News Update
May 8, 2012
Water for Food Conference Features Global Perspectives
More than 40 speakers from around the world will offer diverse perspectives on water and food security at the fourth global Water for Food Conference, May 30-June 1, in Lincoln, Neb.
People from more than 20 countries are expected to participate in the conference, hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at The Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln.
Designed to foster international dialogue, the conference draws experts from Nebraska and from around the world to discuss how advances in science, technology and policy will help rainfed and irrigated agriculture sustainably feed an increasingly hungry and thirsty world.
Registration is $250. Schedule, registration and speaker information are available at the 2012 Water for Food Conference website.
This year's theme is "Blue Water, Green Water and the Future of Agriculture." Speakers range from industry executives and scientists to farmers and international water experts. Three panel discussions will provide diverse perspectives on water and food security. Technical sessions and case studies will focus on: "Groundwater Resource Assessment in Water-Stressed Regions: Past, Present and Future," "Emerging Crop Technologies for Improving Performance in Tough Environments" and "Innovative Water Governance in Nebraska and Brazil."
Selected sessions will be webcast. Webcast information will be available on the conference website when the conference begins. For the latest information on the conference, follow the Daugherty Institute on Twitter at twitter.com/waterforfood (hashtag: #water2012) or Facebook at facebook.com/waterforfoodinstitute.
Virginia Veterinarian Takes Reins as
Chief Veterinarian for NCBA
After spending 27 years practicing veterinary medicine, one year as a congressional fellow and more than 11 years managing her family's cow-calf operation, Kathy Simmons started a new role May 7 as chief veterinarian for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Simmons will focus on animal care and health regulatory issues both domestically and internationally.
Simmons studied biology and biochemistry at Virginia Tech University before earning a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech in 1984. Simmons practiced veterinary medicine at the Herndon-Reston Animal Hospital in Herndon, Va., for 27 years and also has an active role managing her family's farm, S&S Farms in West Virginia, where they raise registered black Angus cattle.
Most recently, Simmons spent one year as a policy fellow on Capitol Hill for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). She served in the office of U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), focusing on health policy issues. Simmons said her new role as NCBA chief veterinarian will allow her to bring together her practical veterinary and policy experiences with her vast knowledge of the U.S. beef cattle industry.
NFU Leads Request Urging Senate to Bring
Farm Bill to Floor Vote
National Farmers Union (NFU) and a coalition of agricultural, conservation, environmental, energy, forestry, hunger, and rural stakeholders sent a letter to Senate leadership urging them to bring the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 to the Senate floor as soon as possible. The effort was supported by more than 125 organizations.
"This is one piece of legislation upon which all Americans depend, urban as well as rural," stated the letter. "With limited time remaining before the expiration of current program authorities, time is of the essence."
The Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on April 26 by a 16-5 vote.
"This strongly bipartisan bill ensures that agriculture does its part to reduce the deficit, cutting spending by $23 billion, while still maintaining a safety net that family farmers and ranchers need," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "Some farm bill programs have already expired, and the rest expire on Sept. 30. It is critical to pass a farm bill as soon as possible so that Americans have the agriculture, conservation, environmental, forestry, hunger and rural development programs that they need. While many of us will continue to work for improvements in the bill, we all agree that we need a farm bill this year."
Temple Grandin Enters New York Times' Essay Contest
The New York Times recently announced an essay contest, asking readers to sum up why eating meat is ethical in 600 words or less. A panel of vegetarian and vegan judges then selected the top six entries.
Temple Grandin, animal welfare expert and professor of animal welfare at Colorado State University, also submitted an essay to the contest. Despite her expertise on the issue, her essay was not among the finalists selected.
Her essay is available for your consideration below.
Eating Meat is Ethical
Humans and animals evolved together. Our brains are tuned into animals. Research with epilepsy patients who had monitors implanted in their brains showed that the amygdala responds more to animal pictures compared to pictures of landmarks or people. The amygdala is an important emotion center in the brain. Pictures of both cute and aversive animals got a big response. Recordings from the hippocampus, which is involved with memory, had no differences.
Human beings have an intrinsic bond with animals, but our treatment of animals has ranged from respectful to horrendous. Scientific research indicates that animals have emotions and they feel pain and fear. It is our duty to provide the animals that we raise for food with a decent life. I often get asked, "How can you care about animals and be involved in designing systems in slaughter houses that are used to kill them?" I answered this question in 1990, after I had just completed installation of a new piece of equipment I had designed for handling cattle at slaughter plants. I was standing on a catwalk as hundreds of cattle passed below to enter my system. In a moment of insight, I thought, "None of the cattle going into my system would have existed unless people had bred and raised them."
Our relationship with the cattle should be symbiotic. Symbiosis is a biological concept of a mutually beneficial relationship between two different species. There are many examples of symbiosis or mutualism in nature. One example is ants tending aphids to obtain their sugary secretion and, in return, they are protected from predators. Unfortunately, the relationship is not always symbiotic and, in some cases, the ants exploit the aphids. There are similar problems in poorly managed, large intensive agriculture systems. There are some production practices that must be changed. In the cattle industry, I know many people who are true stewards of both their animals and their land. Their relationship with both the animals and the land is truly symbiotic. It is mutually beneficial to both the animals and the environment. Killing animals for food is ethical if the animals have what the Farm Animal Welfare Council in England calls a life worth living.
I have been attended grazing conferences and I have learned that when grazing is done right it can improve the rangeland and sequester carbon. Ruminant animals that eat grass are not the environmental wreckers that some people say they are. Rotational grazing can stimulate more plant growth and growing plants help remove carbon from the atmosphere. Ruminant animals, such as cattle, bison, goats and sheep, are the only way to grow food on rangelands that are not suitable for crops. Ronald Follett with the USDA ARS (Agricultural Research Service) NPA (Northern Plains Area) in Fort Collins, Colo., states that grazing lands have the potential to sequester carbon. According to researchers at National University in Panama, converting South American pastureland to soybean production will reduce carbon storage. Organic agriculture would be impossible and extremely difficult without animal manure for fertilizer. Another issue that must be looked at in perspective is methane emissions. It is likely that 80% of all total methane emissions come from coal-burning power plants, rice paddies and landfills.
I have a final reason why I think eating meat is ethical. My metabolism requires animal protein, and I get lightheaded and unable to concentrate if I go on a vegan diet. There may be metabolic differences in the need for animal protein. There are practices that must be changed to be true stewards of both the animals and the environment.
NCBA Accepting Applications for Public Policy Internship
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBA) government affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting applications for a fall 2012 public policy internship. The deadline to submit an application for this opportunity is June 4, 2012.
"NCBA's public policy internship gives college students a one-of-a-kind view into the policy making process in Washington, D.C., while helping them prepare to transition from college to career," said NCBA Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts. "We are looking for college students with an interest in the beef industry, public policy and communications to help NCBA represent cattlemen and women in Washington, D.C. The internship is designed to work closely with the lobbying team on Capitol Hill and assist with NCBA's regulatory efforts.
The full-time internship will begin Sept. 10 and end Dec. 14. To apply, interested college juniors, seniors or graduate students should submit the application, a college transcript, two letters of recommendation and a resume to internship@beef.org. More information and the internship application are available on NCBA's website.
"This isn't a 'check-the-box' style of internship. NCBA's public policy interns work alongside NCBA staff on critical issues ranging from the estate tax to food safety, the environment and more." Butts said. "If you or someone you know is interested in this opportunity, we encourage you to apply."
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