Project Number: 1235-51530-055-01
Project Type: Grant

Start Date: Sep 15, 2012
End Date: Sep 14, 2017

Objective:
This agreement will facilitate a number of interactions with science and technology leaders in the food industry, government administrators in the United States and Canada, representatives of consumer interest groups, and academicians. They will meet regularly on neutral ground to identify and discuss contemporary issues of mutual interest and concern related to nutrition science, food science, and food safety and health consequences. Such interactions may take the form of discussion groups, formal meetings, workshops, and symposia. These activities will be planned in accordance with the institutional policies of the National Academies using the Food Forum. The Food Forum can use authored background papers and or workshops to help inform these discussions. Workshops will be organized by a planning committee that includes Forum members and representatives of participating agencies including BHNRC. Overall, this will provide an exceptional venue to interact with multiple sectors of society to learn about research needs and its long term health implications.

Approach:
Initially ARS and the collaborators will be involved with the development of a two-part meeting series development plan during the remainder of 2012, and then initiate a series of workshops and think tanks for the next five years. The series will focus on the nexus between agriculture/food, health, and the environment: the environmental implications of U.S. dietary guidance. Also planned is a workshop on future opportunities and research needs in the fields of food and nutrition sciences. Workshop planning committees will be appointed to develop agendas, invite expert speakers, and identify requests for the speakers. Workshop speakers will be invited on the basis of their expertise relative to the specific topic to be addressed, as well as on the basis of achieving balance from the standpoint of scientific perspectives. BHNRC will assist to shape the agenda to highlight relevant nutrition and health science and policy topics as a key component of the forum.