FPTD Chief Testifies Before U.S. House Committee on Agriculture
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GTRI’s Food Processing Technology Division Chief, Gary McMurray, testified at a U.S. House Committee on Agriculture public hearing held on May 14, in Morrow, Ga. The hearing was the fifth in a series scheduled across the country to consider new ideas regarding federal food and farm policy as the Committee begins the process of writing the 2012 Farm Bill. Nine Members of Congress, including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, attended the hearing and heard testimony from McMurray, Dr. Scott Angle (dean and director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia), Dr. Mark Latimore Jr. (interim dean of the College of Agriculture, Home Economic and Applied Programs at Fort Valley State University), and eight other witnesses. Each witness presented testimony on a variety of farm policy issues. McMurray’s testimony emphasized the importance of multidisciplinary research teams from both land-grant and non-land-grant institutions to work together to develop food safety technologies, particularly those related to the integrated food chain (farm to fork). McMurray’s full testimony can be found at http://agriculture.house.gov/testimony/111/h01410/McMurray.pdf.
“I’m delighted to host the Agriculture Committee here in my district in Morrow. Agriculture is the backbone of Georgia’s economy, and this hearing will give Georgia’s farmers a chance to not only showcase their great work, but to also discuss how the policies we make up in Washington affect their day-to-day operations,” said Congressman David Scott, who represents Georgia’s 13th congressional district and serves as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. “Moreover, our state is at the cutting edge of improving our nation’s food safety systems. So, Chairman Peterson’s decision to bring the Agriculture Committee to Georgia will provide a wonderful opportunity to highlight the efforts of UGA, Georgia Tech, and the CDC to keep our food supply safe.”