澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 leads national discussion on agriculture as an instrument of diplomacy
Contact: Mary Kathryn Kight
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣ood and water. These basic human necessities were at the forefront of conversation led by 澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 and Arizona State University in Washington, D.C. this month at the conference 鈥淭he Intersection of Agriculture and Competitive Statecraft.鈥澨
Home to the Competitive Statecraft Initiative, ASU invited 澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 to co-host the conference, the third in a series of discussions held on the topic. Competitive statecraft is the integration and synchronization of all instruments of national power.
鈥淲e found a willing partner in Mississippi State鈥攐bviously a school that has a lot of interest and expertise in agriculture and agriculture policy,鈥 said Ryan Shaw, managing director of strategic initiatives and senior advisor to the president at ASU. 鈥淕eopolitics and national security strategy can get very abstract, but people have to eat and need water to drink, and that is a fundamental driver of all of our national security and competitive statecraft efforts.鈥
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker kicked off the event and commended Mississippi State for working with multiple groups to discuss ways to use agriculture as an instrument of peace.
鈥淭o the extent that the people, countries and governments in this world prefer to stay away from conflict, are involved in efforts to make sure there鈥檚 not worldwide hunger, then we鈥檙e more likely to have a peaceful world. And, in the end, mankind will be better, but we鈥檒l save tremendous sums of money that right now are being used in armed conflict,鈥 said Wicker.
The conference united private industries, academia and government agencies to discuss how agriculture impacts national security.
Panelist and keynote speaker Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Russell Howard, who currently serves as a senior fellow at the Joint Special Operations University in Tampa, Florida, discussed the China Belt and Road Initiative.
鈥淭he Belt and Road Initiative may be good for Chinese national security policy and foreign policy, but it鈥檚 not necessarily good for the countries that it鈥檚 building assets in, and it鈥檚 certainly not good for U.S. national security interests in many respects,鈥 Howard said.
Dan Gustafson, special representative of the Director-General at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, discussed why agriculture is part of the competitive statecraft discussion. Robert D. Kaplan, bestselling author of 22 books on foreign affairs and travel, delivered the keynote address on geopolitics and the natural environment. Other topics included 鈥淭he Role of Technology to Further Agricultural Competitive Statecraft鈥 and 鈥淲ater: Threat to Stability.鈥
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer, who served as a panelist on 鈥淔orging Agricultural and Food Linkages between Countries,鈥 noted the importance of 澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 being involved in the discussion.听
鈥淚 think it is great to have really strong agricultural schools that understand agriculture in these conversations with folks in state departments and defense departments and really bring home that message that I鈥檝e said 10 times already鈥攆ood is different,鈥 Meyers said.
It may not look like a weapon, but the ripple effect of food insecurity can cripple communities and devastate economies, he explained.听
鈥淎s the U.S. tries to engage with other countries, we find agriculture is almost always a very important issue to that country, whether it鈥檚 feeding their people or trying to expand their agricultural footprint,鈥 said Keith Coble, 澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 vice president of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the ability to eat healthy, sanitary food and to be able to afford food are fundamental issues in the United States and the rest of the world.鈥
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