U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told more than 300 attendees at the U.S. Grains Council sponsored Global Food Security Symposium that the United States and Japan have a special and unique responsibility to respond to challenges in food security. <\/p>\n
The Global Food Security Symposium was part of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Partners-in-Agriculture\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd series of events, targeted to commemorate the 50 years of agricultural trade partnership between the United States and Japan. The Symposium was held in Tokyo, Japan, April 7. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economic woes caused a dramatic increase in the number of people around the world who do not have enough to eat. Estimates suggest that in 2009, for the first time ever, more than 1 billion people around the world were chronically hungry. It saddens me to say that a great percentage of that is children. We have a moral obligation and need to respond,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd said Vilsack. <\/p>\n
Along with the moral concerns, Vilsack said the environmental challenges will force us to find ways to be more productive with land. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Emerging technologies hold the promise of creating crops that better tolerate drought, toxicity, disease and salinity. The United States believes the role of biotechnology will enhance productivity, prevent additional post-harvest loss and ultimately enhance the role of trade,\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd said Vilsack. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Japan and the United States are leading efforts of moral responsibility to feed the hungry.\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told more than 300 attendees at the U.S. Grains Council sponsored Global Food Security Symposium that the United States and Japan have a special and unique responsibility to respond to challenges in food security. The Global Food Security Symposium was part of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Partners-in-Agriculture\u00e2\u20ac\ufffd series of events, targeted to commemorate … <\/p>\n