USFRA kicks off The Food Dialogues on 9/22

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) will host The Food Dialogues, a town hall-style discussion to address Americans' questions about how their food is grown and raised and the long-term impact of the food they are eating – on their own health and the health of the planet. These topics, as well as findings from recent surveys of farmers, ranchers and consumers conducted by USFRA, will all be discussed during this interactive event taking place at four locations across the U.S. and online on September 22.

"Americans want to know where their food comes from, how it was raised and if it is good for their health long-term," said Bob Stallman, chairman of USFRA and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. "We realize farmers and ranchers haven't always done the best job answering Americans' questions about how food is grown and raised, and hope The Food Dialogues event will be the start of an ongoing dialogue that addresses these questions and more. We hope everyone who cares about the future of food and how we provide healthy choices for people everywhere will join the discussion, including farmers of all sizes – small and large, conventional and organic, consumers and food decision-makers."

The Food Dialogues will include four panel discussions, featuring leaders in food, food service, media and policy, farmers of all types and business leaders, who will share different viewpoints about the current and future states of food, and how food is grown and raised. These discussions will take place at four U.S. locations including Washington, D.C., New York, the Midwest and California, as well as online via Facebook and USFRA's new Web site, www.fooddialogues.com.

To date, USFRA has secured several high-profile participants including Claire Shipman, television journalist and senior national correspondent at ABC's "Good Morning America," who will moderate the event from Washington, D.C. and Chef John Besh, who will moderate from New York. Additional participants include Max Armstrong of Farm Progress Companies and Jane Wells of CNBC. Other panelists include:

Washington, D.C. (Emcee: Claire Shipman)

Panelists:

• Bob Stallman
• Tres Bailey, Director of Agriculture and Food, Wal-Mart
• Frank DiPasquale, president, School Nutrition Association
• TBD, American Humane Association
• Jon Scholl, American Farmland Trust
• Dan  Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture

New York (Moderator: Chef John Besh)

Panelists:

• Bart Schott, president, NCGA
• Lynn Silver, New York City Department of Health
• Sarah Murray, Author: Moveable Feasts
• Patricia Cobe, senior editor , Restaurant Business Magazine (tentative)