NCGA’s
Yoder Attends Launch of National Center for Food Protection
and Defense (7-9-04)
Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday announced the official
launch of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense,
a consortium of academia, government officials and food industry
representatives that includes National Corn Growers Association
(NCGA) Chairman Fred Yoder.
Yoder, who attended the launch at the University of Minnesota,
said the working group will examine food security and bioterrorism
issues and develop recommendations for dealing with potential vulnerabilities.
During the event, Veneman and Ridge announced the award of a $15
million grant to the university to explore the issues.
“
This working group has been meeting for almost two years to discuss
intentional and unintentional security threats to the U.S. food
industry,” said Yoder, who was the only grower invited
to participate in the working group. “It’s disturbing
to learn how vulnerable we are to certain threats and it’s
very important that we continue to address ways to protect the
food production industry.”
Following the announcement
of the grant, Yoder had the opportunity to visit with both Ridge
and Veneman about food security and other
issues important to corn growers. “Secretary Ridge said one
of the reasons our group was awarded the grant over the many other
groups that applied is because we were the only group that represents
food production and distribution from the field all the way to
the dinner plate,” Yoder said. “And he thanked NCGA
for bringing grower involvement to the working group.”
Veneman also indicated there will be an additional $100 million
in future grants to deal with other security projects, such as
first response and neighborhood watch programs.
Yoder said he looks forward to future meetings with the food
security working group. “Now that we have the funding,
things will really start to happen,” he said. “We’ll
devise a plan for the future and discuss the best ways to implement
it.”