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Poultry Perspective By Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton
Dr. Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton is Director of the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing at the University of Arkansas.

Will my grandchildren be eating imported food?

(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)

Dr. H. Russell Cross, former administrator of USDA FSIS and currently head for Animal Science at Texas A&M. presented facts at the recent International Livestock Congress in Denver that I think should be known by everyone in animal agriculture, not just the academics.

Public funding of research for U.S. animal agriculture has been shrinking for years and now is at a critical level. When you consider the demands of the future and the stance of other countries, the U.S. situation looks desperate.

By now you should be aware of the projected population increases and the demand that will put on animal agriculture to nearly double its production in the next few decades.  Many have noted that this increase can only come through advancements in technology since land for agriculture is limited as are natural resources such as water.

In the past, science has provided information that has helped agricultural industries to respond to problems, improve quality, quantity and safety of our food supply.  All of this is necessary to secure food for the future.  This work requires funding.

Dr. Cross noted that animal-health companies invest 25 to 35 percent of their profits in research and development, while commodity companies invest less than 0.5 percent.  And more troubling is the fact that Land Grant universities, the Ag schools, only receive 10 to 20 percent of their animal science funding from the states.  USDA research funding, through competitive grants, is about $262 million with only $22 million go to food-animal research.

Dr. Cross further noted that Brazil invests $3 billion and China $45 billion in agricultural research compared to the $1.4 billion in the U.S.

I have written in the past about the decrease in poultry science departments as they were merged into animal science or eliminated completely. Today, animal science departments are decreasing faculty, which means fewer scientists in poultry science as well as other food animal species.

If nothing is done to reverse the trend, over-regulation coupled with a decrease in scientific knowledge, will likely result in the U.S. becoming dependent on food imported from other countries. 

1/24/2013

 
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