By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Three inches of snow, following an ice storm earlier in the week wasn’t about to keep nearly 5,000 Boilermakers from missing the annual Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry last Saturday, according to Donya Lester, executive director of the Purdue Ag Alumni Assoc.

Lester joked during the dinner that “we are a stubborn group and we’re not about to let a little snow keep us from the Fish Fry this year or any year.”
And for those brave souls that ventured out into the slushy Indianapolis roadways, a wholesome menu of boneless pork loin was provided by Tyson Fresh Meats, Indiana-grown yellow perch donated by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, as well as cole slaw, green beans and of course, apple pie for dessert.
Special guests of the event, many of whom, provided remarks during the dinner including: Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman; U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.); Jay T. Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture and France A. Cordova, president of Purdue University.

In fact at every turn, it seemed there was a well-known government official, university faculty member, legislator, successful business owner and farmers seated in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds enjoying dinner and conversation with old friends.

For many Purdue ag alums, while the opportunity to connect with fellow alums is always a big draw, it is the keynote speaker that is the greatest lure to the event.

For the 2011 Fish Fry, former USDA Secretary Dan Glickman presented a captivating address on global food policy and world hunger issues. Glickman, who served as agriculture secretary from 1995 to 2001 is now co-chair of the Global Agricultural Development Initiative for the non-partisan Chicago Council on Global Affairs and senior fellow at the Washington-based non-profit Bipartisan Policy Center.

Glickman offered some thought-provoking thoughts on why nearly 1 billion people are starving worldwide, while also pointing out that nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population lives off of food stamps.

“By and large, people are hungry and hurting, and we need to find a way to help them,” he said.

Glickman discussed several factors that are contributing to the world hunger issue, including population growth, rising income growth, demand for biofuels and increased demand for commodities.

For example, he explained that when the world suffers from crop shortfalls, supplies for commodities are further stretched. When demand for biofuels such as corn ethanol is added into the mix, “we’re getting close to a global (food) crisis.”

As far as population growth, Glickman explained that in 2010, the world population was 6.9 billion, by 2050, it has been estimated that the world population will be 9.5 billion.

“We’re talking about adding two Chinas to the world,” he said, adding that world food production will need to increase by nearly 100 percent.
Glickman also described that in the next 40 years, many lower income families will move to the middle class and the first thing they will want to spend money on is food, predominately protein – meat.

He also described the increasing demand of corn for ethanol production and its effect on world food supplies

“Today we use nearly 4.5 billion bushels of corn for ethanol,” he said. “10 years ago, we used virtually no corn for ethanol. This is all during a world food shortage. I’m not judging, this is just a fact.”

Glickman’s charge to the Purdue audience – “we need to double food production and we need to do it by improving the soil, nutrition of crop, water availability and exhausting our genetic capabilities in plant life and livestock.”

He also challenged the group, particularly the legislators in the room, to increase government-aided agricultural research.

“The U.S. used to be a leader in ag research,” Glickman said. “And it needs to be public dollars. A lot of research takes many years to come to fruition. We can do this, but it will require innovation, creative and pure unadulterated dollars.”

Glickman said that world hunger is an issue that is solvable and the U.S. can be in a position to make a difference.

“We as a country have the strongest food system in the world,” he explained. “All I ask will require the leadership of university, foundations, private sector, government, and farm community. What you do is critically-important to making a difference.”