Danforth Center Joins Decade of Ag Movement

Newswise — ST. LOUIS, MO, July 22, 2021 –The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced it has joined the Decade of Ag movement, recognizing that a unified vision of sustainable food, fiber and energy systems for the future requires collaboration, endorsement and advancement from across the agricultural value chain.

“It’s going to take all of us – industry, NGOs, scientists, farmers, academia and a committed public – to move the needle on climate change,” said Stephanie Regagnon, Executive Director of Innovation Partnerships, at the Danforth Center. “The agriculture industry is uniquely positioned to assume a leadership role in this critical work. As a community of scientists and innovators, the Danforth Center is proud to join the Decade of Ag in partnership with many others in the agrifood value chain to bring new technologies to farmers that will enable them to meet this moment.” 

Decade of Ag is a agricultural sector-wide movement to align around a shared vision and outcomes for the sustainable food and ag systems of the future, along with agreed-upon principles for collaboration and co-creation of solutions. The Danforth Center joins more than 61 other companies and other organizations in endorsing it, as momentum grows within the agriculture sector to take bold, unified action to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

The shared vision is for a resilient, restorative, economically viable and climate-smart agricultural system that produces abundant and nutritious food, natural fiber and clean energy for a sustainable, vibrant and prosperous America.​ It is accompanied by detailed desired outcomes and principles for action.

Emerging science has shown an achievable path for U.S. agriculture to become carbon negative.1, 2 But to reach that achievement, collaboration, partnerships and investment are needed.

Recognition of challenges and opportunities among agriculture sector leaders led to creation of the Decade of Ag vision at the 2019 Honor the Harvest Forum, facilitated by USFRA and the Aspen Institute, and further alignment and formalization at the organization’s 2020 Honor the Harvest forum.   

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science CenterFounded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research, education and outreach aim to have impact at the nexus of food security and the environment, and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Follow us on Twitter at @DanforthCenter.

References:

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2019). Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2016. 
2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (2019). Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda