Ask a friend or neighbor what’s eating them and you’re likely to get an earful about rising gas prices, possible military action in Iraq, the high costs of health care and prescription medicines or the downturn in the U.S. economy. In my most recent town meetings in February, I listened to Iowans express anxiety about job security, retirement security, health care security, energy security, national security, and homeland security.
Notably absent from their list of concerns: food security. That’s because the United States is blessed with a rich agricultural bounty to provide more than enough food to feed U.S. consumers and a growing world population. American farmers are the most productive food producers in the world; each farmer feeds more than 120 people at home and abroad.
That’s reason enough to give Americans extra peace of mind. Yet, I’d guess a majority of Americans take their food and how it got to their fork for granted. That’s a shame. American agriculture serves an instrumental role in the life of every American. As George W. Bush has noted, "A nation that can feed its people is a nation more secure."
Beyond the benefits to national security, American agriculture also:
U anchors the economy (agriculture represents one-fifth of the U.S. economic pie);
U props up balance of trade (agriculture exports exceed $1 billion per week);
U creates jobs (20 percent of America’s workforce is employed in the food chain from production to processing, marketing and retail);
U saves American consumers money (Americans spend only 9.3 percent of their income on food, the lowest percentage in the world);
U offers consumers health benefits (meat with less fat, tofu which has been shown to reduce the risk of some cancer and heart disease.); and,
U provides increasingly diverse range of consumer products beyond food, including textiles, medicines, renewable fuels, construction and manufacturing supplies, "soy" crayons, and the list goes on and on.
Every year in March, those of us with an interest in agriculture join forces to celebrate National Ag Week and spread the word about agriculture’s affordable, high-quality abundance and its social, economic, and environmental influences on America.
Just consider:
U how efficiently our food and fiber is produced in modern agriculture;
U the link between agriculture and a strong economy;
U the environmental stewardship undertaken every day by committed farm families and ranchers;
U how biotechnology contributes to the efficiency and productivity of American farmers, enabling them to grow higher quality food that stays fresher, longer;
U the diverse employment opportunities with career choices in food production, agribusiness management and marketing, food science, research and engineering, processing and retailing, banking, education and many other fields.
Located in the heart of America’s breadbasket, Iowa’s agricultural heritage goes back generations. Iowa appreciates how significant our food system is not only to basic human existence, but to the state economy and our way of life. As the leading producer of corn, soybeans, hogs and eggs in America, Iowa’s high-quality agricultural bounty would make George Washington proud. The farmer and first U.S. president once said: "Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment to man."
At the turn of the 21st century, Iowa is working to stay on the leading edge of research and use its bounty to benefit from biotechnology and advances in life sciences. Whether growing crops for pharmaceutical use or raising cattle capable of producing proteins that can be used for human drug therapies, Iowa has significant potential to create good, high-paying jobs and reap economic benefits in ways unimaginable at the turn of the last century. With several farmer-owned ethanol plants up and running, Iowa also is fueling local economic activity and helping increase our energy independence by turning homegrown corn into ethanol.
As a lifelong family farmer, I take advantage of every opportunity in Washington to serve as the farmer’s advocate. From my leadership positions on the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Budget and Agriculture Committees, I make sure family farmers have a voice at the policy tables in Washington.
Notwithstanding the need to keep our food production and supply system safe from sabotage, Americans are blessed to live in a nation where food security doesn’t mean wondering if there’s enough food available to feed your family. National Ag Day is a good opportunity to showcase American agriculture and give thanks to those who work hard to get high-quality, affordable food from the farm to our table.
This year National Ag Day will mark its 30th anniversary on the first day of spring, March 21, 2003