Dr. Ray Goldberg, Harvard father of IFAMA  (Food and Agribusiness Management Asociation)received prize at Boston IFAMA meeting with food firms. He also received the Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Here a brief of his speech

“We don’t have to tell this generation that food and health and hunger, etc., are high priority—they know it—as evidenced by “Food, Inc.” being nominated for an Academy Award.

“Some 16 years ago at Harvard, I tried to put together a group of consumer activists, private sector, public sector and agriculture to look at the industry. At first they called each other names. Over time, they realized they share a common ground—all trying to improve the global food system for society’s needs. I have gained a sense of optimism for the next 20 years—there are more saints than villains. “The farmer has finally become global—and farmers elsewhere are no longer competitors but partners in the production of food for the global population.

We are all custodians of land and water. We are only on the planet for a short time. Every institution, business and country has to change. The form of government is irrelevant. We must partner regardless of the governmental systemsinvolved. Take China—it is a state-owned country that wants the same things for its people that we do.”

“The food system has to be put back together by big global companies that look ahead many years in their planning rather than governments that view the world from one election to the next. These large-scale firms have become quasi-public entities responsible to society in order to survive in a world that holds them accountable for nutrition, food security, food safety and economic development.

Via: http://www.agfood.net/2010/08/harvard-phd-ray-goldberg-agribusiness.html

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