By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent WINAMAC, Ind. — He’s been a director for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the American Soybean Assoc. (ASA) for years. Now Pulaski County, Ind., farmer Scott Fritz can add leading the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) to his many commitments in the soybean industry.
Fritz, who’s been treasurer for WISHH for the past two years, was elected chairman during the organization’s recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
“Scott knows these volunteer positions very well,” said Jim Hershey, executive director of WISHH. “He brings a lot of expertise with international promotion and marketing.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to make WISHH successful in accomplishing the mission of finding sustainable solutions to the protein demand in developing countries, through the use of U.S. soy products,” Fritz said about the appointment.
Mainly, he sees himself as a facilitator to the WISHH executive director and board of directors. “My goal is to continue to help Jim Hershey do the best job he possibly can and encourage other folks to continue to fund our projects,” he said.
WISHH promotes U.S. soy products in developing countries where people are not getting enough protein in their diets. The organization works with corporations and local food manufacturers to find new ways of including products such as defattened soy flour and texturized soy protein in the countries’ indigenous cuisine, effectively boosting the nutritional value of the food while building long-term demand for U.S. soy products.
“One thing that we’ve been able to do successfully is show people that they don’t need to change what they eat to fit soy in their diet,” Hershey said. “We’ll be able to serve the long-term need much better if we can make the (soy-fortified) food taste similar to the local food.”
All in all, WISHH has worked in 23 countries, improving diets and encouraging the development of new food processing technologies. The organization has successfully developed a high-protein bread that’s suitable for relief efforts in Afghanistan, and worked with school food programs in Indonesia to find new uses for soy-fortified noodles.
WISHH also does extensive work in Africa, where the organization promotes the use of soy milk as a substitute for cow’s milk in yogurt, sour milk and other popular dairy products, and is active in Guatemala, which has the second highest malnutrition rate in the Western hemisphere after Haiti.
“I think the mission of WISHH is very good,” said Fritz. “There’s no doubt we as farmers can have a big impact on meeting the needs of people around the world … I think it’s a very worthy cause.”
Fritz was elected for a one-year term and will replace outgoing chairman Phil Bradshaw of Illinois. Iowa soybean farmer Roy Bardole will serve as vice chair, along with Pat Dumoulin of Illinois as treasurer. Barb Overlie of Minnesota was reelected as secretary.
Shelbyville, Ky., soybean grower and Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board Chairman Jack Trumbo was elected to serve a two-year term on the WISHH Committee.
“I believe that the principle of ‘giving back’ applies to the soybean industry as well as all other aspects of life, and that it is necessary for our organization to thrive,” said Trumbo in a statement.
The WISHH Committee consists of 14 farmer-leaders from the states of Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota and, now, Kentucky. WISHH was founded by state soybean grower organizations in 2000 and is headquartered at the ASA office in St. Louis, Mo. It is funded by checkoff dollars but receives federal funding for some projects that target malnutrition in developing countries.
WISHH also runs the World Soy Foundation, an entirely charitable organization, which helps educate hunger relief organizations about the benefits of soy. For more information on WISHH and the World Soybean Foundation, go to www.wishh.org |
