DuPont Advisory Committee to Tackle Challenge of Feeding Global Population of 9 Billion
Committee Members’ Diverse Backgrounds Enable a Fresh Approach to the Global Challenge
Wilmington, DE (Vocus) October 6, 2010
DuPont today announced the full membership of its advisory committee on Agricultural Innovation & Productivity for the 21st Century. The committee, which is chaired by former U. S. Senator Thomas A. Daschle, will examine the best public policy mechanisms and business practices to increase global agricultural production and unleash agricultural innovation. Daschle will be joined by committee members Charlotte Hebebrand, Jo Luck, J. B. Penn and Pedro Sanchez.
Global population is expected to surpass 7 billion in 2011 and 9 billion by 2050. Earlier this year, DuPont announced plans to form the committee to tackle the global challenge to increase agriculture productivity in a sustainable manner.
“This is the time when we must be bold and imaginative in creating better public policy and inventing new business practices,” said DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel. “The global challenge is great, and finding solutions will require a new kind of collaboration. This committee, with its diverse membership and fresh approach, represents such a collaboration. I am confident the committee will make a distinct contribution to addressing the challenge.”
The committee’s membership is united by shared expertise in policy, global development and agricultural productivity. In addition to Daschle, who brings unparalleled expertise in the intersection of public-policy and agriculture throughout his career in politics, the committee members are:
Charlotte Hebebrand serves as chief executive of the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC), which promotes a more open and equitable global food system. Charlotte is an expert on international trade, development, agriculture and food safety issues. Jo Luck is a 2010 World Food Prize Laureate and president of Heifer International, a premier hunger-fighting, non-profit organization bringing food - and income-producing animals to extremely poor families, providing opportunity for improved livelihoods through animal husbandry, technical training, and community development. J. B. Penn is the chief economist of John Deere & Co. He served as undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U. S. Department of Agriculture from 2001-06. Pedro Sanchez is a 2002 World Food Prize Laureate with a wide-ranging career in international agriculture and the fight against global hunger. Since 2003, he has served as director of Tropical Agriculture at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
“I look forward to rolling up our sleeves to uncover innovative methods for combating the global strain on food, feed, fiber and fuel,” said Daschle, who represented South Dakota in the Senate and served as Senate Majority Leader.
DuPont has a strong history of agriculture innovation and sustainability. The company discovers, manufactures, and sells a wide variety of crop protection and seed products to a global market. About 50 percent of the $1.4 billion DuPont spends annually on R&D is targeted at increasing food production for a growing population.
DuPont (http://www. dupont. com) is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
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