By SUSAN MYKRANTZ
Ohio Correspondent

WOOSTER, Ohio — When stakeholders look for answers to the food safety and security challenges, sometimes it comes down to asking the right questions.

For example, when asking California residents about the priority issues for the state’s agricultural industry, the most common issues named are competition for water, farmland preservation, food systems, climate change, viability of small and medium-sized farms, efficient water use, public understanding, habitat preservation, petroleum dependence and air and water pollution.
Food safety and food security don’t even make the list, according to Thomas Tomich, holder of the W. K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California-Davis.

One of the featured speakers at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s recent annual research conference on food security, production and human health, Tomich identified several key questions in the debate on food safety and security issue.
Proposed regulations on the production and handling of leafy green produce are a hot topic for growers across the country. First, what is the link between leafy greens, food safety and habitat conservation?

“Is there a tradeoff between food safety and preserving wildlife habitat?” asked Tomich. “What other ecosystem services are at stake and if there are tradeoffs, how can we find an appropriate balance.”

Second, what about agricultural biotechnology? What is the balance between the risks and benefits of this for the environment, human health and food safety?

“How can we address thee questions in a credible and useful way?” Tomich said. “At what point does the loss of biological diversity become a systemic risk?”

Third, what about livestock production and public health? “At what point do we decide that antibiotic resistance is a systemic risk?” he asked. “Can we put a price on the risk of accelerating antibiotic resistance in concentrated animal feeding operations?”

On the other hand, what is the scope for free range cattle and other livestock to meet the growing demand for meat and dairy products, and at what cost, he added.

Also, what about market power and food safety? Should producers and consumers be concerned about the increasing consolidation and concentration in food processing and marketing? At what point does it become a concern when the state or federal agency created to protect the public’s interests instead acts in favor of commercial or special interest groups dominating the industry it was charged with regulating?

Fifth, how much should we rely on local, regional and national food systems?

“We need to look at what level of self-reliance in our food production system optimizes human well-being and at what scale; locally, statewide or nationally,” Tomich said. “How does scale affect food safety? Is bigger really better and is small always beautiful? How does the structure of our food system affect our vulnerability to a natural disaster or a human catastrophe?”

Sixth, what role does food production play in food quality? “How do production practices, organic versus conventional, for example, affect food quality?” he asked. “Does it affect flavor, nutritional and health values? And we need to ask ourselves if food quality is a public health issue.”

Tomich added there is a significant difference in the nutrition value between production systems. “We need to invest more work in how the production practices affect food quality,” he said.

Also, is there a relationship between food quality and public health?
“What are the casual links between food quality and public health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity?” he asked. “Can we afford to address these issues, or worse, can we afford not to address them?”

Tomich said we need to consider at what point do these problems have a serious financial impact on our society.

Possibly the most serious consideration is the impact climate change has on food safety and security. How can the resilience of the food system increase in the face of global climate change, ecosystem effects such as changes in the types and frequency of agricultural pests and diseases and other changes such as a growing human population and an improved standard of living?
It will take a combined effort on the part of agricultural and the scientific communities to find ways to safely, feasibly and sustainably redirect urban, rural and agricultural waste into productive uses in providing water, nutrients and energy for agricultural systems, according to Tomich.

Finally, when it comes to global food security, are we on-track in food and agriculture or are we losing ground? What is the role of the United States in the global food scene? What is the role of land grant universities regarding countries most vulnerable to climate change?

How can we address climate change and food security? What are the implications of these for climate change mitigation in the United States?

“Are we facing a tightening global food supply that will demand balancing?” Tomich asked. “Will we see increasing food prices and a higher variance in food prices? Will we see a possible reversal of global trends in food supply per capita?”

Another potential challenge is increasing competition between agriculture and municipalities for fresh water, which is already an issue in areas that rely on irrigation.

He said there is bad and good news as far as global food security. The sustainability of a food system can’t be one in which the population is wholly dependent on another country for its food supply, according to Tomich.

“The bad news is that energy prices and climate change will have a compounded uncertainty on yields, water supply and pests,” he said. “The good news is that the food crisis in 1973-74 induced a strong and constructive food policy response.”

When it comes to climate change, it is impossible to make progress without being engaged with other groups, according to Tomich. “But it is important that we all respect each other.”