The Western Farm Press yesterday picked up a news release by John Stumbos, senior writer for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The news release covered a tour June 4-6 in Davis that included CAES dean Neal Van Alfen and CDFA secretary A.G. Kawamura. They and 10 additional dignitaries -- from Canada, France and the United Kingdom -- were learning about bio-energy from agriculture and plant collections at UC Davis managed by USDA. Van Alfen and Kawamura spoke at a dinner for the visitors at USDA's Western Human Nutrition Research Center.
"We see that agriculture and food issues are going to be driven heavily and highly by the consumers much more in the future than they have been in the past," Van Alfen is quoted in the article. "The thing that is of most interest to consumers today is health."
Kawamura also addressed the "nutrition crisis," Stumbos wrote. "It's not malnutrition from lack of eating," Kawarmura is quoted. "It's malnutrition from overeating. . . . We have a tremendous challenge there."
The article says that Kawamura mentioned the importance of supporting research on invasive species and adjusting to global climate change.
"Unpredictable weather means unpredictable harvests," he is quoted. "We're going to need the research to help us have the tools to deal with adaptation at its most critical level because we don't have the luxury to make a lot of mistakes globally in the way we deal with agriculture."
