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Vilsack touts biotechnology at Iowa meeting
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack headlined a Global Farmer Town Hall meeting in Ames, Iowa on Tuesday. The topic was sustainable agriculture practices and their role in biodiversity preservation.
Vilsack talked about the dual challenge of producing more food while preserving the ecosystem—and he said biotechnology will play an important role.
“Given the enormity of the challenges we face, we simply cannot afford to ignore any of the tools at our disposal to create the crops, the livestock and production practices that will help us feed this rapidly expanding global population,” said Vilsack.
Vilsack says it is not about picking one vision for agriculture over another.
“We must work to ensure that all types of agricultural production can co-exist as we confront the dual challenges of feeding the world while maintaining biodiversity,” he said. “We must utilize all of the appropriate tools in our toolbox.”
The Ames meeting was one of several events leading up to the World Food Prize symposium which gets underway Wednesday in Des Moines.
AUDIO: Excerpts of Vilsack’s remarks (12 min MP3)
the ecosystem ??? since when did big ag worry about the ecosystem if they didn’t have to? heavy doses of herbicides and pesticides do nothing for the ecosystem except challenge it more. run-off and soil erosion just from to-till practices fill our streams and rivers.. and that’s ecologically sustainable? NOT