She writes:
I was lucky to be selected for the US state International Visitors Leadership Programme on food and agriculture. The programme is paid for by the US state and involves traveling for three weeks with a delegation of Europeans to gain an understanding about how US food and agriculture works and the diversity across the US.
During the three weeks we will be visiting five US states, farms, universities, research centres, experts and think-tank organisations – with the aim of provoking a range of views and discussions.
So far I have been to Washington DC and a small town called Syracuse attending 24 meetings with a range of stakeholders from across the political spectrum. From all of these visits it has become clear that there is an intrinsic link within the US between food and agriculture policy. Two thirds of the US agriculture budget is spent on food support programmes, which specifically look to purchase US-produced food. This along with national nutritional recommendations is all overseen and managed by the United States Department of Agriculture. This link between food and agriculture seems to be a huge difference compared to the UK system.
Within all of the meetings we have attended trade and the use of GMO products has been a strong feature. There has been a clear signal that the US wishes to increase production and expand its export opportunities, and that they believe trade barriers should be based on scientific facts and evidence. All the representatives we have met with from government, representative bodies, farmers and NGOs have seen agriculture as an international trade opportunity for their country.
GMO technology is widely accepted in the US and is widespread across a range of food, ethanol and animal feed products. However, there is an increased movement from US customers to buy organic. These products are available in supermarkets, restaurants and farmers markets all of which are seeing an increase in sales and interest from customers. This appears to link strongly with a desire to improve nutrition and diets. The clear message I have observed from all representatives is that food and agricultural policy has to be made hand-in-hand.