And, they are asking questions. Support for Jackson s work comes from a MacArthur fellowship, state funding, and donations. We heard two speakers address confinement livestock operations as they affect both the environment and the communities where such operations are located. Other speakers addressed the developments in transgenic crops and efforts toward identity preservation which begins with seed and chemical sales and continues through crop collection and handling, crop processors, traders, distributors, wholesalers, food producers and retail food companies. For example, food would be certifiably organic.
Identity preservation is difficult.
Elevator operators would not be able to mix wheat. They would have to separate and preserve the identity of durum wheat for noodles and soft white wheat for breads. The reward for the producer is a higher return for his crop. Among the librarians to speak was Robert Allen of the University of Illinois. At Illinois they are creating a virtual library of agriculture information.