National Conference on Food Safety Research

by Tracy Irwin Hewitt

November 13, 1998

Presented during the public comment period of USDA's National Conference on Food Safety Research

Good Afternoon. I am Tracy Irwin Hewitt, the executive director of the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE). One of C-FARE's primary goals is to educate policy makers about the actual and potential contributions of economics research as it relates to issues about food, agriculture, and natural resources policy.

I am wearing two hats this afternoon. First I will read a prepared statement by Dr Will Rochin, who was appointed by Secretary Glickman to serve on USDA's National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board. He apologizes for not being able to attend personally, he is in California. After reading his statement I will make a few of my own remarks.

(Rochin's statement)

I'd like to build upon the case Dr. Rochin made for having economics involved in a national food safety research program by describing some important agricultural economics contributions in this area.

In 1987, to encourage research on the economics of food safety, the USDA-supported Regional Research Committee NE-165 created a special project to investigate and stimulate research in this area. This project, Private Strategies, Public Policies, and Food System Performance, has been exceptionally productive.

For your possible interest, and to demonstrate that economists have a long, rich and scientifically rigorous history in food safety research, I have several copies of products that have come out of the NE-165 project.

(Briefly go through the NE-165 publications, with highlights from each one)

I should note, of course, that I've showed you only one vein of research in this area. There have been many, many other rigorous studies published. Including many important studies conducted by researchers in the land grant universities and at the Economic Research Service of USDA.

General recommendations to USDA

1. Be inclusive. The title of this conference is "National Conference on Food Safety Research" yet not one part of the program was dedicated to investigating economic or other social science research needs.

2. Encourage interdisciplinary research that crosses not just sub-disciplines of biology, but also crosses the biological and social sciences.

3. Seek input from professional associations about their research priorities related to food safety. If you do, you'll notice that not only is food safety research identified by the agricultural economics profession as a research priority (C-FARE, 1997), but the economics of food safety is identified as a research priority by the Coalition for Research on Plant Systems (CROPS'99), and by FAIR'95 a consortium of more than 40 organizations representing the food animal sciences.

In closing I'd like to reiterate a point made earlier by Dr. Rochin from the USDA advisory board. There is no doubt that the biology of food safety is of utmost importance. However, a national research program that ignores economic impacts of new technologies and regulations; or ignores economic incentives that can modify and or change behavior of individuals, companies and institutions; or a program that ignores how economic tools can enhance and promote food safety will, no doubt, short change society.

Thank you for the opportunity to present these views.

Public Statements