Integrating stakeholder roles in food production, marketing, and safety systems: An evolving multi-jurisdictional approach

The Environmental Working Group's annual publication of government subsidy payments received by farmers has engendered significant discord in rural communities. Evaluating prospects for reform require an understanding of the current system and its constituents - especially the agencies subject to change. Meanwhile, the processing industry organized a voluntary marketing agreement to safeguard against future outbreaks while retailers incorporated private super-metrics standards into their supply contracts. The history of the food safety system in the United States has been the subject of extensive scholarship over the years. Although comprehensive in its treatment of the agencies' regulatory authority, little attention has focused on the overall role of the agricultural production system and the development of the agencies' holistic role in promoting safety within the broader food supply chain. Another famous USDA phrase from this era was to plant fence row to fence row, thereby eliminating many of the buffer strips and natural habitat surrounding a farmer's fields.