WASHINGTON, D.C. — AGree, a new initiative to transform
food and agricultural policy, recently unveiled the members of its Research
Committee, which will provide expert advice on research and analysis needed to
better understand food and agriculture systems in order to help AGree develop
effective policy solutions.
The
Research Committee is composed of a diverse group of individuals and
perspectives from the academic community who provide a wealth of scientific
food and agriculture knowledge matched with a working understanding of federal
policy and markets. The Committee will guide the commissioning of analytical
studies and thought pieces on AGree’s issues, as well as participate in and
facilitate informative panels that lead to a better understanding across
academic and policy fields.
AGree’s
mission is to transform food and agriculture policy to address the tremendous
challenges we face at home and abroad: feeding a growing population, enhancing
environmental sustainability, and ensuring our farmers and rural communities
have a bright future. The Research Committee is a core component of AGree’s
strategy to improve our food and agriculture systems through policy changes
that incorporate some of the brightest thinking and best data available.
“The
Research Committee will consider what research and thinking are needed to
inform new developments in the food and agriculture sphere, providing valuable
insight into our problems and solutions,” says Mil Duncan, research director
for AGree. “We’re fortunate that thinkers of such stature – and with such busy
schedules – are excited about this opportunity and have been able to commit
their time to AGree.”
The
committee members were hand picked through a highly selective process, with
each coming strongly recommended from their peers.
“Each
member of the committee has a reputation for being a rigorous researcher with a
penchant for seeking to answer tough questions and a commitment to integrative
work,” says Deborah Atwood, executive director of AGree. “The co-chairs and I
are thrilled to be bringing their efforts and experience together under AGree.”
The
members of the research committee are:
?
Bruce Babcock – professor of dconomics and director for the Center for
Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University;
?
Chris Barrett – Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley professor of applied economics
and management and international professor of Agriculture at Cornell;
?
Ken Cassman – systems agronomist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and
chair of the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research;
?
Douglas Jackson-Smith – professor and director of graduate studies in sociology
at Utah State University;
?
John Reganold – regents professor of soil science and agroecology at Washington State University;
?
Beatrice Rogers – professor of economics and food policy and director of the
Food Policy and Applied Nutrition Program at Tufts University;
?
Katherine Smith – chief economist and vice president for programs at American
Farmland Trust;
?
Tom Tomich – professor and founding director of the UC Davis Agricultural SustainabilityInstitute;
and
?
Parke Wilde – associate professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science
and Policy at Tufts
University.
Visit
the AGree website for full biographies of the Research Committee members.
The
co-chairs of AGree are Dan Glickman, former secretary of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture under President Bill Clinton and a former congressman from Kansas
for 18 years; Gary Hirshberg, chairman, president and “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield
Farm; Jim Moseley, former deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture under President George W. Bush and Indiana farmer for more than 40
years; and, Emmy Simmons, former assistant administrator for Economic Growth,
Agriculture, and Trade at the U.S. Agency for International Development and a
board member for several organizations engaged in international agriculture and
global development.
AGree
is funded by Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William
& Flora Hewlett Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The McKnight
Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and
The Walton Family Foundation.
