Speaking to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology, NPPC chief veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom told the that the United States is the “lowest-cost and most technologically innovative producer of food in the world … and has the safest food on the planet” because of the country’s historical commitment to research.
Wagstrom pointed out that research helped the US pork industry deal with diseases such as Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome and the H1N1 influenza virus but warned that US agriculture remains vulnerable to emerging and foreign animal diseases.
A disease the pork industry and other livestock sectors are particularly concerned about, Wagstrom testified, is Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). She pointed out that The United States doesn’t have enough vaccine to address an FMD outbreak, which, if unchecked, would cost the pork, beef, corn and soybean sectors, alone, $200 billion over 10 years.
The NPPC urged Congress to establish and fund through the next Farm Bill, a manufacturer-managed FMD vaccine bank and is requesting funds for animal disease diagnostics and research that “can help address the alarming gap in the government’s preparedness for an FMD outbreak”.
Wagstrom also told the subcommittee that the federal commitment to agricultural research seems to have waned recently, pointing out that from 1970 to 2008, 50% of the US Department of Agriculture’s budget went to research but by 2013 it was less than 30%.
“The US pork industry strongly supports and urges a significant increase in funding for federal… agricultural research and grants to help America’s farmers and ranchers continue feeding the world with safe, wholesome and nutritious food,” she told the subcommittee.