STEM Food and Ag Council; Global Food Traceability Center; IFT Leadership Team

IFT, STEMconnector form STEM Food and Ag Council
The Institute of Food Technologists and STEMconnector recently announced a partnership to co-found the STEM Food and Ag Council. Lt. Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds will serve as inaugural chair of the Council, and DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler will serve as vice-chair.

The STEM Food and Ag Council was formally announced at IFT’s Annual Meeting & Food Expo^® on July 14, 2013, in Chicago, Ill. The Council’s first meeting will take place at the World Food Prize event in Des Moines, Iowa, in October. Current members include Archer Daniels Midland Co., Cargill, the National 4-H Council, the FFA Organization, PepsiCo, Sodexo, DuPont Pioneer, and Wal-Mart.

“By working with the members of the STEM Food and Ag Council, we are focusing our energy on attracting top talent to STEM careers like food science,” said IFT Executive Vice President Barbara Byrd Keenan. “As an organization, we are committed to ensuring that there are talented food professionals addressing food system challenges so that there is a safe and sufficient global food supply to meet our collective growing needs.”

As the world’s population grows to more than 8 billion in the next decade, a food and agricultural workforce with strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills is critical to meet the increased demand for food and other agricultural products.

The STEM Food and Ag Council will assemble government, business, and education leaders with a goal of increasing collaboration and mobilizing resources to connect today’s youth to the food and agriculture careers of tomorrow.

IFT Launches Global Food Traceability Center
The IFT Board of Directors recently approved the launch of the Global Food Traceability Center to protect and improve the global food supply.

The center will function as an authoritative, scientific, and unbiased source for food traceability to bring together important stakeholders in the agri-food system to collaborate on solving food product traceability issues. By assisting companies to better trace the paths of products through the supply chain, the center will assist them in improving food safety, mitigating risk, and avoiding health consequences and economic impacts.

“We will create a focal point where industry, academic institutions, government, foundations, and consumer groups can discuss, collaborate, conduct research, adopt best practices, and implement practical and actionable traceability solutions for the food system,” said IFT Executive Vice President Barbara Byrd Keenan.

IFT has been an active leader in food traceability since 2008, and the Global Food Traceability Center was formed as a result of three Traceability Research Summits IFT held in 2011. Founding sponsors for the Global Food Traceability Center include Cargill Inc., Food Marketing Institute, GS1 US, International Association for Food Protection, Intertek Group, Lyngsoe Systems, Mars Inc., National Fisheries Institute, Produce Marketing Association, Wal-Mart, and University of Guelph.

For more information, visit www.globalfoodtraceability.org, or contact Will Fisher, IFT Vice President of Science & Policy Initiatives, at 202-330-4977 or [email protected].

Join the IFT Leadership Team
Nominate yourself or a colleague for IFT President-Elect or for a position as a member of the 2014–2015 Board of Directors. The elected leaders of the organization assist in determining the strategic direction of IFT and in ensuring IFT’s future success.

Nominees must be Professional Members of IFT to be considered for candidacy by the Nominations & Elections Committee. To learn more about IFT Professional Membership, visit www.ift.org and click on “Membership.” To submit a nomination online, visit www.ift.org/membership/election.aspx to complete the nomination form. The deadline is 5 p.m. CDT on Sept. 27, 2013. For more information, contact Erin Carter, staff coordinator for the Nominations & Elections Committee, at [email protected].

Longhorn
Sept. 26: Suppliers Night. Frisco, Texas. Contact Greg Hanks at 972-242-1832 or [email protected] or Donna Henry at 903-378-2424 or [email protected], or visit www.longhorn-ift.org/registration/annualsuppliersnightinfo.htm.

Rocky Mountain
Sept. 18–19: Suppliers Night and Golf Outing. Denver, Colo. Contact Ron Jackson at 706-988-2999 or [email protected] or Sandy Baack at 303-278-8729 or [email protected], or visit www.rmift.com/suppliers_2011.asp.

Visit www.ift.org to view the Events Calendar, including listings for Section and Division meetings, and for information on how to list your event.