Current Priority Areas:
Farm Bill Reauthorization
The Farm Bill has been undergoing reauthorization in 2007 and 2008. ASN's work on this legislation primarily centered around the Research Title, which authorizes and funds intramural and extramural research activities in USDA agencies such as the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the ARS Human Nutrition Research Centers around the country. ASN's Farm Bill Recommendations lay out principles for ensuring human nutrition research and monitoring activities are supported and enhanced at USDA.
In late May 2008, the House and the Senate sent the Farm Bill conference agreement to the President, who vetoed the measure. Both chambers then voted to override the President's veto. Unfortunately, a clerical error resulted in an incomplete version of the bill being enacted; therefore, both chambers passed a corrected version and now await a second Presidential veto.
Summary of Final Farm Bill Provisions of Interest to ASN
Priorities and Recommendations for the Farm Bill conference
Nutrition Monitoring
National nutrition monitoring issues are critical to the nation and play a key role in shaping a variety of policies including food safety, child nutrition, food assistance and dietary guidance. Collected data are essential for informing policymakers and researchers, as well as the public, on the health and nutrition status of American adults and children. In addition to having an impact on billions of dollars in federal expenditures, the information from national surveys leverages billions of private sector dollars that are allocated to nutrition labeling, food product development and production.Nutrition Research Funding
ASN supports funding for basic, clinical, applied and translational nutrition research, including methodologies and biomarkers. Other key areas include research on and treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions that have been identified as urgent public health issues.Collaboration with Other Groups
As a member of the Federation of American Societies in Experimental Biology (FASEB), ASN strongly supports the public affairs work of this coalition of 21 scientific societies. FASEB's Office of Public Affairs (OPA) collaborates with ASN's Department of Public Affairs, and the work of the two is complementary. Visit the FASEB OPA webpage here.
ASN also is a formal member of the following public policy coalitions:
The Coalition for Funding Agricultural Research Missions (CoFARM)