USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack Recognizes Private Sector Leadership on Climate at Field to Market Side Event

Paris (PRWEB) December 02, 2015

Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture today announced that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will join Field to Market and global sustainable business network BSR at the Galerie des Solutions in Paris to recognize leadership and collaboration of the U.S. agricultural value chain on climate action at a COP21 side event. The event features Field to Market's president Rod Snyder and BSR's senior vice president Eric Olson alongside a special guest, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius, president of the COP21, who will join to officially open La Galerie des Solutions.

Through this event, the U.S. food and agriculture sector sends a strong message about its increased efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building a food system that is more resilient to climate change. Few sectors have as much at stake as agriculture in addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by global climate change. While many companies have taken important steps to mitigate impacts within the four walls of their operations, the most significant opportunities lie in collaborating across their supply chains. Today, Field to Market and BSR members will highlight their own efforts in achieving carbon reductions while fostering productivity and global competitiveness and the importance of building partnerships at all levels--from companies and growers to government and civil society--to meet the challenge with the scale and impact required.

WHO: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
COP21 President and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius
White House Director of Private Sector Engagement Rob Diamond
8 Field to Market members, including top food executives and farmers
WHERE: Paris-Le Bourget "Galerie des Solutions"
WHAT: COP21 Side Event: From Field to Market: Leadership and Collaboration in U.S. and Global Agriculture
WHEN: Wednesday, December 2, 2015 – 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. CET

"The agricultural community faces a significant challenge of feeding a growing world population while adapting to a changing climate. Fortunately, there is a movement across the sector to adopt practices that deliver greenhouse gas emissions reductions while improving productivity," said Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. "Today, companies and farmers will demonstrate how unparalleled collaboration is key to achieving improvements at a large scale."

Presentations will highlight existing practices and opportunities for further scale with participation by Field to Market members, including top food executives and farmers from organizations such as General Mills, Kellogg Company, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, PepsiCo, The Nature Conservancy, Unilever and United Soybean Board. PepsiCo is serving as the event sponsor.

"As a sector that is highly dependent on specific climate conditions, agriculture is particularly threatened in this era of climatic change. Food and agriculture businesses are increasingly aware that this vulnerability necessitates a responsibility to address climate change and are leading the way, through efforts like Field to Market and the We Mean Business Coalition, to reduce carbon impacts," said Eric Olson, senior vice president at BSR.

Rob Diamond, director of private sector engagement for the White House, will provide closing remarks, highlighting the importance of collaboration and outlining a path forward.

Accreditation to visit La Galerie is required. To request press credentials, please contact [email protected].

About Field to Market
Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture brings together a diverse group of grower organizations; agribusinesses; food, beverage, restaurant and retail companies; conservation groups; universities and public sector partners to focus on defining, measuring and advancing the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production. Field to Market is comprised of more than 85 members representing all facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain, with member companies employing more than 4.1 million people and representing combined revenues totaling over $1.3 trillion. For more information, visit http://www.fieldtomarket.org and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/FieldtoMarket.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/fieldtomarket/120215/prweb13108852.htm

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