annual Oxford Farming Conference (Jan 4-6, 2010). The strategy unveils a national 20-year food-security manifesto aimed at improving the environmental and economic impact of food production.
The report supports crop technology, stating that science will be very important in developing crops that are less dependent on water, fertilizer or chemicals. Furthermore, the policy was created with the belief that “agriculture needs to produce more food, and impact less.”
In the report’s introduction British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says, “We need to produce more food without damaging the natural resources – air, soil, water and marine resources, biodiversity and climate – that we all depend on. We need to feed more people globally.”
This groundbreaking report from the UK represents an increasing number of countries that are supporting science like agricultural biotechnology because of its environmental and economic benefits.
You can read the full report here and learn more about the report’s impact in this article in The Globe and Mail.
Women from all over California will come together January 8-10 in beautiful San Juan Bautista for California Women for Agriculture’s (CWA) annual convention. The event will include a tour of San Benito County and feature its many agricultural assets, including crops, cattle, and vegetables, as well as a wine tasting and reception at Cienega Valley Winery.
After the statewide meeting, there will be a reception honoring CWA’s new president, Celeste Settrini, where there will be a special guest appearance by nationally acclaimed writer/speaker and agricultural advocate, Trent Loos. Loos is a sixth-generation American farmer who is currently on the national radio program, Rural Routes, a one-hour program aimed at bridging rural and urban America.
CWA supports a sustainable agricultural industry and a domestic food supply that utilizes advanced technologies to produce the safest, most affordable and healthiest food, fiber, fuel and floral supply in the world. CWA is proactively advocating the benefits of biotechnology, as well as other agricultural technologies and tools to its local and state elected officials, as well as consumers.
California Women for Agriculture’s mission is to promote educational programs in order to develop the interest of California women in agriculture and to promote agriculture in California. It is a statewide organization with more than 1800 members.
For more information on CWA’s Annual Convention, click here or contact Abby Taylor-Silva, Chair, at 831.332.0584.
