'Straight Talk' campaign to focus on food industry sustainability

The National Corn Growers said leaders of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) and National Milk Production Federation and a professor from the University of Arkansas (UA) have announced the start of a  "Straight Talk" campaign to open dialogue about food industry sustainability.

Among the issues discussed at the USFRA news conference was the recent Dannon pledge regarding GMOs in its products. In an April press release, Dannon pledged to improve sustainable agriculture practices for its milk supply, label products with GMO ingredients and use more natural ingredients and less synthetic and GMO ingredients in its products.

The news conference by the USFRA disputed the slant of the Dannon pledge, and pointed out that the farm industry is using biotechnology to increase sustainability in farming practices.

"There comes a time when we as farmers and ranchers need to step up and challenge companies when they misinform consumers," USFRA CEO Randy Krotz said.

UA Professor of Ecological Engineering and Executive Director of the UA Office for Sustainability Marty Matlock pointed out that biotech has improved the agricultural industry's sustainability by reducing water use, soil erosion, energy use and greenhouse gases.

"Biotechnology is an advancement that has dramatically improved the sustainability of ag over 20+ years," National Milk Producers Federation Chairman and dairy farmer Randy Moody said.