June 1, 2012
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Thank you for emphasizing production agriculture’s role in improving food security during the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ G8 discussion entitled "Advancing Food and Nutrition Security." We agree that improving agriculture and nutrition is critical to fighting global hunger and should be at the "forefront of global development."
We support the Administration’s emphasis on food security, agricultural production and science-based regulation. These are important extensions and validations of the National Bioeconomy Blueprint and your recent comments on the occasion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 150th anniversary.
Many experts have emphasized that agricultural producers will need to produce as much food in the next 50 years as was produced over the last 10,000 years to meet the demands of our growing global population. A firm commitment by the U.S. government to aggressively support agricultural innovation, including modern biotechnology, will be necessary to ensure farmers have the tools they need to produce safe and nutritious food, in addition to feed, fuel and fiber, in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. As the United Nations noted recently in its report on Global Sustainability, Resilient People, Resilient Planet, biotechnology reduces the use of fresh water, helps protect plants against devastating pests and diseases, and reduces agriculture’s greenhouse gas footprint.
We look forward to working with your Administration as the United States continues to help feed a rapidly growing global population. This moral, economic, and security imperative will only be achieved through strong leadership, global collaboration, increased human capacity building, and the use of animal and plant science, including modern biotechnology.
Again, we appreciate your leadership on this critical issue.
Sincerely,
AACC International
Agricultural Retailers Association
American Dairy Science Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Feed Industry Association
American Phytopathological Society
American Seed Trade Association
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Animal Science
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Soybean Association
American Sugarbeet Growers Association
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Biotechnology Industry Organization
Coalition for a Sustainable Agricultural Workforce
Congressional Hunger Center
Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
CropLife America
Crop Science Society of America
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Federation of Animal Sciences Societies
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Barley Growers Association
National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research
National Congress of American Indians
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
National Farmers Union
National Renderers Association
National Sunflower Association
North American Millers’ Association
Poultry Science Association
Soil Science Society of America
U.S. Canola Association
U.S. Wheat Associates
Weed Science Society of America
