On 12 July, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the EU Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (the AGRI Committee) remotely on the most pressing issues in food and agriculture.
Joining by video link, Secretary Vilsack spoke about U.S. measures to promote productive, profitable, sustainable agriculture and shared his views on current and future trade relations between the United States and Europe – which he says means resolving serious, difficult ag issues based on different approaches.
Ultimately though, Secretary Vilsack reiterates that despite their differences, there is commonality.
“The United States is committed to a sustainable agricultural production system – one that helps to feed people but does so in a way that is sustainable for the environment.
“In a sense we are on the same journey but are simply taking different pathways to the ultimate destination of sustainable agriculture – one that reduces and perhaps eliminates emissions.”
For the United States, this means a rules-based approach grounded in science and common sense.
Tune in to the discussion to hear Secretary Vilsack’s views on:
- The EU’s Farm to Fork and what it might mean for the productivity of some producers in Europe
- The U.S. plans to focus on more new and better markets, including local and regional food systems, and how this can enhance environmental stewardship efforts
- The need to find creative ways to compensate farmers for the carbon sequestration of their land in order to meet President Biden’s 2050 goal of net zero emissions agriculture
- The importance of diversity in the U.S. agricultural system – from conventional to organic and from small to mid-size
- How food waste fits in to the sustainability equation and could provide a new revenue stream for farmers
- The critically important role that research and development, particularly publicly funded research, play in enabling a sustainable future
- The opportunity for the US and EU to collaborate and share best practice to accelerate progress on innovation and sustainable agriculture