Milling & Baking News - December 8, 2015 - 22

Industry Activities X

Secretary Vilsack notes climate
change may impact food security
PARIS - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack cited numerous actions by
the U.S. government and the private sector and called for global cooperation in
efforts to mitigate the impact of climate
change on food security in coming years
in a Dec. 2 speech at a Field to Market
event during the Conference of Parties
(COP-21) Paris Climate Conference.
"Never before has agriculture faced challenges of this magnitude," Mr. Vilsack said
in remarks prepared for delivery at the side
event, which was hosted by Business for
Social Responsibility, PepsiCo and Field to
Market. He thanked leaders of major food
companies for attending the event.
"By being here you have demonstrated
that you understand that climate change
is a whole supply chain issue that affects
your business inputs, your end product
and your customers: the growing world
population who depend on you and on
farmers for a healthy, safe, sufficient and
affordable supply of food."
Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture includes more than

85 members for private and public sectors representing all aspects of U.S. agriculture with the focus of defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability
of food, fiber and fuel production.
"As food suppliers, you know that a

changing climate continues to impact the
amount of water available to farmers to
grow grains, protein and produce," Mr.
Vilsack said. "Climate change impacts the
cost of fuel and the transportation choices

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22 / December 8, 2015 XMilling & Baking News

you make to move those items to processing facilities and grocery stores. How you
choose to manage those impacts at every
step of the way affects the end quality of
your product, your profitability, your employees, your longevity as a business and
more so than ever before, how the public
views your company.
"We recognize that our actions alone
will not solve the complex problem of climate change. To be effective, we will need
to build confidence and encourage others
to step forward. And we'll need to be able
to document that our actions are making
a real difference on the ground.
"Achieving food security in the face of
climate change will not be a short-term
task, and it won't be simple. That's why it
is so critical that we bring together entities
from across the world - governments,
businesses, farm organizations, civil society groups, research bodies and intergovernment entities - to work together
to prepare agriculture for new challenges,
and thereby put our food supply on a
strong footing in the years to come.
"We've all seen the statistics: nine billion people by 2050. Feeding these new
citizens will require at least a 60% increase in agricultural productivity. We
must do all of this in the face of climate
change that is threatening the productivity and profitability of our farms, ranches and forests."
Mr. Vilsack said the Obama administration on Dec. 2 released a report on
climate change, natural resources and
the land sector showing how U.S. government agencies were making progress
toward climate mitigation and resilience
goals, including the U.S.D.A.'s efforts to
improve greenhouse gas metrics. President Obama has pledged to reduce U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28%
below 2005 levels by 2025.
Mr. Vilsack also cited the U.S.D.A.'s
release of 10 Building Blocks for Climate
Smart Agriculture and Forestry earlier
in the year that he said was an "ambitious, voluntary strategy that rewards
and builds on the good work of farmers,
ranchers and foresters." The plan uses
existing U.S.D.A. programs to provide
financial and technical assistance to support producers to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generate clean renewable energy and meet an ambitious
goal of increasing carbon sequestration.
Mr. Vilsack also last week released
a major study titled "Climate Change,
Global Food Security and the U.S. Food
System," which identifies the risks posed
by climate change to global food security
and the challenges faced by farmers and
consumers in adapting to changing climate conditions. MBN
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http://www.kingflour.com http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com
Milling & Baking News - December 8, 2015

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